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Bespoke Case Study - Boxing Clever
The successful re-generation of central Birmingham over the last decade has seen a number of its landmark buildings completely transformed. One of the most high-profile and prestigious, The Mailbox, the site of Birmingham’s former central postal sorting office, has been converted into a combined commercial and residential complex that is now home to some of the country’s most glamorous retail outlets, hotels, restaurants and apartments.
The 80,000 square metre development has a newly built, four- storey residential block to the rear of the original façade. Open walkways around the first three floors allow a clear an unobstructed view through the complex, creating a unique and striking visual environment.

The original drainage system took rainfall from the exposed walkways via a series of 50mm point gullies to the existing surface water drains on the floors below. After several months in operation, the characteristics and capacity of the system on the first and second floors were found to be insufficient, leaving standing water pools which, as well as being unsightly and an irritation to residents, presented a significant slip hazard during freezing weather.
To overcome the problem, the consulting architects, Aedas AHR, sought a solution that would be capable of completely removing all surface water while being complementary to both the sensitive visual surroundings and the SportsFlex floor covering. The fact that there was very little available depth in the walkway and that the new system would have to tie in with the existing gully locations presented further significant challenges.

“We recognised that there was no off-the-shelf system available that could meet the requirements,” says Peter Chapman of Aedas AHR. “The conventional view of bespoke systems is that they are extremely expensive to manufacture, complicated to install and difficult to maintain. After close consultation with the design team at ACO Building Drainage, we were completely confident that their proposed solution would avoid any such problems and deliver an affordable system that would exceed the performance and aesthetic characteristics we were seeking.”
On the first floor, the ACO Building Drainage system links the existing gully points via straight runs of stainless steel channel. 100mm wide and manufactured in 3m lengths, the installed channel is only 38mm deep and provides a continuous, unbroken drainage line that effectively collects all surface water. Accurate control of the fabrication process has ensured that a consistent depth is precisely maintained throughout the channel, preventing any accumulation of standing water in the run itself and ensuring that can be easily accommodated within the existing floor without any expensive remedial work.
This close control during fabrication has also ensured that the installed runs produce the dead straight finish that is vital in preserving the high visual quality of the area. To ensure a precise tie-in with the existing gullies, locations for the short connecting pipes were cut and welded on site using standard equipment.
The perforated channel gratings were produced in 1m lengths with a brushed finish. An extended horizontal flange on the channel section below allows the SportsFlex flooring to be solidly clamped underneath the grating via a series of connecting bolts. Special grooves evenly spaced along the grating edge also prevent any water collecting along the clamped joint line.

On the ground floor, identical grade 304 stainless steel channels and gratings were installed to produce the same high performance and visual finish. On this floor, however, the existing gullies were located between the pillars supporting the overhead walkways, preventing the uses of a straight connecting run of channel.
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