Project Highlights
- When Urban Outfitters, Inc., decided to establish its new 280,000-square-foot headquarters to serve as offices, design studios and support space for more than 500 staff members, the retailer chose Uponor radiant floor heating and cooling to efficiently and effectively condition the central core of the main building.
- The experiences of the first heating and cooling seasons proved the innovative radiant and HVAC systems worthy, saving the owner approximately $100,000 in capital dollars.
- In fact, the project even received a 2007 Award of Excellence by The Urban Land Institute, a prestigious award given to only 10 developments in North America a year.
Background
When Urban Outfitters, Inc., decided to establish its new headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the retailer sought a distinctive approach to the adaptive reuse of several former shipyard workshop buildings to serve as offices, design studios, and support space for more than 500 staff members.
Energy-efficient internal climate control was at the forefront of the design. The company sought a unique radiant floor heating and cooling system to condition the central core of the main building.
Designed by PHY, Inc., consulting engineers, and installed by Fluidics, the Uponor radiant floor heating and cooling system was designed to ensure employee comfort and an attractive environment.
The system involved over 25,000 ft. of Uponor hePEX™ plus tubing, the installation of which had to be sequenced with the installation of the stone, rebar and wire mesh; pressure tested; and closely monitored during each concrete pour to ensure no damage was caused during the concrete pours.
The system was fed from nine manifolds controlled by three averaging sensors in the slab, operating at 115° water in the heating season and 52° water in the cooling season. The conditioning of the slab in this manner is designed to complement the building HVAC systems for both comfort and energy efficiency.
The system was designed to circulate chilled water at an average temperature of 38°F through a high-velocity pumping system, which enabled selection of smaller-diameter piping (e.g., 3 to 4 in. rather than 5 to 6 in.) throughout the project, reducing the costs of materials and labor. Hot-water temperature resets from 200° down according to outside air temperature.
The central core of the main building has 25,000 ft. of Uponor hePEX™ plus tubing for the radiant floor heating and cooling system.
Benefits
Energy Efficiency
The facility incorporated an Uponor radiant floor heating and cooling system for energy-efficient conditioning of the central core of the main building.
Comfortable Workers
Even Temperatures
Reliable System
Project Data
Structure:
Corporate headquarters facility
Size:
280,000 square feet
Floor Construction:
Slab on grade
Tubing Type:
Uponor hePEX™ plus
Amount of Tubing:
25,000 linear feet
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