COMPANY: Temperature Equipment Corp., Lansing, Ill.

INSTALLATION: 30 air-handling modules, 9 stories of ductwork

COMPLETION: Completed

CUSTOMER: Chicago Temple, Chicago

OBJECTIVE: Completely upgrade the air-handling and distribution systems while maintaining the historical beauty of the Chicago Temple.

DESCRIPTION: At nearly 100 years old, the historic Chicago Temple building was due for a top-to-bottom systems upgrade. A large crane trucked in on 13 tractor-trailers closed the Chicago Loop for 48 hours as crews hoisted 30 air-handling modules. Temperature Equipment Corp. (TEC) of Lansing, Ill., was the mechanical contractor. The company assembled all 30 air handlers into a single two-story air-handling unit over the course of one weekend. At the core of the green project is the total replacement of the air-handling and distribution systems, which now include a custom air-handling unit as well as a nine-story-high series of ducts. The custom-designed air-handling system, created by Quebec-based Racan-Carrier, will circulate 235,000 cubic feet of air per minute, making it comparable to the combined HVAC systems of 200 large homes, yet be completely hidden from view.

“This is an innovative solution that preserves the building’s beauty and integrity while turning it green - just on the inside of course.”
- Jose Ronchetta, commercial engineer at TEC

Publication date: 07/13/2009