Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2007 - (Page 39)

MEP’s critical role Instead, electrical and mechanical equipment, including variable air volume boxes, The Utah State Capitol Building is now a Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City were installed in the attic and the basement, modern, up-to-date facility, but the process Size: 320,000 sq. ft. while the four floors between attic and basein getting there wasn’t so simple. EssenCost: $212 million ment—the most public and historically sigtially, MEP engineers faced three main Architect: The Capitol Restoration nificant areas—remained essentially unafchallenges: Group—a joint venture of VCBO Archifected. • Pathways/distribution: The building, tecture and Max J. Smith Architecture, But the next question was how to distribconstructed in 1916, was not designed to Salt Lake City; Schooley Caldwell ute these new systems throughout the buildsupport infrastructure for modern mechaniAssocs., Columbus, Ohio; and the Utah ing without interfering with the architecture. cal, electrical, and IT technology systems. Capitol Preservation Board led by archi“We had to figure out how to do this so • Correction of historic spaces and contect David H. Hart, AIA visitors to this public house and jewel of the cealment of modern systems: Identifying state would think, ‘They really haven’t done space for and implementing modern sysMEP Engineer: Spectrum Engineers, a thing to this building except clean it,’” said tems and devices without interfering with Salt Lake City Todd Rindlisbaker, PE, CPD, QCxP, LEED historic architecture were MEP challenges, Contractor: Jacobsen/Hunt Joint VenAP, mechanical engineer with Spectrum as was removing previous renovations that ture, Salt Lake City Engineers, Salt Lake City. conflict with the original design. Fortunately, as the engineering team con• Designing advanced technologies: ducted extensive reviews of existing condiDesigning voice/data, audio/video, and tions and old plans of the Senate, Supreme Court, and Governor’s meetother electronic systems to make this iconic building one of the most ing spaces, the team discovered long-abandoned air shafts that were technically advanced state houses in the nation. perfect for running modern ducting and other distribution systems. Even though interstitial spaces, concealed by false ceilings, are From a mechanical perspective, the thick walls allowed for approxiusually designed into buildings to house HVAC ducts, electrical, fire mately 8-in.-wide ducts. Sidewall diffusers were used to distribute protection, plumbing, and communications distribution systems, that option was out of the question for the Capitol Building because drop conditioned air into the rooms, and in this way, “floor space lost to thickened walls was minimal,” Rindlisbaker said, “and the imperative ceilings from past renovations had been removed to bring the facility back to its original architectural splendor. Adding false ceilings would to save original ceilings was achieved.” But while electrical and technology systems were set up to share have interfered with historic windows that stretch to the plaster ceilings, and also would interfere with historic molding, artwork, fixtures and these thickened walls with ducting and plumbing, that only solved part of the electrical/technology distribution problem. other details. Consequently, another solution had to be reached. Project at a Glance A C E F H L P The clay tile was interrupted every 2 ft. or less on center by concrete beams, which were also cored to allow conduit. Horizontal distribution of electrical and communications was achieved by channeling through existing concrete floors. Consulting-Specifying Engineer • OCTOBER, 2007 39

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2007 Contents On the Web In the News M/E Roundtable How To Beat the Energy Codes Professional Practices Codes & Standards A Capital Job on Engineered Buiding Systems Going Green in Data Centers Overcurrent Protection: Fuses or Breakers? Third-Party Liability Management Report New Products Product Spotlight Jobs/Classifieds Specifier's Notebook

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2007

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