PBA provided MEP engineering for the 250,000 square foot landmark structure's expansion and renovation.The 160,800 square foot expansion, provided additional educational space for the high school and district.
For the past 30-plus years, the building has admirably served as the Wing Lake Developmental Center, for students with special needs residing in 21 Oakland County public school districts.
The 8,800 SF Academy is housed in a remodeled portion of Niles High School. Remodeling included the conversion of eight existing classrooms into three team-based learning studios and one main central commons corridor.
Whitmore Lake High School is serving as a model for the State of Michigan of similar size due to the strong commitment to sustainability and innovation initiated by the school district.
PBA provided MEP engineering for the 250,000 square foot landmark structure's expansion and renovation.The 160,800 square foot expansion, provided additional educational space for the high school and district.
The district placed a large emphasis on energy efficiency and minimizing demolition. PBA utilized its extensive experience with geothermal and other high-efficiency mechanical systems, to incorporate a distributed geothermal heating and cooling plant that would operate efficiently year round. The Geothermal System handles all of the heating and cooling needs of the high school.
Rick Mason, the school’s facilities director, attested, “The units have now been through both heating and cooling season operation, and the owners are happy with their performance. The system is really running fine – like a Swiss watch!”
For the past 30-plus years, the building has admirably served as the Wing Lake Developmental Center, for students with special needs residing in 21 Oakland County public school districts.
The new 40,000 square-foot facility opened in 2008, serving about 100 students. Features of the new center include universal accessibility, increased therapy space, a media center with sensory teaching materials, and group learning spaces for sensory development activities.
Building Controls and Automation
The building management system (BMS) is the hub for facility controls and automation. All systems are integrated through BMS: operational and emergency electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and lighting.
A detailed third-party commissioning process was implemented to functionally test each piece of mechanical equipment for operation and compliance with design intent upon completion of construction.
Electrical Distribution
The facility required a unique back feed system to maintain emergency power during power outages (refer to the section describing power and power systems for a detailed discussion).
Fire Protection
While fire protection requirements dictate what design is required to protect the building users (in this case, NFPA 13), the project team took advantage of using extended coverage, quick response sprinkler heads.
HVAC
High fresh air/exhaust requirements drove the selection of the heat pump system, which also incorporated sustainability considerations and energy recovery. Prior to its distribution, ventilation and mixed air are filtered through 30 percent efficient pre-filters and 65 percent efficient cartridge filters. Return air for each individual heat pump passes through a 30 percent efficient filter prior to mixing with ventilation air.
Lighting
The building’s lighting system followed ASHRAE 90.1-2001 guidelines and is controlled through the BMS. Direct/indirect linear pendants are used in place of the more typical 2 by 4 prismatic fixtures. This greatly enhanced the environment of the room and gave the users the option of turning off all direct light, and relying on only the indirect lighting. Lighting meets ASHRAE guidelines of 1.5 watts per square foot, which also is the goal for LEED™. Occupancy sensors are found in all of the rooms, so lights turn off automatically when the room is not in use. Exterior and corridor lighting is also automated.
Plumbing
Plumbing for this facility is controlled through the BMS. Circulation pumps are used to maintain warm water temperatures at the fixtures and minimize the need to run water, conserving water use.
The 8,800 SF Academy is housed in a remodeled portion of Niles High School. Remodeling included the conversion of eight existing classrooms into three team-based learning studios and one main central commons corridor. The corridor is lined with benches and eight 42” monitors displaying school news. Learners can also hook up to each of these monitors for team collaboration or independent study. A staff and student collaboration and administrative area were also included. Each learning studio has new furniture and three projectors, one for each wall, and a sound amplification system allowing facilitators to easily project their voices across 1,600 SF of learning space. The BioArt studio floors were trenched to bring water and electricity to each learning “pod,” enhancing the interactive curriculum.
The venture had an aggressive 16-month timeline from conceptualization to completion.
New Tech’s future plans involve taking over the remainder of the west wing of Niles High School to accommodate all four grade levels.
Whitmore Lake High School is serving as a model for the State of Michigan of similar size due to the strong commitment to sustainability and innovation initiated by the school district. District personnel and school board members had an intimate involvement with the design team which provided a reassuring presence and kept the team’s actions in line with their guiding vision.
The building’s heating and cooling needs are served completely by a geothermal water source heat pump system consisting of nearly 47 miles of piping, approximately one third of which is located in a pond. Each space in the building is provided with measured quantity of outside air which is pretreated by dedicated energy recovery units to minimize the impact of the outside air load on the space tempering equipment. Every classroom has independent temperature control through a water source heat pump which operates in conjunction with space temperature and CO2 sensors to maintain a properly ventilated space within the design temperature range. Calculations show an estimated annual energy savings of over $80,000 per year in operating over conventional systems for this building.
Through the combined efforts of the team members, the project earned a LEED® Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
