Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Design

THE PROJECT
Our firm’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for this 48,000-square-foot Class A and Class B office building emphasized functionality and energy efficiency to accommodate future tenant build-outs. The design for the ground-floor retail space, in particular, needed to be flexible for a variety of prospective tenants, including high-utility-demand tenants such as restaurants and spas.

FEATURES/SOLUTIONS 
The building’s HVAC systems needed to accommodate the ground-floor retail tenants while maximizing the leasable areas on the upper floors. Our design considered fresh air and exhaust, as large ductwork is often needed in this type of scenario. That led to the installation of a storefront louver band around the perimeter, with louvers hidden behind the awning above each window. 

The sustainable features designed for the office space included energy-efficient variable air volume (VAV) systems and a central energy management system. The VAV ductwork is throughout the building so that future tenants can connect terminal units and downstream ductwork to suit their needs. 

IMPACTS
Our design maximized the available area for future tenants’ fresh-air and exhaust systems while sacrificing no leasable area on the upper floors. Distributed overhead and under-slab plumbing utilities provide another level of flexibility while curbing disruptions during build-outs.

Lastly, shafts to the roof are in several locations to allow restaurants to be anywhere on the ground floor, and submetering now allows each tenant’s energy use to be tracked separately.