Overview
The new Philip Simmons High School is a 221,000 SF facility housing an initial 950 students with the core space, and an expansion capacity for 1500 students in grades 9-12. This state-of-the-art facility will feature a 1,000-seat theater, a full-size gymnasium with an auxiliary gym, a STEM facility, a health science academy, outdoor learning centers, and a business and hospitality academy.
The new campus also includes football, soccer, baseball, softball and tennis facilities.
Engineering Highlights
- The HVAC system is comprised of Decoupled Outdoor Air System (DOAS) utilizing highly efficient, packaged reverse cycle water source heat pump units, interconnected by way of a water loop
- Modeling analysis helped reduce first cost and maintenance cost by expanding the lower limit of the loop operating temperatures, and helped provide efficient equipment selection
- DOAS units utilize a total energy heat recovery system (enthalpy and sensible plate heat exchangers) to capture waste heat associated with the exhaust air, and are configured to provide dehumidified, variable temperature ventilation air ducted directly to individual spaces
- Dedicated floor mounted indoor heat pumps, for classroom spaces requiring individual temperature control, were located in a mechanical mezzanine so that service and maintenance could be performed without entering the learning space
- Two boilers and closed circuit cooling towers were each sized each for 50% of the building load, and are used to maintain a constant temperature in the water loop during high heating and cooling demand months
- RMF’s electrical scope of work for the project includes the provision of all electrical systems including power, lighting, fire alarm and special systems
- The building will be fully sprinkled by an automatic wet sprinkler system in accordance with NFPA 13
