About the ProjecT

Building description

A 12-storey new office building for the Department of General Services, designed for employee wellness and sustainability.

Unique Design Challenges

In this space, the challenge was to efficiently combine an underfloor air distribution system with a radiant (chilled) sail system to minimize supply air volume while maintaining thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

Our Solution

Created a CFD model of representative open office space that included the underfloor plenum, the diffusers as well as highly detailed models of the chilled sails. The model was used to verify the design in heating mode and fine-tune the supply air volume in cooling mode. Since employee wellness was a key goal, the CFD model was used to confirm that thermal comfort and indoor air quality were maximized.

Results

The building’s HVAC system was an important aspect of a much larger plan to meet project goals through a network of interrelated sustainability strategies. The CFD model showed that the radiant and underfloor systems worked well together in heating and cooling modes and that further energy savings were possible. The completed building earned several awards and boasts an EUI that places it in the top 1% of all US office buildings.