HVAC System Donated for Memorial

Challenge:

As a result of the tragic April 16, 2007 shooting incident at Virginia Tech University, 32 students and faculty lost their lives in the deadliest peacetime shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history. In one Norris Hall classroom, a celebrated civil and environmental engineering professor, G.V. Loganathan, and eight of his students fell victim to the gunman.

The outpouring of support from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) alumni, friends and family was tremendous. An idea was born to create a memorial space on the second floor of Patton Hall – home to the department of civil engineering – as a tribute to these fallen students and their teacher. Following the donation of Loganathan’s distinguished library to the University, a CEE committee decided to create a commemorative space as a home for his collection of technical publications, reports and journals.

Second floor graduate office space in Patton Hall had been occupied regularly by those killed on April 16 and was in much need of renovation. Lynn Eichhorn, University Planning Design and Construction (UPDC) executive director wanted to support this project with design services, but there was limited funding for the renovation. Additional contributions of products, materials and services became necessary. Built in 1929, Patton Hall had never had a contemporary cooling system. For this memorial space, an advanced HVAC system became a renovation priority.

Solution:

With a host of HVAC systems already on campus, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions, Suwanee, Ga., volunteered to donate equipment, technology and expertise. The memorial project was placed under the leadership of Shane Larkin, project manager, renovation projects for university planning design and construction. “Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning technology was an ideal match for this memorial renovation,” Larkin said. “One of my professors in the Virginia Tech School of Architecture told us about the genius of VRF zoning systems. He often wondered why this advanced technology took more than 20 years to come to America following rave reviews in Europe and Asia.”

Larkin described the poor state of the Patton Hall space that was to be renovated. “Large, ugly ductwork was everywhere, and there was an air handler in the corridor that was extremely noisy,” he said. “Because of Mitsubishi Electric VRF systems, we were able to raise the ceiling and restore historic transoms. The entire installation was simplified as it is the only two-pipe simultaneous cooling and heating system available in the U.S. We simply placed the outdoor unit in an out-of-site rooftop location and ran the pipes and wiring down through an existing chase.”

Working closely with Tim Sheppard, a university mechanical designer, Bill Warner, Aireco Supply, Inc., Roanoke, Va., turned the memorial space into a learning center for architectural and engineering students. “Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning systems are the future of HVAC,” Warner said. “Gone are the days of central power plants (boilers and chillers). They are last-century technology and a colossal waste of energy. We designed the space to feature a full range of Mitsubishi Electric ducted and ductless units.” Varney, Inc., Roanoke Va., donated the HVAC installation service and also assisted with the design. Larkin concluded by saying, “We couldn’t be more pleased.”