The mechanical room as architecture: a Chicago tower puts its plant on display
Place, challenge and outcome on a retrofit that treated pipe routing as a design decision.
By Dana Whitfield, Senior Editor, Infrastructure · · 10 min read
The owner asked for a plant room that could be shown to prospective tenants. That single request reorganized the sequencing of an eleven month retrofit.
The constraint
Occupied building, two hour weekend shutdown windows, and a riser shaft with no spare capacity. The team pre-fabricated assemblies offsite and rated each weekend by how many joints could be made inside the window.
Sources
- Contractor project documentation
- Interviews with the mechanical engineer of record
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About the author
Senior Editor, Infrastructure
Dana has covered municipal water systems and public works financing for eleven years, previously for a regional daily in Ohio. She holds a certificate in water resource policy.
