The Uchusen four-storey space ship

Uchusen, meaning 'spaceship' in Japanese, is a four-storey commercial office building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The owner, KNX systems integrator Seikou Systec Sdn, decided to have its own, unique working space that should be Green Building compliant, able to expand in future, and provide a technology showcase for customers. At the same time, it should also be a learning centre for vocational students as part of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programme.

The building is divided into the basement (engine room) where all the engineers and technicians are located as well as a dashboard where energy and water consumption of each level is displayed; a first-floor space café, space capsule, prayer room and KNX training centre; a second-floor command centre, battle station and UFO room; and the top floor gym, library and game room. The project started in December 2018 and was completed in February 2019.

Project brief

Seikou has more than 22 years of KNX experience, so it was no surprise that KNX was chosen for this project in order to control lighting and HVAC. In addition, there should be an interface to DALI lighting, ModBus and BACnet for energy and water monitoring, Google Home for voice activation control, and a video intercom system. A key requirement was that the installation would be capable of future expansion, which meant not relying on a single manufacturer, with the concerns about replacement or maintenance that that would bring.

The design had to invoke a spaceship environment whilst conserving energy, so appropriate lighting luminaires and air-conditioning were key. Another challenge was to be able to upgrade the installation easily when the budget allowed, without having to channel into walls or disrupt the structure of the building. The project was also to form part of a Technical import_contentamp; Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme that included KNX.

Solution

KNX was the obvious choice, as it is always backwardly-compatible and is supported by nearly 500 manufacturers worldwide and more than 200 KNX-certified professionals in Malaysia. The installation would be facilitated by involving various vocational institution students from trades such as electrical, tiling, air-conditioning, solar technology, rainwater harvesting, painting import_contentamp; decorating and flooring.

Electrical students, together with their trainers from three different vocational institutions, were trained on the KNX standard by a KNX specialist during the implementation phase. They learned everything about KNX, from the installation of KNX devices to ETS programming as well as KNX apps.

Installation

The project took about two months to complete, including electrical works and KNX installation. It started with KNX planning, design and implementation, whilst working closely with those responsible for interior design and electrical works. Because it was carried out by students, a lot of time was spent on teaching and knowledge transfer, but this resulted in a great deal of satisfaction, especially for the students who were able to bring KNX expertise back to their institutions.

Some of the students who helped with the installation.

Since moving into the premises, a lot of fine-tuning and some upgrades have been done. These include time setting adjustments for lighting scenes, timing for presence sensors, more programmed scenes, and the installation of an interface to water metering, which was done with great ease. Eventually, the system was connected to a dashboard to display data such as energy and water consumption of each floor in order to analyse energy efficiency, and at some point, a car charger will be connected, with data also being displayed on the dashboard.

Benefits of using KNX

With the flexibility of expansion, connectivity to other systems and choice of so many manufacturers, KNX makes installation and integration so much easier and provides the reassurance of longevity that end-customers need.

The command centre.

The server room requires 24/7 cooling, and during office hours, receives this by means of a fan that draws cool air from a connecting room. Should the AC in the connecting room be switched off, KNX ensures that the AC in the server room will automatically switch on once a preset temperature has been reached, thus saving a lot of energy.

Uchūsen was able to achieve a Green Building Index Silver award for an energy-efficient building that conserves energy and reduces electricity and water bills. It also demonstrates how, using time scheduling, building owners do not have to worry which appliances to switch on and off after office hours.

The building has become a focal point for a range of vocational institutions who are interested in the KNX standard, and hundreds of students have already taken a ride in this impressive spaceship!

Key products/technologies used

KNXDALIBACnetModbusGreenControlsThebenSchneiderSteinelTantronIntesis

Project: Uchusen, the ultimate spaceship

A project by: Seikou Systec Sdn Bhd

Contact: P.W. Siew