Final Thesis Report:
 
Executive Summary

The Suburban Wellness Community Center is a two story 58,200 square foot building which contains a variety of spaces. On the first level is a fitness center and on the second level are conference rooms, offices and private practicing doctor’s offices. In the northwest corner of the first floor is the swimming pool area which consists of a large four lane lap pool, a therapy pool, public spa as well as a sauna and steam room. South of this room is the basketball court and racquetball courts which are two stories in height. In the center of the building are the men’s and women’s lockers rooms and a two story tall atrium with cardiovascular machines and the registration desk. The east side of the first floor holds the free weight rooms in the north and studio spaces for group exercise classes in the south. On the second story in the center of the north part of the building are restrooms and conference rooms. The southeast corner of the second story includes an imaging office which can perform X-Rays, MRIs and ultrasounds. The rest of the space on the second floor has yet to be leased out.

The focus of this report is to analyze sustainable design practices that could be used to save energy and provide superior indoor air quality to the patrons. Then the impacts these changes have on other disciplines will be discussed followed by a cost analysis of the proposed design.

The results suggest that a GreenGrid green roofing system may be applied to the roof of the Suburban Wellness Center. The green roof provides a significant drop in stormwater runoff reduces the mechanical loads on the building and cuts down on heat island effect. The addition of the GreenGrid green roofing system trays would not require a roof structural system redesign.

Indoor air quality is a very important issue in fitness centers and several measures were taken to improve the IAQ of the Suburban Wellness Center. 30% more ventilation, zero VOC paints and coatings, and a full system flush-out all contributed to provide the cleanest air possible. The changes to the indoor air quality consumed a lot of energy; however if the air that is being conditioned is not clean then there is no use conditioning it.

When comparing the existing and proposed system to a baseline building specified by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 Appendix G, both systems failed to conserve any energy. The 30% increase in ventilation and inefficient rooftop units proved to have difficulty when being compared against a system with an electric heat pump. With the points earned in this report and a few more points gained in other categories of the LEED Checklist, a building that was once just suppose to be rented out as offices could become a building that helps the environment.

 

 

Updated May 2, 2008

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Note: While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information on the pages of CPEP, please be aware that the information contained herewith is considered a work- in- progress for this thesis project. Modifications and changes related to the original building designs and construction methodologies for this senior thesis project are solely the interpretation of Cory Abramowicz. Changes and discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed. Differing assumptions, code references, requirements, and methodologies have been incorporated into this thesis project; therefore, investigation results may vary from the original design.

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