CASE STUDY
UPPER ARLINGTON SCHOOLS
Location: Upper Arlington, OH
The Client
Since the fall of 2015, the Upper Arlington community has come together to craft a long-term, financially sensible master plan for the district’s aging schools and inform the design process for the six projects in the first phase of the master plan.
The first phase of the master plan – budgeted at $230M – will build a new Upper Arlington High School and renovate or rebuild all five (5) elementary schools. The first phase also includes building athletic fields on district-owned land.
The new and renovated schools have been designed to provide additional space for the district’s growing enrollment. Each project has been designed to have a logical place for a classroom addition, if needed, in the event that growth exceeds projections.
The Challenge
The construction and renovation of the six (6) schools and other facilities were contracted through Ohio’s Construction Manager at Risk delivery method. In order to effectively deliver a project of this magnitude, the schools’ project teams consisted of many unique partners including a total of three (3) construction management firms, three (3) mechanical contractors, and two (2) electrical contractors.
Across all the buildings, the District wanted to ensure their building automation system would accomplish three major goals:
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Provide a commmon front end, non-proprietary solution to ensure ease of use by the operators of the building.
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Minimize life cycle cost through advanced controls design strategies, thus creating utility and operations and maintenance savings.
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Not be subject to price increases throughout construction, as some buildings are still in design development and could not submit requests for material pricing.
The Solution
Plug Smart worked with all major project stakeholders including the District, the Owner’s Representative, the Construction Managers, HVAC and Electrical Contractors, Architects, Engineers, and the Commissioning Agency to ensure the project specifications were met, the technology employed would provide decades of efficient operation, and guaranteed unit pricing for all project materials (and required labor).
The Reliable Controls® industry leading building automation system will provide the District with award-winning BACnet compliance to ensure neutrality and choice for maintenance. With all hardware retaining 100% reverse compatibility with system upgrades, the District can also expect the controls to operate with energy efficiency and building comfort with equal importance for years to come.