The latest state-of-the-art office building in Hamilton is setting the standards for business developments across Bermuda.

The Power House, which is currently being constructed at 7 Par-la-Ville Road, is glass panelled on all four sides allowing light in and keeping UV rays out while retaining heat.

The project, which is led by architects and developers Par-la-Ville Trio, headed by Peter Terceira and Glyn Quarterly, and landlords/tenants North Rock Communications, Applied Computer Technology (ACT) and Switchworx, also includes completely uninterruptible power systems to overcome issues such as the famous black out after the Belco fire of 2005 when companies flew in generators on private jets and had to send staff to work in their overseas offices.

Meanwhile it features two back-up generators, a redundant air-conditioning system, a building environmental management system, two entry points for telecommunications lines at the front and rear, raised access flooring and an increased floor loading.

Visitors to the building, which looks set to become a landmark in Hamilton's business district, will be met by a covered front entrance and modern lobby, while inside it is the only one of its kind in Bermuda to offer floor to ceiling glass, with stunning views from each of the six floors.

The natural light let into the building will provide a good working environment, while the front balconies and a roof terrace offer quiet respites.

But it is more than just a pretty face, with a high level of efficiency, security and redundancy, built to data centre requirements, to ensure that businesses can function in adverse conditions.

Erich Hetzel, director at North Rock, said the building was made for the company as both a landlord and tenant, with redundancy being its main selling point.

"To our knowledge, there is no building built to this specification in Bermuda to date," he said.

"Redundancy was the key for us — the black out in Hamilton following the Belco fire was a real wake up call for many businesses.

"You cannot just assume that everything is going to keep working, so if the power goes out everything runs on batteries and then the generators kick-in."

Mr. Hetzel said he went up to Toronto to look at buildings which had experienced similar issues with power outages, before designing the redundancy features of the building and then getting excavators in do to a geological study of the site in November and pressing ahead with the construction from the start of this year.

And he said it was good to have started work on the building from a financial perspective, with a number of developments on the Island under review at the moment because of the credit crisis and lack of capital to fund them.

"Compared to what expectations of buildings are from a tenant's standpoint, for the same basic rent as many of the other older buildings you are going to get a much better working environment, from the visual and redundancy point of view," he said.

John Robbins, director at Applied Computer Technologies (ACT), said once the foundations were laid for the building it has been built up quickly.

"It is a very quick method of construction," he said. "There has been a big initial outlay for the development, but we are hoping to spread the costs over time with the revenue we get back in rent."

The 485 glass panel units used in the building are made of a revolutionary new solar control low-E glass, comprising two sheets of glass with plastic in the centre, sourced from a factory in Florida and transmits approximately 23 percent of the solar energy, but lets in more than 63 percent of visible light.

The units are insulated and laminated to meet Dade County (Florida) impact standards to protect against hurricanes and windstorms. A skylight in the middle of the building will allow in natural light throughout the floors.

Power House will also provide 100 percent UPS power to all standard office systems and during generator switch-over time, power should remain continuous to the desktop and help prevent data loss, at the same time as serving as a power conditioning system.

Experiences during the Belco fire and Hurricane Fabian a few years ago have proved that generators can fail to start or during operation, so electrical switching equipment has been employed to monitor the condition of the external power and the power coming from an online generator. If one generator does not produce sufficient power, the second one will automatically come into effect.

The building has, meanwhile, incorporated critical passive and active design features to stop electrical interference while the generator is working. In the event of a storm, the building should be able to operate for a minimum of one week without fuel delivery.

Also factored into the design was the utilisation of a redundant air-conditioning system so that, should one unit fail or be taken off-line for maintenance, the remaining systems will be able to cool the building.

Another useful feature is two compartments of risers between all floors to house communications cables, as well as raised access flooring to facilitate easier management of power and computer wiring, while floor loading, which has been increased to 150 lb per square foot specifications provides better support for heavy office equipment, computers and files, in addition to reducing floor vibration and allowing for tenants to have greater flexibility in their floor space design.

Two elevators will carry passengers between the different floors, of which ACT and Switchworx occupies the basement, ACT and North Rock the ground floor, and ACT and Switchworx the second floor, as well as Lancashire Insurance Group taking over the fifth and sixth floors and a number of other insurance companies and local service firms moving in on the expected completion date of May 1. However, there are still spaces available for new tenants.

There is parking available underneath and outside the building, while it is within easy walking distance of schools, restaurants, banks and other conveniences.