Six facilities in Texas and one each in Kentucky and Tennessee were among 21 nationwide to receive 2006 Clean Air Awards from the National Air Filtration Association (NAFA).

The recognitions are given each year “to building owners and managers that take steps to significantly improve the quality of their indoor air by increasing the level of air filter efficiency and improving the protocol involving indoor air quality components of their HVAC systems,” according to a statement from NAFA.

Recognized in the South were:

Crescent Real Estate-Fulbright Tower, Houston, for spending $410,000 to clean 230 air conveyance systems in the building and upgrading synthetic pre-filters.

Cushman & Wakefield-AIG American General Center, Houston, for upgrading all five buildings in the complex especially to deal with the “wet environment of the Houston area.”

Highwood Properties, International Place III, Memphis, Tenn., for upgrading its filtration, installing filter gauges to monitor pressure drop, and maintaining accurate records of filter change-outs.

Intertek Caleb Brett-Westport Technology Center, Houston, for spending $250,000 to renovate and upgrade the HVAC system including the replacing of outdoor air handlers and upgrading automation controls.

Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, Louisville, Ky., for the installation of pre-filters and a molecular phase filter to prevent cross-contamination and odor entrainment from a renovation area to the rest of the main hospital.

Progressive Insurance-Austin Call Center, Austin, Texas, for installing custom-made framing for the filter bank to ensure there was no air bypass and that filters have an antimicrobial treatment.

Toyoda Gosei-Texas, San Antonio, for putting in a three-stage makeup air and air filtration system designed to remove particulates that might otherwise blemish or damage products made at the paint operations facility.

University of Texas-Southern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, for upgrading pre-filter systems, replacing all gasketing, checking the integrity of the filter bank, and rebuilding and sealing exterior leaks.

Publication date:12/04/2006