Located in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood, Grant Beacon Middle School defines their cornerstones of student achievement as blended learning, extended learning opportunities, character development, and critical thinking. Part of Denver Public Schools’ 2018 improvement goals, 360 Engineering was selected to lead upgrade projects at the school. These upgrades included a replacement of all existing classroom unit ventilators with new unit ventilators, in addition to the replacement of all pneumatic controls throughout the building—including pneumatic steam valves, sensors, and actuators—with a new building automation system. The new unit ventilators include both a steam coil and a chilled water coil for future cooling capacity.
During design, the size of the new unit ventilators presented a challenge; they were larger than the existing units. Additionally, during initial field observations, 360 Engineering determined the existing unit ventilators were installed in front of a full-size cavity in the exterior wall, rather than ducted directly to the outdoor air intake louvers. Our team worked with Anderson Hallas Architects and directly with the unit ventilator manufacturer to find a solution for installing the new unit ventilators with minimal impact to the surrounding casework, as well as sealing the exterior wall cavity while still providing outdoor air to the new unit ventilator.
