SHEPHERD Engineering Services (SES), the York-based building services company, has been awarded the £13 million task of providing all the mechanical and electrical work for the University of York’s extension to its Heslington East campus.

SES, which was appointed by BAM Construction, will work on the more than £66 million project for which the turf-cutting ceremony took place in February.

More than 70 SES staff - management, engineers, supervisors and operatives – have been assigned to the building services work, due to start in late summer this year.

There will also be more than 100 SES sub-contractor employees on site at any one time, mostly from York and North Yorkshire.

This is the first phase of the University Of York’s master plan to extend the Heslington East campus, consisting of four new academic buildings.

Three buildings will house the departments of Theatre, Film and Television; Computer Science; the York Law School and York Management School. The fourth will be a hub building – which will provide shared research facilities and social spaces for all students. Sustainability has been a key driver in the overall design of the new development.

SES will now play its part – by minimising solar glare and reducing heat loss.

Many open spaces within the new construction will either be naturally ventilated or use a mixed ventilation system. The company will also seek a ten per cent improvement on the requirements of building regulations when it comes to CO2 carbon emissions, although initial modelling of the Theatre, Film and Television building shows that a reduction of about 14 per cent looks achievable. SES is also looking to ensure that the new development generates ten per cent of its energy requirements using renewable sources.

For the most part, this will be provided by a centralised bio-mass boiler plant, serving a medium temperature hot water district heating main and using heat exchangers in each building, to heat water.

Phase one of the 72-week project is due for completion in October 2010.