The Plainfield, Ill.-based 52,000-square-foot facility had the watchful eyes of a large donor, plus the high profile status as the first YMCA internationally to be a collaborative effort between a school board, a hospital, a city, and a park district. Therefore the innovative HVAC design helped provide more value for the $10.1 million recreation center, not to mention reducing future operating costs.
Syed Ahmad, P.E., project engineer with R.L. Millies & Assoc., Munster, Ind., and Stephen Doonan, vice president, DeKalb Mechanical, DeKalb, Ill., used heat recovery options, air distribution designs that afforded smaller and more efficient blower motors, fabric versus labor intensive metal ductwork, plus a number of other HVAC value engineering solutions that saved the facility tens of thousands in construction costs.