Building Restoration Features Thermal Energy Storage System
There have been changes to the office building over the years, notably the addition of air conditioning in 1985. The Northridge earthquake caused significant damage, occupancy declined and new owners -Century Life of America - took possession of the property. They decided to restore the building to its original high level of design, to match the restoration enjoyed by the El Capitan Theatre, and to become a part of the general redevelopment of Hollywood Boulevard. Century Life retained Fields and Deveraux AIA, the architects for the El Capitan Theatre renovation, to provide design services for the El Capitan Office Building restoration.
The air conditioning equipment installation had consisted of six air-cooled units located on the roff of the 54,150 square foot building. Each unit was provided with kWh meters to allow for apportioning energy consumption to tenants for off hours' usage. Engineers from Rosenberg & Associates conducted a thorough examination, and determined that the casings, fans and coils were in good condition, but that the age of the units made the compressors and refrigeration components questionable. In addition, the units were much less efficient than the current generation of equipment. ReAew of the building loads also indicated that heating and cooling capacities were marginal and that increased capacities would be required if the building was to be able to accommodate high tech tenants with large internal loads. Century Life's eventual goal was the remarketing of the building as a Class A property, and that meant a new, more efficient system, one that could also allow for increased cooling capacities in the future.