The brief:
World renowned artist, Damien Hirst, required a low energy radiant heating solution for his UK art studios.
Notorious for striking installation pieces that now adorn the world’s leading art galleries, difficulties with suitable working environments from which to create masterpieces had always been a surfacing issue for the team at Hirst’s Science studios.
Famous for creating delicate art pieces using fragile items such as butterfly wings, it was imperative that the studios be maintained to the highest and most stringent standards.
Studios traditionally suffer from an inconsistency of environmental stability with under heated atelier areas that require a bespoke solution to stabilise the surrounding atmosphere. Meticulous design expertise and system flexibility are imperative and it was for that reason only specialist HVAC technicians could be considered.
The results:
“The challenging design and build solution for Damien Hirsts’ specialist requirements is what Cosaf is all about. The radiant heating scheme provides heating zone flexibility with low energy, low carbon benefits, making them an optimum choice for businesses looking for an environmentally sustainable solution.”
Mike Sullivan – Cosaf
Damien Hirst Science Ltd has also retained the services of Cosaf Maintenance to manage all aspects of the sites upkeep and liaison with suppliers and contractors to provide the ultimate work space for one of the world’s most hig profile living artists.
Our solution:
Cosaf are one of only a handful of companies in the UK with the capabilities of undertaking such a complex installation and for that reason were commissioned by Hirst’s Science company to provide the pin point attention to detail required for this project. The studio areas were split into various ‘zones’ to deliver varying levels of heat at any one time.
Cosaf decided that a radiant heating system was best suited to each of the four specified sites as this product does not heat the air directly. The radiant energy first affects the people and all surrounding solid objects, creating comfortable and controllable warmth at low level, without wastefully heating the whole volume of the building or roof spaces.
A further benefit from the radiant heating system is that it can ensure no excess air movement is created thus providing a still and natural environment critical for some of the delicate and complex Hirst creations and production techniques.
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