Temporary Heating & Hot Water for a Live Community Hub
Deptford Lounge is an award-winning, purpose-built community hub in the heart of Deptford, housing a public library, events spaces, meeting rooms, study areas, and shared facilities serving both the local community and a neighbouring primary school.
When issues arose with the permanent heating plant, a temporary heating and hot water solution was required — one that could support multiple users, operate reliably, and be installed without disrupting daily access for the public, library users, or parents and children attending school.
The situation
The heating plant serves both Deptford Lounge and an adjacent primary school, with both relying on a constant, controllable supply of hot water throughout the day.
The shared plant room is located two floors below ground, while the site itself remains extremely busy, with continuous pedestrian movement between the buildings and surrounding streets. Any temporary solution had to work within these constraints while keeping the site fully operational.
The challenge
Several critical constraints shaped the solution:
• The only viable external location for temporary plant was a single parking bay
• A public pedestrian route had to remain fully open at all times
• Access to the plant room was via a door that also served as a fire escape
• Long distances were required to route heating and gas services from street level to the basement plant room
This meant the temporary installation had to coexist safely with the public realm, maintain fire-escape integrity, and deliver reliable performance over extended pipe runs — all without restricting access or compromising safety.
The thinking
Rather than treating this as a straightforward boiler hire, the focus shifted to engineering certainty into a complex, live environment.
A full turnkey solution was designed using a Nexus 150 Sentinel boiler, delivering 150kW of output in a compact footprint — ideal for restricted urban sites.
To make the installation work safely and reliably:
• A gantry system was constructed to maintain full pedestrian access beneath the temporary pipework
• A bespoke panel and modified door arrangement was formed to allow hose routing while preserving fire-escape functionality
• Approximately 90 metres of LTHW hose and 40 metres of gastite pipe were installed from the roadside plant to the basement plant room
• A 2” system pump was added to overcome the distance and ensure consistent circulation
• The failing permanent boilers were isolated, with the temporary boiler connected as the primary heat source, feeding the existing buffer vessel
• The BMS system was adapted to provide the level of control required by both the community centre and the school
The outcome
The result was a carefully integrated solution that prioritised safety, continuity, and control.
The temporary system was successfully commissioned, restoring reliable heating and hot water to both Deptford Lounge and the adjoining school.
• Public access and pedestrian routes remained fully operational
• Fire-escape functionality was preserved throughout
• The building continued to operate as a library, events space, and community hub without interruption
By combining compact plant, bespoke access engineering, and system integration, TCS delivered a solution that worked with the site — not against it, ensuring continuity for a vital community facility.
