Building Statistics

General Building Data

Building Name: Hotel Felix
Location and Site: Chicago, Illinois
Building Occupant Name: Daccord Group
Occupancy or Function Types: Single Room Occupancy Hotel
Size: 85,700 SF
Number of stories above grade / total levels: 14
Overall Project Costs: $28 Million Dollars
Date of Renovation: Sep. 2007 - March 2009
Project Team

Owner: The Oxford Capital Group
Architect: Cubellis Inc.
General Contractor: Pepper Construction
Lighting Design: Schuler Shook
MEP: WMA Consulting Engineers, Ltd.
Structural Engineers: TGRWA

Architecture

Hotel Felix is a historical building that was recently renovated in 2009 to become the first LEED Silver certified hotel in Chicago. Hotel Felix was able to preserve its architecturally unique and historic 1920’s façade and was outfitted with sustainable eco-friendly materials for its interior such as bamboo, recycled carpet, and non-VOC paint and wallpaper. There are 225 Guest rooms in total with Full service spas, business centers, meeting rooms, conference rooms, and upscale restaurants to deliver an enriching experience not only for its guests, but also for the environment.

Major Codes

City of Chicago Building Code
Municipal Code of Chicago
LEED 2.2

Zoning

Downtown Mixed / Business

Building Enclosure

There is a portion of the building that will not change that is originally a 9.5” masonry wall is used for the exterior of the building. It is non-load bearing and is classified as A-2 according to the specifications.

The newly renovated section of Hotel Felix will have a 4” thick nominal face brick exterior wall with a 1-1/2” thick air space, 3-5/8” structural metal studs at 16 inches off center, 3-1/2 batt insulation with vapor barrier, and a 5/89” thick gypsum board to finish off the interior wall.

Roof Construction

The roof consists of a 2.61 degree sloped concrete slab. The concrete slab is finished with an asphalt/concrete primer with two layers of insulation boards.

Sustainability Features

There are many sustainability features for Felix Hotel. Te main feature is that Felix Hotel is the first hotel in Chicago to be LEED Silver certified. In order to achieve LEED silver certification, the hotel uses recyclable and eco-friendly materials and products throughout the hotel. An example is the decorative wall for the lobby area is made of recycled material while the flooring is made of bamboo. Low energy-use lighting such as compact fluorescent and LED is used throughout the building. There is a room designed specifically to be used as a recycling room to sort recyables.
In the hotel rooms, the carpets are made of recycled materials with a linen reuse program. The same low-energy lighting is used the room along with a water waste reduction valve. Motion sensored HVAC systems in each individual rooms allows for efficient heating and cooling according to occupation.

Mechanical

There is a self contained air conditioning unit located at the basement with VAV terminal units to serve the basement, ground, and mezzanine level of the hotel. The self contained air conditioning unit is rated at 8,000 CFM with a 22 ton cooling load. The chilled air is then distributed to the VAV boxes and then heated using a reheat coil. A roof top unit rated at 7,500 CFM and 36 ton serves the corridors of levels 2-12 at a constant volume. Also, in the recent renovation in 2009, water source heat pumps were designed to provide cooling and heating to each individual guest room in the twelve story building. Hot water for the heat pumps are provided by (2) boilers located on the roof and the heat is rejected through a air source cooling tower located on the roof.

Electrical

The hotel has four service feeders that provide power to the hotel. One service feeder provides power to a 4000A, 208/120V switch board. The second feeder provides power for elevator emergency at 400A. The third feeder provides power to the restaurant service at 400A. The third feeder provides power to the Verizon service for 200A. The emergency power generator for the building is sized for 33kVA to provide power to the building in case of an emergency.

Lighting

Many different light fixtures are used in Felix hotel. The hotel lobby is furnished with recessed ceiling halogen lights with adjustable down light. The same kind of light is used in the conference room space in the first floor and mezzanine level to provide a modern look to the building. These halogen lights are very effective in highlighting the architectural features in the lobby of the hotel. Low voltage halogen lights are also installed in the hotel room.

Structural

A 5” slab-on-grade foundation was poured over the existing sub-base for the renovation. The main structural columns were preserved from the old building. The old columns are reinforced concrete columns that are spaced approximately in 19’-2” x 17’-6” bays. The roof is supported with steel joists and the façade is composed of non-loading bearing masonry.

Fire Protection

The entire building utilizes a automated sprinkler system that is connected to a fire command center that is located in the basement. The fire command center also is equipped with a fire alarm control panel, fire alarm annunciator panel, fan status panel, door status panel, and elevator status panel. A centrifugal fire pump is used for the main pump for the sprinkler system. The overhead pipe is in accordance for pressures up to 300 psi in sizes 2.5” to 5”.

Transportation

There are two main elevators installed at the center of the building for guests to traverse between the basement up to the penthouse. There are also two main stairways that connects the basement to the penthouse on either side of the building to meet the code requirements for emergency exits. These stairs are connected directly to two exit doors to the outside of the building on the first floor to meet fire safety measures. In total, there are 4 main exit doors that lead to the outside streets on the first floor.