ATLANTA — Syska Hennessy Group Inc. announced that it provided the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP); architectural lighting design; and low voltage infrastructure design for the new College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience. Located in Atlanta, the new Hall of Fame is devoted to celebrating the history and excitement of college football. The facility opened on Aug. 23, 2014.

Syska Hennessy collaborated with a number of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms in the design and construction of this landmark project. Syska also worked hand in hand with specialty exhibit and exhibition lighting designers, food service consultants, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) coordinators to achieve an energy and water efficient design and LEED BD+C Silver certification.

For a facility of this type several challenges need to be addressed when designing and installing an HVAC system: it must deliver an appropriate and consistent indoor environment for the users and the exhibits that provides comfort; excellent indoor air quality; is acoustically sensitive to the exhibits; and aesthetically blends in with the architecture — all in an energy efficient manner.

Syska designed a laminar flow air delivery system to achieve an acoustically sensitive environment that still provides the tightly controlled temperature and humidity ranges consistent with a museum environment that the Hall of Fame climate-controlled enclosures require for its artifacts. This contrasts with the “free-flowing” air distribution design in the open and interactive gallery that is more accepting of wider temperature and humidity swings and allows for stratification in the tall bay spaces.

Finally, the rooftop HVAC equipment are water-wise and use air-side cooling, yet are designed to be 11 percent more energy efficient than a code-minimum water-based system.

The Syska team also collaborated with exhibit designers to develop the critical electrical, lighting, IT, and security infrastructure to support the interactive and media intensive nature of the Hall of Fame exhibits while allowing for maximum flexibility and future adaptability. Syska created a special grid design for the electrical and lighting systems that allows for the flexible location of exhibits and displays while facilitating full connectivity in a wide variety of spaces and arrangements.

The new College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience provides visitors with a highly engaging experience using a blend of historic college football artifacts and state-of-the-art, interactive multimedia exhibits. The three-story 94,256-square-foot facility is located in the heart of Atlanta near the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, and is comprised of approximately 50,000 square feet of exhibit and event space, interactive displays, and a 45-yard indoor football field.

“We are honored to have been part of the world-class team that facilitated the design of this state-of-the-art attraction,” said Suzan Talley, LEED AP, PMP, an associate with Syska Hennessy Group. “Our professionals were able to offer their unique infrastructure skills and technical expertise to help make this project a success.”

For more information, visit www.syska.com.

Publication date: 9/8/2014

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