MEP Engineering Design for Kalamazoo College

The facility includes:

• A weight and cardio fitness area
• 5 large multi-purpose rooms
• 2 Racquetball courts
• Expanded locker rooms
• USTA and varsity men’s and women’s tennis coaches’ offices
• Office and assessment room for the campus wellness director and expanded storage areas
• Space for the George Acker Tennis Hall of Champions

PBA provided MEP engineering design services for the 30,000 square foot facility dedicated to fitness and wellness which included the incorporation of unique air handling units. The air handling units (AHU’s) are VAV air to air plate and frame energy recovery units (ERU). Each ERU is fed by chilled water and hot water. Chilled water is delivered to the ERU's from an air-cooled magnetic bearing (Mag) chiller. The state-of-the-art chiller is one of the most efficient on the market. Hot water for heating is delivered by highly efficient condensing boilers that supply 130-degree hot water. At the 130-degree supply water temperatures the boilers operate at the 90 to 95 percent efficiency. Demand ventilation was utilized that adjust building ventilation based on actual occupancy.

Domestic hot water was provided to the building by a series of natural gas-fired instantaneous hot water heaters. The instantaneous water heaters provided superior burner turn down which resulted in nearly full modulation. The domestic water heaters delivered 120-degree F domestic hot water in lieu of a storage tank-type system which requires a water storage temperature of 140 degrees F. The overall instantaneous domestic water system produced domestic hot water to the building 30% more efficiently than conventional domestic hot water systems.

In lieu of LEED certification, Kalamazoo College students provided LEED-like auditing in the design, energy and sustainability criteria that inform LEED certification.