Heb Group has completed Pioneer House

15th January 2021

Built in 1873, Pioneer house was once the central location for Dewsbury Co Operative and later the Dewsbury Pioneers' Industrial Society.

With a rich history and multitude of uses, Dewsbury Pioneer House is an important landmark in the city centre which has been given a new lease of life in conjunction with Dewsbury Council and Kirklees College. Unique features such as the heritage tiling, stained glass windows and Butchers' hooks encompass the Grade II listing and therefore need the upmost care and attention when repurposing this stunning building.

With plans for apartments and retail outlets squashed by local residents, the council sort out to give this building a better fate. Henceforth, Kirklees College obtained the building to combine a Higher Education study facility to include hair & beauty, creative & digital media, art & design and ICT courses.

H E Barnes were selected to sensitivity install the full M&E services in line with Kirklees college's specification. Almost a full year was spent designing innovative solutions that protect the integrity of the roof space, particularly in the Great Hall as fixings could not be made to the ceiling or walls. One of the biggest obstacles faced by our M&E project management team was the creation of service penetrations into the heritage fabric of the building as the engineering standard of the Victorian Era would not have taken into consideration the same criteria as the present day.

The majority of the windows in Pioneer House were replaced as part of works undertaken by Kirklees council, these replacements were made to meet the energy efficiency threshold requirement. Installed throughout are new energy efficient building services systems and lighting. A mechanical ventilation strategy was preferred over a natural ventilation strategy, the building is close to a main road and noise and pollution was a major concern, with the opening of windows causing cold draughts and a waste of energy in the winter months.

M&E Value: £1.2 Million
Design Completed: December 2017
Start Date: June 2020
Completion: December 2020