College adopts smart building tech at historic campus

Smart building technology has been installed by Scenariio inside a building at Derby College Group’s Roundhouse campus.

The installation, in the former Grade II-listed former Derby Midlands Carriage Works at the Pride Park campus, on Pride Park, has taken place as part of a project to turn the building, which is known as the Engine Room, from a restaurant to a meeting and training space for the college’s business partners.

IT and building technology firm Scenariio, which is based in Siddals Road, has fitted out the building, which was once at the centre of the city’s railway industry, with a host of hi-tech smart innovations.

The firm was called in to ensure that the new facility offered optimum user comfort while minimising running costs and, in response, installed AV equipment, movement-tracking sensors, temperature, CO2 levels and humidity sensors, along with an intelligent PoE – which stands for Power over Ethernet – lighting system.

It also installed booking software for desks and rooms that lets users book space on site or remotely.

George Pritchard, technical director at Scenariio, said: “The Engine Room is a hugely important building in Derby’s history and it’s wonderful to think that our technology has helped to give it a new lease of life as a work and study space that’s fit for the 21st Century.

“Just because the building is more than 100 years old doesn’t mean that it has to be uncomfortable for people to work in or can’t be energy-saving, and it’s a great example of what we at Scenariio can do.

“The need for organisations to encourage people back into the workplace post-pandemic, the rising cost of energy and the need for organisations to reduce their carbon footprint is shining a light on how they need to improve and upgrade their premises.

“Expensive, overcrowded and badly lit offices are no longer acceptable, which is why our technology is becoming more and more in demand.”

Ian McCormick, director of IT at Derby College Group, said: “We are really pleased with the ease of use and data we are getting from the system Scenariio installed for us.

“It is great that one of our spaces is a leader in smart technology in the education sector, while the energy and efficiency savings delivered are especially important to us.

“Scenariio did a great job on design, install and support and we look forward to working with them again in the future.”