As buildings get taller and more complex, the task of the services engineer becomes much more complicated. These engineers have to manage the conflicting requirements of different services, while fitting all services into the smallest possible space.

Innovative solutions and new ways of approaching design and engineering for piping systems will enable space savings in the services. The 100-floor CBD Z6 Sino-Ocean Centre in Beijing offers an example. There, the piping system design was a real challenge: “Achieving a six-star level of service at such a great height meant overcoming extremely high hydraulic pressures – achieved by splitting water systems into several zones. At the top, the walls incline at an angle of 4° so the floorplate shrinks every floor. All the pipework around the guest rooms needed to be inclined. There’s no typical floor”, says Eddie Leung, director of building systems at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, builders of the project.

Space savings and flexibility in the design of the services will continue as a challenge for developers, who will require innovative solutions, backed up by design and engineering capabilities.