Overview
Timberland High School is a 178,282 SF facility, in rural northern Berkeley County, built in 1994 to consolidate Cainhoy, Macedonia and St. Stephen High Schools. The school contains classrooms, a library, laboratories, an auditorium, a gymnasium, locker rooms, and a full commercial kitchen and cafeteria.
The building was experiencing cooling and heating problems throughout requiring a complete replacement of the existing HVAC system. Prior to design, RMF was tasked with evaluating district preferred options for mechanical systems to determine the most energy efficient HVAC system. It was determined after evaluating each option, that a combination of split system and water source heat pumps be utilized to maximize energy efficiency while maintaining the project budget and schedule.
Engineering Highlights
- Performed a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to determine the most energy efficient system for the school, which was then used to create district-wide mechanical system design standards
- Reconfigured the HVAC system to create a mechanical mezzanine for ease of accessibility for future maintenance
- Due to the need to keep portions of the building operational throughout the duration of the project, careful phasing of construction was critical, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) was used so the contractor would be involved throughout the design
