The Galleria is a designer outlet centre situated in Hatfield, Hertfordshire; located 6 miles north of the M25 motorway and directly above the A1. Constructed in 1991, the all-glass Mall building was intentionally designed in the shape of an aircraft hanger to celebrate Hatfield’s aeronautic history. The outlet has since been extended with the inclusion of the Pod building- Connected via the Link building. The Mall building contains the majority of the retail units with the Link and Pod building providing the restaurants, cinema and fast food chains. The outlet was inherited by Landsec and therefore does not follow the Landsec standards with regards to the environmental services.

The Building Management System (BMS) controls and monitors the buildings engineering systems throughout the Galleria Outlet. Measurement and control of the mechanical services is through digital and analogue sensors, actuators and field devices. These are predominantly manufactured by Siemens or Trend. The base build BMS system is Siemens, with Siemens AS trunk devices controlled by the Siemens Desigo supervisory platform. The AS trunk devices (No longer available) have been part replaced with Siemens PX devices due to failures. The additional Pod extension utilises a Trend BMS system with IQ3 controllers and a standalone Trend 963 supervisory platform.

The scope required Hive to independently review the existing BMS systems in order to provide a clear and concise insight into the installed systems. The feasibility study provided an overview of the systems with regards to LandSec’s overarching long term Net Zero Plan for its London portfolio. The feasibility report included the proposed transition path, road map for the upgrade and outline costs, necessary for future service charge budgets. The BMS system within The Hatfield Galleria shopping outlet is controlled via the Siemens Desigo and Trend 963 supervisory software. The supervisory software is technically obsolete and has been withdrawn from sale with limited product support.

There are large numbers of BMS controllers that are no longer supported by the manufacturer, therefore there is a risk that these unsupported BMS controllers could fail and have a negative impact on the building operation. This could result in extended downtime of the MEP services. Hive liaised with all parties on-site including the incumbent main contractor, Feasibility MEPH services consultants, BMS contractor, Tenants and client teams to build a comprehensive picture of the installed control systems.