LAYSON, PATRICIA BUILDING UTILITIES II

ARC-3103

MECHANICAL WORKS

Any building service using machines.They include plumbing,elevators,esc-

alator, and heating and air-conditioning system.The introduction of mech-
anization in buildings in the early 20th century brought about major adju-
stments; the new equipment demanded floor space,and the design team be-
gan to include electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air-conditio-
ning) engineers. Heating and cooling changed dramatically. Modern buildi-
ngs,with their large heat gains,turned central heating into little more th-
an a supplement. Heat removal is a much more serious burden, especially in
warm weather.The roofs of high-rises are occupied by cooling towers and
mechanical penthouses;entire floors are often dedicated to the contain-
ment of blowers, compressor, water chiller, boiler,pump,and generators.

Building mechanical system exist to provide an environment that protect

the building structure, creates safe and healthy surroundings for the o-
ccupants, and allows equipment that is housed within the facility to oper-
ate properly.

A key to proper application of heating,ventilating, and air conditioning or

HVAC system is an understanding of the need that the system are designed
to address. These needs include, for example, building material response
to high humidity or freezing condition,human thermal comfort,and the imp-
act of environmental conditions on teaching or research equipmenSt.It is
also a requirement that the systems be socially responsible through pro-
per application of energy conservation and pollution limitation strategy.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

mechanical systems should be designed to accommodate the facility’s NE-

EDS. However, a number of issues surrounding the mechanical design sho-
uld be balanced with the program’s needs.These issues include things as :
functionality, cost, aesthetics, and energy consumption.
BUILDING FUNCTIONS

The mechanical system should “fit” the building’s functional use patterns
or architectural program, as it is often referred to during the architect-
ural design phase of the building. Systems, or parts thereof,should oper-
ate only as needed.When a space is unoccupied,the system should maintain
the optimal conditions required to protect the equipment or materials lo-
cated therein & permit optimum energy expenditure in returning the space
to occupancy conditions.

The decisions about HVAC system selections are dependent on some of the
initial decisions made by the architect.Thus, it is important that the engine-
ering team be on board and have some input during the schematic design
phase. It is during this phase that space relationships are worked out and
decisions are made about relative locations of functions.Engineering co-
unseling during this part of the design process will more likely result in
a facility that can be designed with an energy - efficient, functional HVAC
system.

BUILDING FUNCTIONS

Unfortunately,budget restriction often dictate the selection and design

of mechanical system. Those decisions often are short-term and primarily
cost-oriented, to the detriment of future operational and maintenance c-
osts.Early budget planning must incorporate planning for appropriate m-
echanical systems; therefore, an understanding of the numerous options
that may be available and appropriate is vital.

Budget planning should never compromise the design of critical medical,

research,or similar facilities for which appropriate environmental contr-
ol is essential.

SYSTEM ZONING

Zoning of building mechanical systems can be defined as providing for A s-

pecific areas or zones that will have individual control of space environ-
ment. This control can be accomplished by having a separate system for e-
ach zone,or a large system capable of providing specific areas with separ-
ate control. A building can have several separate systems that are able t-
o provide additional zoning to specific areas within the gross area served
by each separate system. This is probably the most common arrangement.
Basic minimum zoning is mandatory, but excessive zoning is costly to build
and can add unnecessary maintenance expense. Here again, a balance must
be achieved.

ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

A mechanical system must suit the building functionally. There must be am-
ple space for installation of ducts, pipes,and terminal units,in addition to
the other systems involving ceiling space and shafts. There must be space
for future modifications that are certain to occur, and for maintenance
access to equipment and controls. Mechanical systems operate for many
years, and components will fail and must be replaced. This can include fan
shafts, chillers, or heat exchanger tubes. It is not unusual to find that a
new chiller cannot be installed in the space occupied by the old chiller b-
ecause of inadequate access for removal and replacement.Some architec
tural designs may include vertical canyons or interstitial spaces between
floors (horizontal canyons) to accommodate some of these needs.Mecha-
nical space can sometimes be reduced in large systems if the air - handling
unit is field built instead of factory built. This is because factory-built eq-
uipment is generally short and wide, owing to manufacturing economics a-
nd transportation issues.
AESTHETICS

Mechanical systems have an impact on the architecture of the building.Pl-

acement of air intake and exhaust grilles, fume hood exhaust stacks, and
mechanical room access will all affect a facility. Functional layout will
play a role by placing mechanical systems in certain places and relations-
hips with facility spaces. Specialty systems such as boilers,chillers, refri-
geration systems, cooling towers, greenhouses, and incinerators will ha-
ve an impact. Surface materials should be reviewed for durability base on
possible exhaust streams that may result from the operation of the mech-
anical systems.

To minimize the effect of mechanical system on the aesthetics of the build-

ing,it will be important to identify requirements in the early stages of desi-
gn.Choice of mechanical systems and the layout of the systems can minimi-
ze the impact on aesthetics if integrated into the design.

REFERENCE:
https://www.appa.org/bok/building-mechanical-systems/#banner-bok
https://www.britannica.com/technology/mechanical-system