REHAU’s
PROFILA data trunking has been specified for a high-quality student
accommodation development in Portswood, Southampton.
The Vita
Student residence – being delivered by the Select Property Group – will provide
convenient, city centre accommodation for students attending the University of
Southampton and Solent University Southampton. Built on the site of a former
bus depot, the 435-bed residence will also include an impressive communal area,
a large social hub, movie room, gym, private dining and dedicated study areas.
Select
Property Group currently operates 10 student residences across the UK, and each
one has been designed and built to meet increasing demand for high-end student
living. The company has a standard design for its student bedrooms to
streamline costs, installation and maintenance.
The chosen
constructor for the Portswood project is Morgan Sindall, who appointed local
firm J&B Hopkins to deliver the electrical services within the building.
This included the data cabling required for each of the 435 bedrooms.
Andy Hindley,
project manager at J&B Hopkins, said: “Select Property Group has a set
design for each of the student bedrooms, including the cabling requirements.
The data trunking specified by them was very minimal; in each room they wanted
a 1m section of trunking which would house the HDMI for the television, a data
point, a USB charging point and a double socket. This would be mounted on the
wall underneath the desk, around 400mm from the floor.”
Although the
specification was very prescriptive, Select Property Group were happy for the
contractors to choose their own products to deliver the design vision, so Andy
began researching suitable trunking solutions. He had used REHAU products in
previous roles and was keen to see what they had to offer.
Andy
continues: “We looked at the REHAU PROFILA Data range and it was perfect for
what we were doing. It is a good quality product, which would fit in with the
high-end spec of the development, but it was also competitively priced.”
REHAU’s high
capacity PROFILA data trunking has been designed to meet the requirements of
the latest power and data cables. With a depth of 65mm, it is the deepest
trunking in its class, able to handle modern data cabling and power cables with
ease.
Andy said:
“Installation of the PROFILA was very quick and simple. It comes with holes
pre-punched into the base, which saves time on install, plus it has an open
design so once its on the wall, we can just run the cables in and fit on the
front cover. REHAU were able to supply the PROFILA in 1m long sections for us,
so there was no cutting required on site which meant it was less time to
install, less mess and less waste too.”
The PROFILA
is a robust, hardwearing trunking with discreet and effective rivet fixings to
ensure the PVC-U trunking stays securely in place – ideal for high traffic
areas or rigorous use.
Andy
concluded: “PROFILA was the right product for the Portswood project and our
installers have been more than happy to fit it, with no complaints. We are very
confident this product will be a fit and forget for us, and we won’t be getting
call backs about it.”
Steve
Richmond, Marketing and Technical Manager, Building Solutions at REHAU said:
“On a big job like the Portswood student residence, time saving features soon
add up. Our PROFILA trunking is very quick to install but by going the extra
mile for the contractor and delivering the product in a custom length, we’ve
saved them even more time on site, helping them to work more efficiently and
stay on schedule.”
The
installation of the PROFILA trunking at the Portswood scheme is due to complete
later this year, with the accommodation opening to new students towards the
start of October this year.
