The former Mechanical Building was among the first to be built on the college’s campus in 1956. McFarland Johnson was part of a team that provided a transformative renovation which completely reinvented the 40,000 sq ft building, updating it with the latest energy-efficient building technologies and cutting-edge academic programs.
McFarland Johnson provided practical, energy-saving mechanical, electrical, plumbing (M/E/P) and fire protection engineering design solutions for this $12.5M project. In addition to the extensive renovation work and re-programming of nearly every space in the building, a 6,000 sq ft addition was designed between the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center and the Business Building.
A cutting-edge HVAC system was provided, consisting of a 36-well, 90-ton geothermal field combined with variable refrigerant flow (VRF) terminal units serving the interior spaces, dedicated outdoor air units with heat recovery, in-floor radiant heating, fume hoods serving a high-tech soldering lab, and a building automation system that includes interactive display panels so students can monitor building performance in real time. McFarland Johnson worked closely with SUNY Broome, providing a building energy analysis and carbon dioxide emission calculations to compliment Broome’s NYSERDA grant application, resulting in a $1M grant award to offset costs of the geothermal system.
The electrical systems include: a 50kW roof-mounted photovoltaic array; all new electrical power and distribution systems; audio/video/telecom/IT systems; fire alarm; occupancy sensors; and LED lighting.
The re-programmed spaces include classrooms, administration, laboratory, and working manufacturing spaces. Academic programs include a beer micro-brewing lab, a food processing lab including Greek yogurt production, a thermodynamics lab, a "virtual" clean room teaching classroom, a "sustainability sandbox" where students have access to software to conduct experiments and review the mechanical & electrical systems serving the building and using the building systems themselves as teaching tools through the use of informational signage and colored, exposed M/E/P systems.