Originally constructed in 1917, the McKinley Building, located on American University’s Tenleytown Campus underwent a complete renovation and addition. The new home of the School of Communications (SOC) consists of four floors and about 62,000 ft² of office, educational, and mixed-use spaces. Achieving LEED NC certification at the Silver level provides the SOC a modern, occupant-friendly space.
Baumann Consulting provided full commissioning services for all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for the project. The commissioned systems included HVAC, main power, emergency power, fire alarm, communications, life safety, and building automation systems.
Baumann’s commissioning process contributed toward satisfying EA Prerequisite 1, Fundamental Cx, and EA Credit 3, Enhanced Cx, under LEED.
The main achievements included:
- Facilitated modification of AHU controls to optimize outside air ventilation rates resulting in reduced cooling energy use
- Identified control and ventilation issues and coordinated the correction of these to improve indoor air quality in multiple spaces
- Oversaw efforts to optimize equipment performance increasing energy efficiency
- Identified missing ductwork and coordinated the recalibration ensuring proper ventilation of all areas
