Although it’s the second-oldest college in America, the College of William & Mary boasts the oldest college building in the United States, the Sir Christopher Wren Building, which was built in 1695 before the founding of nearby Williamsburg, VA. Now fast-forward to the 1960s, when the college expanded to accommodate Baby Boom students.
A learning environment adds extra meaning to the risks of “run to fail” mode, which can have the same effect on the budget as it does on the equipment. Covering everything from specification to installation and operation, schools need a permanent plan on hand for the moment when temporary HVAC becomes necessary.
Designing a new high school to be 40% more efficient than ASHRAE 90.1 – 2001 energy requirements is a feat in itself. To achieve this degree of efficiency on a very limited capital budget while designing a state-of-the-art, energy-demanding technical high school is an even greater feat.
Patrick Baldwin-McCurdy fields daily indoor air temperature requests from employees and students, but Seattle University’s (SU) lead buildings control technician rarely hears HVAC complaints from the college’s new library addition featuring under floor air distribution (UFAD).
Energy efficiency and historic preservation are rarely synonymous. More often than not, one must be compromised for the sake of the other. Fortunately, the University of Arkansas found a way around such compromises when it came to the restoration and mechanical renovation of the school’s beloved Peabody Hall.
Effective building envelope and air handling designs took comfort most of the way from theory to reality in ISU’s Hach Hall. An existing in-house deionized water supply and a new fogging system finished the task and saved an estimated 22% in humidification costs.
This past March, I asked the question, “Do you have a corporate sustainability plan?” and recently I was discussing this topic with a director of a physical plant for a major college on the East Coast. He commented, “Energy conservation and environmental management should be a team effort.”
“Too warm.”
“Too stuffy.”
“Not enough airflow.”
These were just a few of the countless complaints that facilities managers of the Basic Medical Science Building at the University of New Mexico were receiving on a regular basis.
With the help of advances in intelligent controls and a shift in design mindset, these systems can steer buildings toward smaller equipment sizes and associated savings. Review three projects and consider the benefits of keeping an upcoming project in the loop.
In this overview of building information modeling, the authors review how BIM helped in three different projects, often with particular usage- and efficiency-based HVAC demands. While BIM’s space management skills can reduce costly changeorders and building design “clashes” ahead of time, in at least one instance, using BIM actually influenced the HVAC strategy for the better, too. See how HGA Architects and Engineers has used this to become a “model” firm.
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