The connector bridges from the existing Brooke Army Medical Center (left) to the 780,000-square-foot expansion do not slope, as the new structure was designed to match the existing one. The interstitial building space (IBS) floor is structurally suspended from the floor above, and some of the mechanical systems routed in the IBS to supply the floor below are visible
The design of the SAMMC dictated a mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications room per smoke compartment. In these stacked mechanical rooms, all the units are accessible from the floor level, while distribution occurs above the interstitial building space deck
The broadening capabilities of designers under BIM have branched off into new developments in MEP design. SSR's McBride notes, “We've gone into modeling for lighting/daylighting and for HVAC requirements, and have even produced a virtual test and balance report for HVAC contractors. They're not only seeing a 3-D model, but they're understanding how we got there.”
Walter P. Moore's Young says BIM is evolving into a basic facility management tool for MEP. “We can create a 3-D representation of the entire building, showing all the chillers, electrical switch gears, valves, etc., and tagging them in the model with hyperlinks to pdfs of model numbers, maintenance history, current job orders and the like, and operate the building in the digital world. This is coming on line pretty quickly.”
His colleague Ryan Seckinger, PE, says the design team is now able to proceed with a greater degree of precision in laying out such key MEP spaces as plenums and interstitial areas. “A high-performing team leveraging the new technology can take out some plenum space-for example, with 15 feet rather than 16 feet floor-to-floor, which reduces the façade and saves on that cost.”
HKS's Ron Meyer notes designers' new capabilities of energy analysis for MEP. “We're no longer compensating for lack of information. Before MEP designers used to react to architectural drawings pretty far into completion, but with today's BIM and energy analysis tools, we're better able to communicate.”
Brock Graham, senior project manager, Gilbane Building Company, Providence, Rhode Island, elaborates by describing “a project in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for which modern energy analysis allowed use of a heat recovery system-basically a 30,000-cubic-foot dessicant wheel-that permitted construction of a 100,000-square-foot addition without adding a chiller to the plant. The money saved on that enabled the architect to add an atrium to the building. Heat recovery technology also allows for smaller HVAC equipment, giving the architect more space for other things. It also helps with code authorities and LEED wanting to bring in more outside air for better indoor air quality because the precision of the analysis shrinks the amount of air you have to process. You can do all this now without adding equipment or costs.”
Energy analysis helped an architectural/MEP team understand the air handling and smoke evacuation requirements of a large atrium in a recent project, says HKS's Ron Meyer. “It's easier for architects to experiment with new spaces and façades, including the impact of the newer glass façades being designed now.”
