20 Water Street, Canary Wharf: 1,532 Cat6A outlets and a resilient dual-MER backbone for JLL’s Docklands office
ACCL designed, installed, tested and warranted the structured cabling for JLL’s Docklands office across two floors of 20 Water Street, Wood Wharf.
Working within the fit-out delivered by Tetris Design+Build, JLL’s design and build arm, ACCL installed the passive network infrastructure for JLL’s relocated Docklands office on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building, combining a high-density Cat6A installation with a resilient dual-MER architecture linking two diverse equipment rooms by both copper and fibre over separate routes.
The result
- A and B power to every cabinet, utility and UPS feeds
- Environmental monitoring in each equipment room
- Every link tested with a calibrated Fluke DSX-8000
- Cabling labelled at both ends for lifetime traceability
- System registered under Leviton’s 25-year warranty
- Headroom used to extend the system for energy metering
Services Delivered
Overview
JLL relocated its Docklands teams into the 2nd and 3rd floors of 20 Water Street, the new Canary Wharf Group building at Wood Wharf, designed by Allies and Morrison. The interior was delivered as a fit-out by Tetris Design+Build, JLL’s design and build arm, and ACCL was responsible for the structured cabling platform beneath it.
ACCL installed approximately 1,532 Cat6A outlets to provide high-density structured connectivity across both floors, presented as Grid Outlet Points at desk level and at high level. Supporting the horizontal cabling was a resilient backbone centred on two main equipment rooms on the 2nd floor, one East and one West, interconnected using 96 Cat6A F/FTP links and 48 OM4 duplex links, with the fibre routed over two diverse paths.
The challenge
A corporate fit-out at this scale brings together multiple systems, contractors and building services within one construction programme. With approximately 1,532 Cat6A outlets across two floors, the challenge was not simply the volume of cable.
The building itself was designed with dual power from two independent substations and diverse, resilient connectivity, and JLL’s own infrastructure needed to reflect that principle, making the passive network a critical part of the fit-out rather than a secondary building service.
- High-density distribution across low and high-level routes
- Grid Outlet Points to a density of 1.5 ports per workstation
- Locations for two diverse main equipment rooms
- Separate physical routes for the resilient backbone
- A and B power provision to every cabinet
- Termination, labelling, testing and certification at scale
Project context
20 Water Street forms part of the Wood Wharf masterplan at Canary Wharf and was designed as a highly serviced, resilient commercial building. In that environment, a structured cabling platform is expected to match the resilience of the base build rather than sit beneath it as an afterthought.
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A resilient dual-MER backbone
Rather than serving both floors from a single communications room, ACCL delivered two diverse main equipment rooms on the 2nd floor, one East and one West, and linked them so that no single failure could isolate a floor. The copper backbone was delivered as 96 Cat6A F/FTP links on RJ45 patch panels, and the fibre backbone used 8 twelve-core OM4 trunk cables over two diverse routes, presented as 48 OM4 duplex links through MTP-LC cassettes.
Each of the two equipment rooms was built out with four 42U network enclosures, giving eight cabinets across the two rooms. Every cabinet received two metered power distribution units, one fed from the room’s main supply and one from an uninterruptible power supply, providing A and B power resilience at rack level. An earth bar was installed and bonded in each cabinet, and an environmental rack monitor was fitted in each room.
Protecting the cabling and extending the system after handover
Before any cable was pulled, ACCL set out protected routes across both floors. A low-level cable matting system raised the main routes clear of the slab, and at high level a central containment ring was run back to the risers serving both equipment rooms, with wall outlets fed through metal flexible conduit.
After handover, JLL required additional outlets to support an energy-metering deployment across several distribution boards. ACCL returned to install nine further Cat6A outlets using the same materials and parameters as the original installation, updated the floor drawings and cabinet elevations, and extended the Leviton 25-year warranty to cover the additional cabling.
Technologies Used
ACCL’s role
ACCL was the structured cabling specialist on the project, working within the fit-out delivered by Tetris Design+Build. ACCL was responsible for the design and installation of the horizontal Cat6A cabling, the containment and cable routes, the resilient copper and fibre backbone between the two equipment rooms, the equipment-room build, and the termination, labelling, testing and commissioning of the whole system.
- Structured cabling design across two floors
- Resilient dual-MER copper and fibre backbone
- Equipment-room build with A and B rack power
- Full testing, certification and labelling
- Manufacturer warranty registration and later extension
- Nine additional outlets for energy metering, post-handover
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Related Guidance
Foreword by Wayne
“20 Water Street was a genuinely resilient piece of infrastructure, and exactly the sort of project we enjoy. JLL were consolidating their Docklands teams onto two floors of a brand new Canary Wharf building, and the brief called for density and resilience in equal measure. We installed well over fifteen hundred Cat6A outlets, but the part I am most pleased with is the backbone: two diverse equipment rooms, linked by both copper and fibre over separate routes, with A and B power to every cabinet, so no single failure can take a floor offline. Every link was Fluke tested and the whole system went out under Leviton’s twenty-five year warranty. When the client later needed extra outlets for energy metering, we simply extended the system and the warranty with it. That is what a properly designed structured cabling platform should let you do.”Wayne Connors, Managing Director, ACCL
“ACCL really stepped up to the plate and ensured cable infrastructure was fully designed to give the client resilience and future expansion, and when it came to delivery on site they completed ahead of time, top quality and under budget.”Colin Goodman, Senior Commercial Manager, Tétris Projects Limited
What did ACCL install at 20 Water Street?
ACCL installed approximately 1,532 Cat6A outlets across two floors, a resilient copper and fibre backbone between two diverse main equipment rooms, and the equipment-room infrastructure for JLL’s Docklands office, all tested, labelled and warranted.
Whose office is at 20 Water Street?
The 2nd and 3rd floors are JLL’s Docklands office, relocated to the new Canary Wharf Group building at Wood Wharf. The interior fit-out was delivered by Tetris Design+Build, JLL’s design and build arm.
How many data outlets were installed?
Approximately 1,532 Cat6A outlets were installed across the 2nd and 3rd floors, with a further nine added later to support an energy-metering deployment.
How was resilience built into the network?
Two diverse main equipment rooms were linked by 96 Cat6A F/FTP links and 48 OM4 duplex links over separate physical routes, and every cabinet was fed by two power distribution units, one utility feed and one UPS feed.
Why use two diverse equipment rooms rather than one?
Serving the floors from two diverse rooms, with separated backbone routes and dual power, reduces the risk that a single failure or cable-route incident takes a floor offline.
How was the cabling tested and certified?
Every copper and fibre link was tested with a calibrated Fluke DSX-8000 CableAnalyzer and certified to the relevant standard, in line with ISO/IEC 14763-3.
Is the installation warranted?
Yes. The complete system was registered under Leviton’s 25-year manufacturer warranty, which was later extended to cover the additional outlets installed after handover.
Can a structured cabling system be extended after handover?
Yes. Because the platform was designed and warranted as a complete system, ACCL was able to add further outlets after handover and extend the manufacturer warranty to cover them.
Who managed the project?
The project was project-managed by David Little, Operations Director at ACCL.
Did ACCL work alongside other contractors?
Yes. ACCL delivered the structured cabling within the fit-out led by Tetris Design+Build, coordinating with other trades across both floors.
Structured cabling for corporate fit-outs and relocations
For occupiers, real estate teams and fit-out partners planning new offices, relocations or technology upgrades, involving the structured cabling specialist early helps coordinate the network, backbone and resilience requirements before construction reaches the stage where changes become difficult or disruptive.
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