Community | 360 Engineering, Inc

Breckenridge Arts District – Development and Renovation

The Breckenridge Arts District combines historic charm with amenities such as dining, shopping, and art studios, galleries, and performance spaces. This community space brings arts and entertainment to locals and visitors of the former mining town. For the Arts District development, 360 Engineering provided mechanical and plumbing engineering services from design through construction administration. The project included a ceramic studio, the Robert Whyte House, Burro Barn, Randall Barn, and 1,000 square feet of flexible-use studio space.

The team first reviewed the area’s existing mechanical and plumbing systems and then engineered construction drawings for new replacement systems. Included in the project scope, was a feasibility study for the potential addition/renovation of the existing Breckenridge Theater building.

National Park Service – George Rogers Clark Memorial

Constructed in the 1930s to honor George Rogers Clark, this circular granite building consists of a 40-ft. high rotunda with a glass ceiling. The interior features seven historically significant murals, along with three of Clark’s quotations.

To address a failing mechanical system, 360 Engineering provided analysis and design for new mechanical systems. The granite walls posed a unique challenge, as they did not allow new chases for routing conduits, pipe, or ductwork. Several solutions were explored: replacement of the existing steam boilers and reuse of the existing steam lines; new high-efficiency heating water boilers and reuse of the existing steam lines as hydronic lines; converting the building to electrical power, and a new geothermal system.

With the design team’s input on the pros and cons of each option, the client decided on a new geothermal system, which entailed the creation of (18) 300-feet-deep boreholes, installed in an archaeologically clear area south of the memorial.

National Park Service – Natural Bridges National Monument

Utah’s Natural Bridges National Monument features three natural rock bridges formed by erosion caused by water flowing through the canyons. 360 Engineering designed a new mechanical system for the existing onsite pump house, supporting the replacement of common domestic and fire protection piping, and specifying equipment for the replacement of the booster pumps and fire pump.

National Park Service – Rocky Mountain Beaver Meadows Visitor Center

Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, constructed in 1967, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s firm, Taliesin Associated Architects, in the years following his death. Beaver Meadows is the Park’s main visitor center, as well as the primary administrative headquarters. The Park was looking to update the HVAC system to improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort and bring the building’s systems to meet current code requirements. The new system also needed to be simple to operate and maintain by Park staff members.

360 Engineering provided design analysis, offering the Park several mechanical upgrade options to meet their needs. Once the Park made a decision, 360 provided design development for the full mechanical renovation, including a 4-pipe fan coil system and refurbishment of the existing ventilation system, while maintaining Beaver Meadow’s unique architectural characteristics.

Breckenridge Grand Vacations Community Center – Rehabilitation

A National Historic Landmark, the 1909 Breckenridge Schoolhouse underwent a two-year comprehensive rehabilitation to become the Breckenridge Grand Vacations Community Center and Summit County South Branch Library. The 26,000-square-foot space features a new 160-seat feature film theater, a community conference space, a library with multipurpose meeting spaces, expanded reading areas, state-of-the-art technology, coffee shop, and other amenities.

Early in the design phase, 360 Engineering provided cost-saving mechanical engineering consulting to the Town of Breckenridge. Based on research and evaluation of local climate data, the team determined that a full mechanical cooling system was not required. A passive cooling system was the most suitable solution. This determination resulted in a positive impact on the Town’s budget and allowed them to maximize return for their investment in other areas of the building. 360 Engineering also designed a new facility-wide mechanical system to accommodate the building’s changed use, including the use of high efficiency condensing boilers.

National Park Service – Many Glacier Hotel

A historic 211-room hotel built in 1915, Many Glacier Hotel is the primary visitor service facility for the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana. For a renovation encompassing 65,100 square feet of the south half of the hotel, including approximately 80 guest rooms, the design team completed a rehabilitation following the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic properties. Construction was multi-phased to accommodate the freezing weather typical in this remote wilderness location.

During the rehabilitation, critical life safety systems were updated to be code compliant, including fire suppression. The plumbing was upgraded with a hot water circulation system, and 360 Engineering carefully coordinated with the architect to ensure all plumbing fixtures met ABA accessibility standards for federal facilities. All work complied with National Park Service requirements for quality control, sustainability, and integrated design principles.

2019 AIA Colorado – Award of Distinction

2018 Palladio Award – Restoration and Renovation

St. Barnabas Church – Renovation

Originally built in 1891, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church has undergone several renovations and additions over the years. Most recently, in 2016, there was a full remodel of the parish hall, including classrooms, office and workspace, and a commercial kitchen, plus an opening up of space between the existing sanctuary and Fellowship Hall to accommodate the growing congregation.

360 Engineering designed complete mechanical and plumbing systems for this renovation, which now provides a commercial kitchen for special events and outreach ministries, and updated HVAC ventilation, which offers more reliable cooling/heating options for the church’s offices and classrooms.

All renovations were complete in time for 2017 Doors Open Denver, an annual event that offers tours of select public and private architectural gems.

Blog Post: Doors Open Denver 2017

Metro Caring – New Building

Metro Caring, a not-for-profit hunger relief organization that provides urgent food assistance and related services to individuals and families in need had outgrown its facility. Conditions were cramped, and parking was limited. A new ground-up 15,000-square-foot facility constructed on the existing site and an adjacent vacant lot consists of a reception area, welcome center, client care offices, administrative offices, boardroom, nutrition center with kitchen, and a “healthy living” space featuring a Client Choice Market. The market is completely stocked with shelving, reach-in coolers, and freezers, and has support areas for processing, warehousing, and a loading dock.

Multiple mechanical systems were evaluated, including evaporative cooling and mechanical cooling with either change-over bypass or VAV operation before deciding on a combination of VAV and constant volume. To meet a strict budget while limiting onsite water use, plumbing fixtures were specified at low flow rates to achieve a smaller standard tap size.

The Alliance Center – Renovation

Located in Denver’s Lower Downtown (LoDo) area, the Alliance Center is a six-story, 40,000-square-foot office building originally constructed as a warehouse in 1908. More than 100 years later, this historic structure was renovated into a sustainable, multi-tenant facility by its owner. With building improvements including a new digitally controlled HVAC system, energy-efficient fixtures and appliances, a lighting control system, translucent wall panels, sun shades, and a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) array, the two-year project transformed The Alliance Center into an extremely energy-efficient building. All onsite combustion of fossil fuels was eliminated, including the use of natural gas for heating, in favor of using solar or gridded electricity to meet all power needs.

To further decrease its carbon footprint, the Alliance launched its “DC project.” Devices such as computers, office equipment, and consumer electronics consume DC (direct current) power, generated by converting grid-supplied AC (alternating current) electricity to DC, an inefficient process. After exploring several options, 360 Engineering designed a system with the capacity to accept input from up to four different energy sources in addition to gridded electricity. By allowing the use of more solar (PV), wind, and any future clean energy technologies, this approach drastically lowered the Alliance Center’s reliance on the grid and further reduced its CO2 emission. During the project, 360 also collaborated with manufacturers to convert existing HVAC equipment to DC input, an effort that resulted in a research grant from Colorado State University to further study the potential energy savings of such HVAC AC-to-DC power conversions.

The facility has received several LEED certifications including Existing Building Operations and Maintenance LEED Platinum, Commercial Interior LEED Silver, and Dynamic Plaque LEED Gold. It was the first facility in Colorado and fifth in the world to recertify based on ongoing building performance evaluation.

National Park Service – Yellowstone Canyon Village Lodging Redevelopment

Yellowstone National Park hosts approximately 4 million visitors each year, many of whom elect to stay overnight. Of the Park’s several accommodation areas, Canyon Lodge and Cabins are the largest, offering approximately 500 beds, including the cabins. The National Park Service decided to undertake a two-year redevelopment of the aging Canyon Village Lodge. The old cabin complex was demolished and five new three-story buildings were built, providing more than 400 rooms including two-bedroom suites. The 360 Engineering team provided heating and ventilating systems for the new buildings, including the main lodge of approximately 38,000 square feet. A unique aspect of the project was its use of pre-fabricated rooms and systems dropped into place, where the mechanical systems were connected and completed on-site. Some of the system highlights include high-efficiency condensing boilers to optimize efficiency and reduce pumping horsepower; a heated water system sized to support the building’s large domestic hot water load; and, to facilitate winterization, a gravity-fed drain down system (plumbing and hydronic heat) for entire lodge.

The challenges presented by winterization – performed by a skeleton crew in a harsh climate – required significant coordination with the integrated team. Buried by snow in the winter, the lodges re-open with snowpack, making access to the mechanical room another concern. Over multiple site visits, 360 Engineering reviewed the developing design with Yellowstone’s head maintenance personnel. With their input and close work with the architect and equipment manufacturers, we delivered effective, efficient mechanical systems that met all client goals and obtained LEED Gold certification for four buildings and LEED Silver for the registration building and lodge.

Project Category: Community