The University of Texas at Austin opened a new 8-story, 430,000 square foot Engineering Education and Research Center in 2017 to serve as a state-of-the-art hub for collaboration, interaction, and hands-on learning. The facility includes a library, café, teaching and research labs, and flexible open spaces for students to utilize for group projects and studying. The EERC will also serve as the new home for the Cockrell School of Engineering’s student services, advising, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
For the building’s HVAC system, the owners looked to HTS to provide custom air handling units from Haakon. The EERC was equipped with 12 Haakon AirPacks totaling 493,000 CFM, along with Daikin air handling units and fan coil units. The system was completed with Griswold piping packages, TROX diffusers, and CompuAire CRAC units.
HTS worked closely with the university and the contractors on the project to overcome the challenge of staging the system equipment while concrete was being poured at the job site. Prior to construction, HTS also coordinated the placement of access doors, service platforms, and piping and duct connections. This project required wide drain pans with custom splits and piping in order to achieve the scope specified by building owners, and HTS was able to accommodate all the facility’s requirements within the construction schedule. The equipment selection and system design by HTS helped the EERC earn LEED Silver Certification for its energy efficiency.