The project was initiated by Islington County, which already in 2012 put into operation a "green" district heating system for the Bunhill District (a highly efficient gas-fired CHP) with 850 apartments and two leisure centers. It was Bunhill 1, and this year Bunhill 2 was launched, using the heat of the Northern Metro Line: train engines and brakes, and to a lesser extent, station equipment and passengers.
Bunhill 2, with 1.5 kilometers of new pipes, covers 550 apartments and Morland Elementary School. With Bunhill 1, their total capacity can be increased to 2,200 apartments in the future, which is extremely important for London, where not all housing is connected to central heating, and the financial difference between such heat and individual "house" systems for the consumer is 1: 2 - even not counting the environmental benefits of modern, more efficient networks. In addition, Bunhill 2's green central heating is 10% cheaper than conventional heating.
Cullinan Studio Architects have been invited to collaborate by Islington County Council on their projects for energy hubs for universities in St Andrews and Warwick in Coventry. The site was extremely difficult and neglected, at the same time very noticeable, on the “cape” at the intersection of six streets, at the foot of a multi-storey residential building. It was there that the underground ventilation shaft was located, originally an elevator shaft closed since 1922 and almost completely dismantled from City Road station. It was necessary to take into account all the underground voids, access for equipment maintenance, the proximity of housing.
British infrastructure projects of the 19th and 20th centuries, right up to Giles Gilbert Scott's red telephone booth, are a source of inspiration - thoughtful, utilitarian, but always interesting.
The compact human-height Bunhill 2 is covered in black glazed bricks and enamelled steel panels that are difficult to graffiti, scratch, break, and are typical of London Underground stations. Above, dark red ornamental perforated panels begin. The color is reminiscent of the characteristic bovine-colored tiles in the subway, as well as copper stills: gin was produced nearby in the past.
The perforation density fluctuates depending on the needs of the equipment placed behind a particular facade panel, and the ornament in the form of intertwined lines reminds of energy flows, heating pipes, metro tunnels.
The black plinth of the building features works by Scottish artist Toby Paterson: these cast aluminum slabs interpret the “apartmentography” of the King Square housing estate now heated by Bunhill 2.
Bunhill 2 works as follows: a two-meter fan drives air from the subway shaft at a temperature of 18-28˚C there. With the help of heat pumps, its temperature is brought to about 80˚C: it heats up the water, which is supplied to the consumer. In warmer months, the fan, on the other hand, cools the metro tunnels with air from the outside - this is the first time in the world that such a solution has been implemented.
Electricity from Bunhill 2 goes to the subway network and to the adjacent residential tower, where it is used to operate the elevator and light the common areas.
