15 August 2019

Manchester has a new addition to its skyline, with the construction the 28-storey residential Axis Tower.  Quartzelec, a leading independent engineering service provider, is delivering the M&E contract which includes the electrical supplies to the installation of one of Europe’s largest digital advertising screens – measuring a massive 30m by 7m, across 10 storeys of the North Elevation of the tower. 

Axis Tower has been developed by Manchester’s Property Alliance Group and is being built by main contractor Russells Construction. It comprises 172 apartments. The whole building is clad in bronzed aluminium panels with a glass façade system that also incorporates the massive media screen.  A unique luxury space, the 24-hour concierge reception area features polished concrete and each apartment will be finished using high specification materials.

“This has been a fantastic project for the Quartzelec team to work on over the past few years and the addition of the massive media screen was one of the final elements to be completed,” stated Stephen Morrison, the recently appointed Managing Director of Quartzelec’s Contracting business. “Despite the small building footprint and allowable space for use of access equipment, we were able to reach up to 60 metres and install the electrical supplies to the individual sections of panels, successfully completing the electrical installation and helping to bring the Elonex manufactured screen to life. We continue to deliver some of the most prestigious and demanding engineering projects in the UK and this is another, multi-million-pound project in our growing portfolio.”

Construction work on Axis Tower commenced in 2016 and the mechanical elements of the project delivered by Quartzelec included: the mains water supply to the site and liaison with the utility companies; installing all the centralised hot water and the hot and cold water distribution along with the necessary sanitaryware and wastes; the residential sprinkler system and smoke vents; plus the air conditioning to the reception along with mechanical ventilation for the building.  

From an electrical perspective the schedule of works included managing the incoming mains supply; all internal and external lighting plus all mains system wiring and electrical supplies to the heating and mechanical services; residential and landlord fire alarms, emergency lighting and a standby generator; installing the integrated CCTV and door access and intercom systems; Satellite TV, telephone and data feeds throughout the building; plus plant room electrical supplies. The last element completed was the installation of the media screen.

“Building this 28-storey tower on a small site, on a canal bank, in the middle of the city is no mean feat, but we have developed a wealth of experience of this type of constrained high rise build with several recent city centre schemes,” added Gareth Russell, Director of main contractor, Russells Construction. “We put together an expert team to devise and implement the solutions necessary to deliver Axis, creating a high-quality residential development which will provide a new standard of luxury accommodation for Manchester.”

Located in the city centre on Albion Street on the bank of the Rochdale Canal, close to Deansgate, Axis Tower has been designed by architect Jon Matthews on behalf of developer Property Alliance Group, with WSP acting as engineering consultants.

The build programme required Russells Construction to remove existing foundations that were installed for a prior scheme, put in new foundations and create the basement floor of the new Axis Tower building before commencing the superstructure.  Quartzelec had an ongoing presence on the Axis site throughout the project which at its height had upwards of 30 Quartzelec staff including project managers, M&E engineers and qualified trades people carrying out all the necessary activities during normal working hours. 

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