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Cool Learning: A digital research library at Loyola University Chicago features an innovative heating and cooling systemAuthor: Marcy Marro Date: Jan 1 2009 12:00AM URL: www.usalum.com URL: www.eckelt.at URL: www.enclos.com URL: www.trainorglass.com URL: www.warema.com URL: www.lutron.com URL: www.davidarchitecturalmetals.com URL: www.viracon.com  Loyola University Chicago’s new Richard J. Karchek Information Commons is an architectural bridge that links the university’s traditional past to a visionary future. The 70,000-square-foot (6,503-m2) LEED Silver facility was completed in December 2007 and opened officially to students in January 2008. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, the digital research library is situated directly between the existing Madonna Maria Della Strata Chapel and the Cudahy Library. The building, a joint project of the University Libraries and the Information Technology Services, links to Cudahy Library by café and is part of the planned Lake Shore Campus quadrangle.“Building the Information Commons is Loyola’s answer to a national trend that calls for a one-stop research experience combining information needs such as library research, computer support and access to electronic resources,” said Robert Seal, dean of libraries at Loyola. The four-story glass box with 150-foot- (46-m-) long glazed façades is set between a pair of limestone precast concrete-clad bookends. The state-of-the-art, wireless library houses 222 computer workstations, six classrooms, 30 group-study rooms, and a help desk to answer students’ research and technology questions. “Loyola was looking for a modern addition to their library, a digital research building with some classrooms,” said Devon Patterson, AIA, principal with architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Chicago. “We developed a concept that would create transparent views of the lake onto the campus. With a digital library there is no longer a need for the storage of books, so we could keep the desk height low, along with the computer stations, to provide views of the lake. We optimized the views and transparency of the glass walls to keep the views of the lake.” “Loyola also wanted to integrate a modern building type to fi t in with the classical building on the campus,” Patterson continued. “The two buildings on the north and south have limestone bookends that were carried through in the new building.”  What It IsThe Information Commons has a totally integrated design featuring a number of natural and mechanical building systems and strategies. SCB, together with Transsolar, Stuttgart, Germany, and Elara Engineering, Hillside, Ill., developed a system that relies on various levels of natural ventilation combined with conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Enclos Corp., Eagan, Minn., installed nearly 23,000 square feet (2,137 m2) of glass façades for the Information Commons. The west wall is a 10,000-square-foot (929-m2) custom dual-skin façade with a flat cable net exterior wall with monolithic low-iron glass and an inner VS-1 wall system using insulated glass. The two skins are separated by a 3-foot (1-m) thermally controlled cavity that functions as part of the thermal and ventilation system for the building. The entire east wall of the building, between the bookends, is comprised of the VS-1 system provided by Innovation Glass Inc., Red Hook, N.Y. The unique system point supports the glass without any requirement for drilling while also holding the glass away from the supporting structure, maximizing the appearance of transparency by dematerializing the glass plane. Approximately 13,000 square feet (1,208 m2) of VS-1 is utilized on the east wall and elsewhere in the commons. Certain parts of the VS-1 wall incorporate operable, self-actuating vents that act as part of the environment control system. The VS-1system includes Viracon 1 1/4-inch (32-mm) VE 15-2M glass from Viracon, Owatonna, Minn., installed by Trainor Glass Co., Alsip, Ill., along with custom curtainwall extrusions to support integrated blind glass from Steyr, Austria-based Saint-Gobain/Eckelt Glas. The bookend framing at the north and south elevations consist of Waxahachie, Texas-based United States Aluminum’s 4500 Series Curtainwall System and Series 7500 minimal siteline operable windows. Hill Mechanical Group, Franklin Park, Ill., installed 10 variable air volume and one constant air volume custom air-handling units that incorporate separate chilled and hot water coils. The 10 air handlers are ducted to 42 VAV boxes connected to the overhead and underfloor supply diffusers. Approximately 15 miles (24 km) of 5/8-inch (16- mm) PEX tubing in barrel-vaulted precast ceiling panels serve as a dual temperature radiant heating or cooling element. Perimeter heating is achieved through 1,200 feet (366 m) of underfloor fin tube, while chilled and hot water is piped underground from the campus’s central plant. The double-skin curtainwall on the west and single-skin curtainwall on the east work together to heat and cool the building with an integrated system of radiant slabs, underfloor air and automated operable windows.  How It WorksThe building operates in four basic modes based on the season and weather conditions. The building automation system, or BAS, coordinates the windows, underfloor air distribution and radiant ceilings, in addition to tracking a number of indoor and outdoor conditions with sensors located throughout the commons and a weather station on the roof. Two of the most closely tracked conditions are temperature and humidity. “All modes are controlled by the BAS that makes decisions on how best to employ the mechanical systems and the façade,” Patterson said. “By doing that, we are able to achieve 52 percent energy reduction below the ASHRA 90.1.1998 standards.” For moderately cool days when the outdoor temperature is between 50 and 68 F (10 to 20 C), the library is cooled using 100 percent outdoor air. The BAS automatically opens rows of small operable windows located along the top of each floor on the east and west façades, allowing cool air off the lake to enter the building through the east-facing windows and travel along the precast concrete ceilings, effectively cooling the space below. Warm air from the interior is naturally pulled out through the double-skin façade on the west and exhausted out the automated glass dampers at the top of the glass cavity system. The second mode is used on warmer days when the temperature reaches between 68 and 75 F (20 to 24 C). On those days, the building’s radiant ceiling system provides supplemental cooling in conjunction with the outdoor air. The ceiling tile’s PEX tubes slowly circulate unconditioned 60 to 68 F (16 to 20 C) water from the university’s nearby chilled water plant. Once cooled, the ceilings hold the cold thermal energy, slowly releasing it over time. This hybrid mode results in cooling cost savings because the radiant ceiling system uses just one-twentieth the energy of a traditional forced air mechanical system.  During Chicago’s hot and humid summers, the third mode takes effect. When the temperatures swing from 75 to 95 F (24 to 35 C), the building operates in full cooling mode. The east-facing operable windows are closed, while the west windows remain open to exhaust the warm air through the double-skin façade. The radiant vaulted ceiling system is the primary cooling source for the central space. But it works with the underfloor air distribution with displacement ventilation, for dehumidification, to cool the interior from above and below. Throughout the remainder of the year, when temperatures range from subzero to 50 F (10 C), the natural ventilation system is shut down and the heating mode is utilized. Hot water from the building’s boiler system is pumped through the radiant ceiling system and, once heated, gradually released to warm the library. With the windows closed, underfloor air provides ventilation air and heat recovery is used to minimize heat loss from cold outside air. The BAS also controls the blinds within the cavity of the west-facing façade from Warema International, Marktheidenfeld, Germany, raising and lowering them, in addition to adjusting the angle of the individual louvers to control heat gain and glare. On the interior of the east façade, the BAS operates a perforated roller shade from Lutron Electronics Co. Inc., Coopersburg, Pa., that block 92 percent of visible light when extended but still allows views of the lake. The shade also helps the single-skin curtainwall act like a virtual double façade, trapping unwanted heat produced by the morning sun. “Hydronic heating and cooling—using water to regulate a structure’s inside temperature— offers outstanding energy efficiency,” said Dan Bulley, LEED AP, executive director of the Mechanical Contractors Association’s Green Construction Institute, Chicago. “The radiant heating and cooling system used by the Information Commons uses much less energy than a traditional forced-air mechanical system.” Green Features The Information Commons features materials with a high percentage of recycled content and that emit low levels of VOCs, water conservation plumbing fixtures and a high-efficiency irrigation system. A green roof, visible from the fourth floor meeting room, helps minimize stormwater runoff into Lake Michigan. Sensors monitor lights and only turn on the energy-efficient fluorescent lights when needed. Additionally, carpet tiles are made from recycled content and formaldehyde free products, while coatings on the glass, shades and blinds help mitigate heat gain. “Loyola’s Information Commons raises the bar for green building projects, not only in the Chicagoland area, but across the nation,” said Stephen Lamb, executive vice president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago.  Richard J. Karchek Information Commons at Loyola University ChicagoArchitect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Chicago General contractor: Pepper Construction, Chicago Climate engineer: Transsolar Climate Engineering, Stuttgart, Germany Structural engineer: Halvorson and Partners, Chicago MEP engineer: Elara Engineering, Hillside, Ill. Access flooring: Camino Modular Systems, Toronto Decorative & miscellaneous metals: David Architectural Metals, Chicago Lighting controls & shades: Lutron Electronics Co. Inc., Coopersburg, Pa. Blinds: Warema International, Marktheidenfeld, Germany Curtainwall/window installer: Trainor Glass Co., Alsip, Ill. Cable supported curtainwall installer: Enclos Corp., Eagan, Minn. Curtainwalls/windows: Innovation Glass LLC, Red Hook, N.Y., (845) 758-2078 Saint-Gobain/Eckelt Glas, Steyr, Austria United States Aluminum, Waxahachie, Texas Glazing: Viracon, Owatonna, Minn. | ||||||||||
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