Here East

Howe Green 'raises the bar' at former Olympic site

The transformation of the International Press and Broadcast Centre has created 1.2 million square feet for business, media, tech, education and data, and over 7500 jobs on the site and in the local area. Dozens of businesses have already taken up residence in this digital heartland, including BT Sport, Infinity, Loughborough University and UCL.

During the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympic Games, the International Press and Broadcast Centre played host to the world's media. 20,000 journalists were at the heart of the action, reporting the latest triumphs and Olympian feats to a global audience estimated to be over 4 billion people.

Fast forward to 2017, and these key buildings continue to form a central element of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The Centre is undergoing a commercial redevelopment to become Here East – the exciting digital quarter for East London.

Howe Green Floor Access Covers were specified by architect Hawkins\Brown for one of the office spaces within BT Sport. Howe Green supplied twelve medium-duty 7500 Series Stainless Steel Access Covers for the project.

The covers specified for Here East were to be installed into a raised-floor system. They were ordered with Stainless Steel Z-profiles to provide support to the Access Cover within the raised floor. The covers were installed in corridors throughout the building to provide safe and easy access to access junctions in the drainage systems. The 7500 Series was specified to match the existing raised-floor system appearance. The Access Covers were initially covered with plywood and were then infilled with a vinyl flooring finish.

Whilst fitting Access Covers into a raised-floor may at first appear counter-intuitive, it is no longer an unusual scenario. Historically, a raised-floor system provided access to a wide variety of mechanical and electrical services, data and connectivity cabling, and underfloor air distribution concealed within the void created between the raised floor and the floor slab. This made it ideal for use in renovating existing buildings or retrofitting spaces for different uses.

In a traditional raised-floor environment, such as a data centre, where functionality featured ahead of aesthetics, heavy-duty removable floor panels could be removed with a tile lifter to allow access to underfloor services. 

The 7500 medium-duty Stainless Steel Access Covers provide safe and easy access to the drainage services located below the flooring. Supplied with a double seal, they address the need for a secure solution in an office setting with relatively high pedestrian footfall. The vinyl infill offers a seamless floor finish which will reduce the slip or trip hazard.

The 7500 Series can be supplied as a single cover, a configuration of duct covers or multipart covers in standard sizes and loadings from stock, or can be precision-made to order. If you are looking to "raise the bar" with your raised-flooring system installation, get in touch to see how Howe Green can help.

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