WASA team made headway (with no headroom) at hospital.WASA WASA Water And Sewer Authority WASA Water and Sewer Authority (Washington DC) WASA Washington Association of School Administrators WASA Welsh Amateur Swimming Association WASA Wisconsin Agri-Service Association (Wank Adams Slavin Associates LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol ) had been working at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center is a health care system located in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Its focus is on preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles in the community of North Brooklyn through its fifteen centers. on various infrastructure system upgrades for the last ten years. It became obvious that the 30-year old air handling units (AHUs) were breaking down and requiring repair and/or replacement at great cost to the hospital. Because of a proven track record on major hospital projects and their complete integrated in-house architectural and engineering design services, they were selected to design the replacement of the air systems throughout the hospital. WASA's charge was to provide systems that would have an extended life beyond 30 years. This necessitated anti-microbial materials, duplication of components within each AHU A´hu n. 1. (Zool.) The Asiatic gazelle. to enable standby operation, and the ability to allow for future flexibility when changes in medical functions would be required. The challenges WASA faced included the location of the Mechanical Equipment Rooms in interstitial spaces between occupied floors. The interstitial spaces were originally designed to provide access space for all infrastructure services and to accommodate changes in future technology. The interstitial spaces, bounded by fire rated walls and ceilings, required exacting details. Headroom is limited and there was barely space for the average person to stand erect. Team work was required to plan the work. Careful surveying and photographic documentation in conjunction with current CAD drawing technology allowed effective planning and coordination, resulting in successful completion of the work without disruption to the ongoing activities of the hospital. Space constraints would only allow for the components of the units to enter through a 50" x 50" opening in the machine room floor. Temporary ventilation systems were also provided for protection of personnel working in the interstitial spaces. Careful consideration had to be given to designing units to meet all updated safety, indoor air quality Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) deals with the content of interior air that could affect health and comfort of building occupants. The IAQ may be compromised by microbial contaminants (mold, bacteria), chemicals (such as carbon monoxide, radon), allergens, or any mass or energy stressor , Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI ARI Acute respiratory infection, see there ), and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers ) standards; specifying custom built units with wall and roof made up of individually removable panels of thermal break gasket construction to enable removal of components should the need arise and to prevent sweating and corrosion since all units were designed for 100% outside air capabilities. Special provisions were made for removal of construction debris. The project exceeded the expectations of WASA and the owner. The units were manufactured by Climate Craft. The contractor was AWL Industries. Funding and supervision for the project was provided by Dormitory Authority State of New York for the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Health & Hospitals Corporation. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion