The Door - New York, NY

Location: 555 Broome Street, New York, NY 10013

Project Description: All new air conditioning distribution systems and a central chiller plant for a six-story commercial facility located at 555 Broome Street, used as classrooms and office spaces for a youth development agency.

Size: 70,000 square feet

Challenge: Since the existing building was mostly served with window units, there was no existing infrastructure to work from. All new ductwork and piping systems had to be installed, within reflected ceiling parameters that included existing sprinkler and lighting systems. There were no mechanical rooms in which the new equipment could be installed. Also, the building had to remain completely operational during construction.

Achievements: Through tight coordination with the construction team during the shop drawing phases, the engineering team managed to install new piping and ductwork systems without any disruption to the existing sprinkler and lighting systems. Since mechanical spaces were not available, all new air conditioning units were installed strategically in open areas to minimize noise. Thanks to careful phasing of different areas of work, the building was able to remain in use during construction. As an added benefit, it will now use 20% less energy for air conditioning, thanks to a high-efficiency variable flow chilled water system.