Emerson College, Los Angeles CA
Project Description:
The new Emerson building on Sunset Boulevard — a 10-story futuristic complex of aluminum and glass — is a major upgrade for the program that trains students in writing, design, acting and producing and lands them internships in the film, television and advertising industries here. The school previously held classes in leased space in Burbank and housed students at the Oakwood complex near Universal City. The striking new campus for Emerson College is located in the heart of the Hollywood entertainment industry and includes housing for up to 217 students, as well as academic classrooms. Buildings include a four-story academic center and two ten-story residence towers bridged by a multi-use platform. The project team achieved LEED Silver certification.
Scope of Work:
TMCx provided LEED Fundamental and Enhanced commissioning of the following systems: chilled water, heating water, air handling, fan, terminal units, electrical, lighting, plumbing including solar heating, and life safety
Project Snapshot:
- Owner: Emerson College
- Project Size: 120,000 sq. ft.
- Construction Cost: $85M
- Design Team: Hathaway Dinwiddie
- Year of Completion: 2014
Systems:
- Chilled Water System
- Heating Water System
- Air Handling Units
- Fan Systems
- Terminal Units
- Electrical and Lighting Systems
- Plumbing Systems
- Life Safety Systems
Challenges & Successes:
- Issue: the pressure of the make-up water being too low to fill the system and unequal pressures between the chilled water and heating hot water. This was not immediately obvious because during the testing of the two-pipe system, only chilled water was used. The chilled water system is located on the roof. When the system was switched over to heating, the pressures were equalized to the highest pressure, the chilled water pressure, and the heating hot water system could no longer fill. Resolution: The make-up pressure regulator was changed out from 12 psi to 70 psi, and the expansion tank charged as required.
- Issue: The DP sensor controlling the variable flow pumps in located on the 10th floor FCU. There were issues with air in the system that collected in the DP sensor. Resolutions: The DP sensor was bled out. The 2-pipe aspects of a portion of the CHW/HW system is causing some additional time for the entrained air to be removed from both systems.
