Pierce College Cascade Building Renovation
BCE provided mechanical and electrical engineering design services and construction administration for the $33M phased renovation of this five-story 245,000 square foot building at Pierce College. The project was phased to allow the facility to remain operational with minimal disruptions to staff and students. The renovation included interior and exterior upgrades and 4,500 square feet of new construction to include the library, administration offices, IT department, facilities department, student services, and theater.
The mechanical design began with an assessment and master plan for upgrading the HVAC system from a mixture of water source heat pumps and constant volume hydronic reheat coils to Variable Air Volume (VAV). Following the report, the first project involved replacement of an existing inefficient 300 horsepower central supply fan with a central fan array comprised of 25 direct drive plenum fans with Variable Frequency Drives (VFD), reducing the overall horsepower to 187. The existing ductwork and hydronic piping within the building are located within structural column shafts throughout the building with each column serving multiple floors. The column utilities were utilized as the primary air, return air, and hydronic water distribution for the new VAV system in the tenant improvement areas. This design made it possible to maintain operation of the building's mechanical systems throughout all phases of the renovation. In each phase the mechanical utilities within each of the column shafts were renovated with new piping and duct sealer.
The electrical design consists of replacement of electrical distribution panels, branch circuits, lighting, low voltage lighting control system, and data communications within each renovated phase. Lights within the office areas are direct/indirect air-craft cable hung linear style lights. The linear lights within 15 feet of a window are dimmable and controlled by a photocell integrated into the light fixture. The low voltage lighting control system is programmable and designed to be able to expand and incorporate the lighting changes at each phase of the renovation. The library area has poke-thru floor boxes to allow for flexibility. The floor boxes were tied together with conduit to allow for less impact on the floor below during the renovation of the space.