Located in Lakewood, Colorado, Vision Transformation is an optometry office offering eye exams, visual therapy, and other specialty treatments and testing.
For a new 3,000 square-foot healthcare office, 360 Engineering worked with architect Joy Ramsey Spatz to transform the space into a comfortable and professional environment for staff and patients.
The mechanical systems were designed to accommodate architectural features, including exposed spiral ductwork and unique wood accents, with a furnace and split system cooling. The plumbing system was designed for restrooms and multiple sinks.
The Bank Lofts, located in the heart of downtown Denver, Colorado, is a historic 10-story building, built in 1921. Today, this mixed-use building consists of approximately 117 residential lofts, and 11,000 square-feet of retail space.
As the prime design consultant, 360 Engineering worked with mechanical contractor, American Mechanical Services, to fulfill the project intent of completely disconnecting the building from district steam and installing a new gas fired boiler plant in the building’s basement. The key mechanical design challenge was to route the boiler flue and combustion air out of the basement, up through the 1st floor and mezzanine level, and out of the building in the generator radiator area.
In addition, 360 Engineering and the architect coordinated with the City of Denver to determine requirements for a new fire rated room to house the boiler and accessories along with egress paths out of the boiler room through the historic basement. During construction, the domestic hot water and heating system had minimal downtime with little to no impact on the building tenants.
The Petroleum Building, built in 1956, is a 190,000-square-foot, 15-story building located in downtown Denver. This mid-century modernist facility, designed by Denver architect Charles Strong, was Denver’s tallest building at the time.
Hired by Rocky Mountain Trane, 360 Engineering provided prime consulting and mechanical engineering services for the replacement of two 200-ton chillers in the basement, two cooling towers on the roof, and chilled water pumps, with same-capacity equipment. All of this equipment was past its proper functioning lifespan.
360 Engineering worked with structural engineer, Martin/Martin, to determine a pathway for the basement chiller replacements. Additional mechanical and plumbing engineering scope included providing layout and coordination for the new equipment, verifying equipment sizing, and providing piping coordination, details, and drawings for the chilled water system equipment replacement.
The project that started it all, an occupied remodel for nationally recognized law firm Holland & Hart’s Denver office in 2003. For the firm’s first project, 360 Engineering worked on the Burkettdesign (now EUA) architect team.
360 Engineering’s Founder and President, Denise Dihle, PE, was tasked with designing the mechanical and plumbing systems for this 5-floor, 120,000 square-foot, occupied remodel.
The success of this project catapulted 360 Engineering into additional projects and set the tone for a bright future.
A long-time relationship with FirstBank Holding Company has included work on over sixty branch locations, from remodels to brand new multi-story building projects. For one of FirstBank’s existing multi-story branch locations in Lakewood, Colorado, 360 Engineering was hired as a prime consultant, design engineer, project manager, and owner representative to oversee a control system replacement project. The building’s outdated control system was replaced with a new system serving seven floors, each floor approximately 6,800-square-feet.
360 Engineering developed a schematic bid document outlining scope of control system replacement, typical controls schematics for each type of central plant equipment (Air Handling Units, multi-zone units, chillers & boilers), controls schematics for miscellaneous equipment (exhaust fans, CRAC units, VAV boxes), and specifications for DDC equipment and operation sequence. Based on the specifications, 360 Engineering bid to five companies then narrowed recommendations down to three controls contractors, which allowed for competitive bidding.
During the contractor selection process, 360 Engineering led the bid walk through and evaluated contractor cost proposals for scope and accuracy. Once a contractor was selected by the client, 360 Engineering directly managed the project, assuring construction remained on-time and to the client’s satisfaction. Upon installation of the new controls system, 360 Engineering performed commissioning, floor-by-floor, system-by-system.
The State of Colorado and 360 Engineering have a strong partnership, built throughout multiple mechanical engineering projects completed for the Colorado Capitol Complex buildings and other State buildings. The State hired 360 Engineering to provide HVAC Commissioning Services for Phase 2 and 3 of an HVAC Replacement at 1881 Pierce Street, in Lakewood, Colorado. The Phase 2 project scope involved replacement of two air handling units (22,200 & 24,475 CFM) with hot water and chilled water coils and the two associated return fans. The Phase 3 project scope included replacement of approximately 50 VAV boxes.
360 Engineering developed the detailed commissioning plan establishing individuals’ roles and responsibilities in the commissioning process, requisite documentation, meeting schedule, equipment readiness prerequisites, equipment start-up requirements, functional performance test procedures, acceptance criteria, and O&M training obligations. 360 Engineering reviewed design documents, equipment submittals, system verification checklists, test and balance procedures, and functional performance test results.
During commissioning, 360 Engineering discovered the like for like replacement of the air handling unit did not achieve the fan performance specified and further examination revealed an existing section of ductwork was short circuiting the return fan and needed to be corrected by the design engineer to achieve proper operation.
The new 13,000 square-foot South Adams County Water and Sanitation District Administration building was constructed on the site of the District’s existing facility. Construction was phased to allow administrative functions to remain operational until the transition to the new space. The new building, twice the size of the original, was designed to operate at a similar utility expense.
Mechanical design for the project consisted of utilizing a large concrete reservoir system as the heat sink for a heat pump system. The reservoir water is pumped into the building, through a heat exchanger, and then returned to the reservoir with an overall temperature rise of less than 2° F on design day conditions. A separate closed-loop system of condenser water is located within the building and is pumped through the heat exchanger and out to the heat pumps located throughout the building.
The overall building was also reviewed and studied with the architect to site the building with reduced window exposure in the summer, utilizing overhangs to shade the south and west windows, keeping a careful eye on the window to wall ratios, and evaluating the insulation used in the walls and roof for a highly energy-efficient building.
MHP is a private, non-profit corporation offering a growing list of comprehensive mental health services to clients throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties. To bring their 6,300-square-foot, 1950s-era metal building up to the task, this project entailed a complete remodel and tenant build-out. 360 Engineering designed new mechanical and plumbing systems including new rooftop units (RTUs) and plumbing. The resulting energy enhancements are 20% savings on energy costs annually.
For this mental health provider located in south metro Denver, 360 Engineering provided a thorough facility assessment of existing building conditions including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire alarm systems. The assessment included detailed site observations including visual observations of the existing cooling tower, condenser water pumps, water source heat pumps, and exhaust systems. The team documented conditions, then input all data – including any existing HVAC information — into AutoCAD drawings for the owner’s future use. All mechanical system findings were compiled into a single, comprehensive report of observations from the architect and electrical engineer, along with 360’s mechanical engineer.
Vista Eye Care in Thornton, Colorado, offers a full range of optometry and eye care services, including comprehensive eye exams, Lasik consultations, and other specialty eye health testing.
During their expansion, which added a new restroom, break room, and exam room sinks, 360 Engineering provided engineering services, including new mechanical and plumbing systems designed to accommodate the additional space.
