52 Avenue Road
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Project Background
Located at 52 Avenue Road, St John’s Wood, this development is the first fully serviced, ultra-prime residential scheme on one of Central London’s most prestigious addresses. Comprising 12 grand stucco residences, 5,750 sq ft each with rooftop winter gardens, wellness amenities, and 24/7 concierge services, the project replaces a long-derelict single dwelling recognised as a detractor within the Elsworthy Conservation Area.
The redevelopment enhances the area's character and aligns with strategic housing and sustainability goals. It delivers 12 new luxury homes and supports the delivery of 8 off-site affordable rented units, responding directly to Camden’s housing priorities. The scheme also significantly improves safety, biodiversity, and energy performance, achieving a 74.3% on-site carbon reduction, which exceeds the 35% policy requirement, through the use of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) and a whole life carbon approach.
How We Got Involved
Genius Energy Lab was engaged early in the planning phase by DOMVS London (via 52 Avenue Ltd.) to evaluate the feasibility of ground source as a low-carbon heating and cooling strategy that aligned with the client’s environmental goals and long-term value requirements. Our initial scope involved pre-design feasibility work, including a high-level geology study and analysis to support initial commercial and strategic planning for a ground source system design suitable for a high-spec, heritage-sensitive site.
We proceeded to deliver the full system design, with a centralised plant room, serving all 12 residences via a shared closed loop ground source heat pump system. The central system takes heat from the ground loop and supplies low-temperature water (~20°C) to each home and communal areas, where individual water-to-water heat pumps raise the temperature to between 45–65°C to meet space heating and domestic hot water (DHW) requirements. This communal-distributed setup balances operational efficiency with individual dwelling control and performance.
We also completed an in-depth equipment specification, going beyond our typical design remit to size and specify:
- Ground source heat pumps
- Central plant room equipment
- Manifolds
- Circulation pumps
- Buffer and expansion vessels
The project has been active since 2023, with multiple design revisions required due to evolving site and regulatory conditions. Boreholes were moved or redrilled due to access constraints and occasional collapse, resulting in a varied borehole field with seven different depths. These variations added complexity to thermal modelling and system balancing.
In parallel, changes in building regulations also required updates to the energy strategy and reassessment of heat pump performance. We provided updated calculations to maintain the required coefficient of performance (COP), ensuring regulatory compliance while minimising the need for further mitigation or offset payments.
At every stage, we revalidated the design to ensure the system continued to meet the efficiency and carbon reduction targets under increasingly stringent standards. Our work also included performance analysis of the combined efficiencies of the shared plant room and individual house heat pumps to ensure overall system integrity.
What We Delivered
- Full GSHP design pack tailored to ultra-prime residential context, aligned with whole life carbon benchmarks
- Shared plant room solution feeding distributed water-to-water heat pumps in each dwelling
- Equipment specification for key system components, including manifolds, ground source heat pumps, plant room equipment, circulation pumps and the required vessel sizing
- Ongoing technical support and design updates in response to installation constraints and regulatory changes
- Validation of performance to meet carbon targets and maintain planning compliance
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