Case Study

The Camden:
BMS Supply & Install in Historic Building

The Camden building opened as a 400-seat cinema in 1912. It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1920 with 1200 seats in a Neo-Classical style and rebranded “the Camden De Luxe”. Later the exterior was remodelled in Art deco/Egyptian style in 1934 and seating capacity was increased for 1395 patrons. According to local lore, Rita Hayworth attended a screening there in the 1950s. The cinema closed its doors on June 29th, 1974. In 1975 it reopened as Ricardo’s amusement hall; the interior hall was split over two floors to accommodate a snooker hall. The legendary Irish movie the Commitments was filmed here in 1991 with their infamous manager Jimmy Rabbitte. The Palace nightclub opened on the site in 1998 also adding a hotel above. It was the busiest club in the city until it closed for renovations in 2017.

The vision of the new proprietors was an entertainment complex for 2019 to suit all ages, therefore, creating a host of different entertainment options under one roof. A cocktail bar & restaurant on the ground floor, a sports arena with a gigantic 4k screen, the Five Lamps brewery & visitor centre upstairs, a wood-fired pizza restaurant, a private 60 seat cinema, Noel & Annie’s Speakeasy bar, Jimmy Rabbitte’s local bar and a 40 bedroom hotel above.

As part of the redevelopment of this historic building, Sirus was engaged to install a SAUTER Building Management System.

The Solution

Sirus installed the following:

• The Main Bar on the ground floor is a conventional bar setting and is climate controlled via a package Air Handling Unit (EDPAC) and 5 Mitsubishi VRF split AC zones.
• The sports bar which doubles as a dance floor is also controlled via a package AHU (EDPAC) and 2 Mitsubishi VRF split AC zones.
• The ‘Five Lamps Brewery’ bar and visitor centre is controlled via a package AHU (EDPAC) with 2 Mitsubishi Heavy Industry splits for the Cinema.
• In addition, there is ‘Noel & Annie’s Speakeasy’ bar which is controlled via a conventional Mitsubishi Electric split AC system.
• On the roof plant room all the conventional plant (LPHW, DHW< Metering etc.) is monitored & controlled via SAUTER Modulo 5 controllers, complete with BACnet interface via a Mitsubishi AE 200 central controller for the VRF system and supplementary split systems along with a Modbus interface to the EDPAC AHU’s and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry AC systems.
• The System is completed with a Touch Screen & Web interface (EY-OP850F910) sourced from SAUTER. See screenshots of the user-friendly interface in the gallery below.
• A secure VPN allows Sirus to provide remote support should it be required.

The Result

The Camden complex required the most modern AV technologies and controls and the proprietors worked with the best brands in the world to ensure a customer experience that is second to none.

Sirus engineers worked closely on this project with JAK Consulting Engineers to meet with our client’s needs and the project was successfully completed prior to the official opening of the complex in September 2019.