SPARK

Discoveries, innovations, and insights that illuminate the future of the built environment

World-class research facilities demand world-class facility optimization

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By Ric Cochrane, account executive, and Mike Kowalick, senior program manager

The University of Washington School of Medicine’s world-class biomedical research complex includes three buildings with lab space plus an administrative and mixed-use building, totaling nearly 530,000 square feet. As with many sophisticated new facilities, ensuring that the building meets its functional design goals required building operators to understand its unique features and have a well-defined procedural framework for monitoring and maintaining its systems.

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Getting To Know: Nicole Demby (Golden, Colo.)

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Nicole Demby.

Hello! I’m Nicole Demby, and I’m a commissioning engineering intern and proud B.L.U.E. Program participant at McKinstry this summer. I’m from Cortez, Colo. and I’m a rising junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines—just five miles from McKinstry’s office in Golden, Colo.

Getting to intern at McKinstry this summer has been invaluable. My knowledge of HVAC systems and commissioning engineering (not to mention construction in general) has grown exponentially over the past few weeks.

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Why ‘Net Zero Commissioning’ could revolutionize building performance

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This infographic demonstrates the growing prevalence of net zero energy buildings over the past few years. Infographic courtesy of the New Buildings Institute (NBI).

McKinstry’s Phillip Saieg and Josh Harwood are pioneering the concept of “Net Zero Commissioning”—a re-envisioning of the industry that posits the necessity of commissioning agents positioning themselves on the net zero energy frontier in order to stay relevant.

Though most in the construction industry are familiar with the concept of a net zero energy building (wherein the total amount of energy used by the building is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site), Saieg and Harwood think commissioning agents need to become a vital part of the net zero discussion.

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