Library Inches Closer Towards Air Conditioning
College submits planning application to Westminster Council for cooling plant on roof of Sherfield Building
After many years of complaints from students regarding the sweltering heat on the top floors of the Central Library, Felix is happy to announce that College has finally responded by providing air conditioning in the library.
According to documents filed with the City of Westminster Council by Savills on behalf of college, the application asks from Planning Permission for the ‘erection of ventilation roof plant and associated ducting to serve the Central Library’. The proposed chilling machinery will be built on the roof of the Sherfield Building. At 11 metres in length and almost 3 metres high, the plant will take up a volume of 68 cubic metres, and will be connected to the library by ductwork that will mostly be built internally.
As the planning application notes, “The library has long suffered with overheating issues, most notably during summer spells of warm weather where the largely glazed building suffers from solar heating, resulting in working conditions unsuitable for the study areas.”
This will hopefully be a great relief to the hundreds of students who have tried to revise in the library during each summer examination period, and may bring to an end the rite of passage of smuggling a fan into the library for some desperate students.
We spoke to Marissa Lewis, the Union’s Deputy President (Welfare), who said: “The temperature in the library is a common complaint from students, especially during the already stressful exam season – it’s fantastic news that this is going to get fixed… it’s a really cool idea.”
We approached College and asked why it had taken so long to make changes to the Library cooling system. A College Spokesperson replied, “The College conducted a survey last year which identified temperature control as the improvement most sought by student users of the Central Library on the South Kensington Campus.
Imperial is currently applying for the necessary planning permission to install climate-control in the Library. The timeframe for installation has not yet been established. Library users will be kept informed of plans once the likely start date for the work has been determined”
Felix is just happy that College has stopped giving students the cold shoulder. -Ed.
