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Taking Control
Modern HVAC systems
overcome limitations and help revolutionize interiors.
 Radical.
Inventive. Forward-thinking. HVAC? Oddly enough,
when BHDP Architecture’s Cincinnati office
expanded into a new space, the heating, ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC) systems led to groundbreaking
design.
Because
the 25,000-square-foot loft-style space contained
no ductwork, BHDP designers employed raised-floor
technology. Twelve inches separate the visible
floor from the true floor, and the void acts as
the gateway to BHDP’s electrical, data communications
and heating/cooling systems. A Web-based, direct
digital control system monitors 20 temperature
control zones, tracking every element of the system,
so that the temperature never wavers from 72 degrees.
Without
costly duct work, BHDP kept the character of the
space — including the high ceilings braced
by century-old columns and riverfront views from
just about anywhere you stand — because the
design relied on the under-floor channels. HVAC
sometimes poses greater problems than possibilities
for cutting-edge design, but today’s technology
actually aids designers who want to push the envelope.
“From an ergonomic standpoint, the raised-floor
system provides a very adaptable solution. The
design of the heating and cooling system is in
line with the current thinking in sustainable
design principles, with the air coming from the
floor instead of the ceiling,” says Patrick
Donnelly, AIA, MCRH, a Principal at BHDP.
Creative Mechanics
Of course, sustainable design in the workplace
is nothing new, but approaching HVAC with aesthetics
in mind still is a cutting-edge idea — one
interior designers must discuss with mechanical
engineers early in the design process, says Corky
Binggeli, ASID, author of Building Systems
for Interior Designers (2002, John Wiley &
Sons). “It’s critical to establish a
relationship with the mechanical engineer,”
she says, and that means getting a look at mechanical
drawings and understanding exactly where the mechanical
systems will be located. “If the architect,
contractor and engineer all know that you care
about HVAC and are knowledgeable, you have a much
better chance of being included in discussions.”
Preserving the character
of a space while accounting for the HVAC system
requires creative thinking from the entire team,
especially when working in historic preservation,
says architect Robert Vail Cole, AIA, Director
of Historic Preservation for New York-based Swanke
Hayden Connell Architects. When restoring the
nearly century-old San Francisco City Hall, Cole
realized that running standard ductwork through
the building was impossible, especially on the
third floor, where the ceilings were flush against
the beams. The solution was to use a series of
heat pumps serviced by smaller ducts that are
easier to incorporate into hidden spaces. “We
didn’t have to lower any ceilings or invasively
impact the interior of the space,” Cole says.
But had he not been involved in the project from
day one, that solution may not have been possible.
Fresh Air
It’s more time-consuming to be involved in
the mechanical process from the start, but absolutely
necessary to produce cutting-edge design, says
Janice Stevenor Dale, FIIDA, CID, President of
JSDA Inc., Los Angeles. When Dale designed the
office for Bluekite.com,
an Irvine, Calif.-based software company, she
started with raw space. “The greatest challenge
was that the creative plan was environmentally
minded, with no exterior offices and broad daylighting
and views for all employees,” she says. The
client wanted an edgy design that matched the
company’s future-oriented mission, which
employs a blue kite as the central design theme.
Because the main loop, or
air passage, already was in place, Dale first
had to evaluate the space, the air flow and the
mechanical systems. Instead of lowering the ceiling,
she exposed the ductwork, wrapping it in gray
insulation, which made it more efficient while
creating a softer, billowy look. Then she installed
floating ceiling platforms, independently hung
in curvilinear shapes. “The connection to
air was very important in the design of space,”
she says. “The wavelike curve of the floating
platforms is very much about air flow.”
More than any other trend,
green design is pushing HVAC to the next level,
according to David L. Grumman, an Engineer and
Chairman and founder with Grumman/Butkus Associates
in Evanston, Ill., and editor of the American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers’ GreenGuide. Variable volume
systems, which change the quantity of blowing
air depending on need at any one time, are increasingly
popular, as are carbon-dioxide-based demand control
ventilation systems that assure proper ventilation
through carbon dioxide sensing (as the carbon
dioxide concentration level rises, the system
knows to pump in more fresh air). Many builders
are experimenting with thermal energy storage
or night precooling, which is ideal for climates
with cool nights and warm, dry days. The key with
green design, Grumman says, is that all members
of the design team work in sync.
Togetherness
A unified team concept is behind Hellmuth, Obata
+ Kassabaum Inc.’s (HOK) award-winning design
of the San Mateo County (Calif.) Forensic Laboratory,
named one of The American Institute of Architects’
Top 10 Green Projects of 2003. The goal was to
create a bright, calming space, with plenty of
natural light and operable windows for natural
ventilation, says Alan Bright, AIA, HOK San Francisco’s
Project Designer. The design also aimed to marry
the building’s highly technical interior
program with the external impact of the sloped
site in the San Mateo Hills.
Although exposed ductwork
is common in other applications, it’s relatively
rare in lab settings. HOK’s design team decided
to expose and express everything. In doing so,
designers created a highly organized grid pattern,
says HOK Project Manager Lynn Filar. “We
wanted to create a clean, clear path for routing
supply and exhaust, and we were very conscious
of the overlaying grid.” The team also used
spiral-shaped round diffusers to demark a consistent
9.5-foot ceiling plane. In addition to using a
photovoltaic array to create electricity, designers
ensured natural light pours in from every angle.
Sight Unseen
HVAC must blend seamlessly with a space’s
interior in residential design, says Leslie Saul,
IIDA, AIA, of Cambridge, Mass.-based Leslie Saul
& Associates. Though immensely popular, large
open spaces such as great rooms prove to be design
challenges. “The main question is: How do
we cool these big rooms everyone wants?”
Saul says.
In the Maxwell House, a
family home in Massachusetts, Saul solved this
challenge by using the art of concealment. The
great room used a radiant heat floor — a
popular means of heating residential spaces in
the Northeast — but that didn’t solve
the air-conditioning issue. Saul hid small, cool-air
ducts within two television cabinets on each side
of the fireplace. “The ducts actually go
through the ceiling of the cabinets,” she
says. “That way, the air hits the room mid-level
in the living space versus coming from the floor.”
Whether working on residential
or commercial projects, the key for designers
is to educate themselves about HVAC as much as
possible, Saul says. “Don’t be intimidated
by HVAC. Ask questions, and find out if something
can be moved. It’s all a negotiation.”
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