Archives

Thompson Center Mixes Beauty and Efficiency

Pick up any newspaper today and chances are you will find an article with the word "energy" incorporated in it. Californians are finding out the true meaning of energy shortages. In the electricity market, deregulation has found its way to California. But does it truly work or are they just trying to iron out the details? In the meantime residents and businesses alike suffer from brownouts, eventually rolling blackouts and it is a pretty good gauge of what the rest of the country is in for if, or when, deregulation reaches us all. If you drive a car or heat a home you are fully aware of the tremendous rise in gas prices. Energy conservation is first and foremost in the minds of all Americans wherever they are located. As Chief Engineers, the task lies in finding the most energy efficient way of managing a building. Perhaps no one has accomplished this task better than the Engineering staff of the James R. Thompson Center located at 100 W. Randolph in Chicago.

Architect Helmut Jahn envisioned a European village atmosphere in a contemporary environment and accomplished this flawlessly. A unique building in design and function, the Thompson Center is visited annually by 2.5 million people from around the world. Top colleges such as Penn State and the University of Illinois bring their fourth year architectural students to study the magnificence of open offices winding around a 160-foot rotunda to 16 floors above. From every vantage point a stunning view of the marble rosette set in the floor of the 4,000 square foot lower concourse level can be seen. Stand in the exact middle of the rose and a puzzling phenomenon occurs. Talk out loud and a definite echo can be heard. Step outside the rose and only the sounds of an acoustical masterpiece are audible.

"Monument With Standing Beast", a striking black and white sculpture by French Artist Jean Dubuffet welcomes all who enter the plaza. It is a sure bet that the first question that comes to mind when the Thompson Center comes into view is, "I wonder how many windows there are?" To answer that, the 24,600 windows enclosing the steel structure function as a means of solar energy by illuminating and heating the atrium. Fans located in strategic points move the excess warm air through ducts to warm other parts of the building. A stainless steel mesh screen installed just beneath the glass serves a dual purpose. It is used to break up the direct light entering the building keeping the heat factor at a comfortable level and serves as a safety feature should the glass ever break. The dome itself was constructed on the floor of the atrium area. At the time this dome could lay claim to fame. At a weight of 172 tons it took four cranes located on the 16th floor to hoist the dome into place. This was the largest single lift made to date. All 24,600 glass panes were installed after this was accomplished. When the sun sets, domed village street lights provide illumination for all those inside. Cleverly hidden along the handrails, rows of lights convey feelings of peace and tranquility as one moves about.

Glass enclosed elevators provide the feeling of flying as passengers move from floor to floor. Two sets of elevators service floors 1-9 and then floors 9-16. A total of 12 passenger, 2 freight and 2 truck elevators make movement effortless. The elevators were recently converted to digital control and 4 escalators were replaced and/or upgraded.

The unmatched beauty and spaciousness of the Thompson Center makes it a heaven for filmmakers. Many popular movies have been filmed here including Running Scared and the Negotiator. In addition to movies Special Events Coordinator Jennifer Haley is instrumental in making every event planned a special one. A 600-seat auditorium located beneath the plaza level is the perfect setting for weddings, conferences and performances of every kind. A 24' x 48' semi-circle stage affords an unobstructed view for all.

On every floor you will find a piece of contemporary art lending itself to the gracefulness of the building. An art gallery located on the 2nd floor features the craftsmanship of promising Illinois artisans. Works portrayed conveying a central theme are changed periodically throughout the year.

Located on the 17th floor is the four Baltimore Air Coil condensor system used for making ice

While architect Helmut Jahn made sure that the Thompson Center was a cultural masterpiece he also kept in mind that moving people to and from the building was no less important. Located on the 2nd floor, ground and lower levels the CTA has provided a station that serves all 5 elevated train lines. This allows for convenient transportation to major airports and sports arenas in the area. In addition the Center has been integrated into the pedway system that links to other prominent buildings in the Loop. It is possible that once you arrive to work you may not have to leave the building for the entire day and still accomplish all you need to.

Nestled in this 1.2 million square foot facility, state agencies, commercial shops and restaurants, a transportation system, a 600-seat auditorium, and an art collection blend seamlessly together. Under the direction of Assistant Director Glenn Good the staff has achieved prominent status, winning the Chicago and Regional BOMA, TOBY awards and will now compete in the International TOBY award competition. And while the building itself is no less than magnificent, the energy management systems in place are at the forefront of modern engineering.

With energy conservation foremost in the minds of most building owners, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services had the foresight to hire an Energy Manager. The Energy Manager, David Arvans, along with Chief Engineer, Bill Byerley oversees the building automation system and all equipment operations. Dave evaluates utility bills and equipment and develops a strategy in order to work at the most efficient level. According to Bill Byerley, "Although we have only been using an actual energy management concept for almost a year, Dave has done a tremendous job and made great strides. So far the building has achieved an approximate energy savings of $75,000 per month."

	Two different views of the Trane 650 ton centrifugal chillers. This equipment lowers the temperature of the return water to about 50 degrees F. before it is added to the ice banks on the 17th floor.

The James R. Thompson Center has perhaps the most technological advantage over the majority of buildings in the Loop. Three separate cooling systems can be run individually or simultaneously to meet the energy demands of the day. The building possesses one of the first thermal ice storage systems in the city. Approximately nine months out of the year, four Sullair screw compressors, three rated at 500 ton capacity and one at 350 tons, pump freon through thousands of feet of serpentine coils to manufacture ice. These tanks are 10 ft. wide x 12 ft. high x 45 feet long. During off peak hours, each tank system can generate 100,000 pounds of ice in a10-12 hour period for a total of 800,000 pounds of ice. This ice will make up approximately 45-50% of the cooling load for the following day. From an energy standpoint, this is a great achievement for the building. From 10 p.m. until 9 a.m., Monday thru Friday, the kilowatt cost is at approximately half. The goal of the engineering staff is to utilize as much equipment as possible during this time frame for the next days cooling load.

Although they make ice nightly during the summer months, seven computer rooms located in state agency offices need cooling year round. For this reason ice is made year round but will be cut back to only 2-3 times per week during the winter.

In the event that a temperature/humidity combination reaches above 75º for the day Dave and Bill have the second option of adding an overfeed cooling system to assist the thermal ice storage in cooling the building. This is where Dave's expertise is utilized. He will evaluate at what time of day the maximum cooling is needed and which system to use. Will it be more economical to run one system or all three? Is it more economical to start a compressor or start a chiller? Should they determine the third method must be utilized, the chillers are started up.

At first, before the chillers were installed the engineering staff noticed rapid ice burn off as soon as water was being fed into the ice banks. It was determined this occurred because the warmed water was being fed directly onto the ice. To prevent this a series of three plate exchangers were installed. The water now feeds through the plate exchangers where two 560-ton Trane chillers lower the temperature of the return water to about 50º before it is added to the ice banks. It is then pumped to the 17th floor with the help of two, 4000 gal/min pumps. All water returns in one common chilled water return line making the ice water system function in what is known as a closed loop system.

Air movement is another exceptional mechanical feature of the Thompson Center. Seven major fan systems located in the 17th floor mechanical room service floors 3 through 16. Capable of pushing a minimum of 100,000 cfm each, all 7 fans running simultaneously can be ramped up to 140,000 cfm each on a hot day pushing approximately 1 million cfm per minute. The primary job for these fans is floor ventilation. Twenty smaller air systems supply the individual lower floor departments and atrium area. Keeping with the aesthetics of open space, no grids for air supply can be seen in the ceilings. To accomplish this all ceiling lights have either a supply or return shroud and it is through this that air is circulated to and from the floor. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of this system is the interconnected crossover dampers located in the ductwork. All fans have a common duct. Should mechanical problems arise with any one fan, it can be shut down for repairs and the dampers located on every floor within the plenum ceiling can redirect the airflow so as not to interrupt service to any part of the building. A pneumatic air system is controlled with six 20 HP Quincy 390 air compressors. 3000 gallons of air storage supply all the valves and dampers located in the building.

All exhaust air pulled from the bathrooms, kitchen and restaurant areas is routed into two exhaust lines. These lines are exhausted out to the roof. High pressure ductwork has been installed at 80 inches round and will handle up to 6 inches of static pressure. Outside air intake fans are located on the side of the building. This layout of fans preserves the air quality control necessary to prevent exhaust fumes from returning into the building. A lower differential air pressure of 10-15% cfm coming into the building is maintained to keep stress on the unit and filters at a minimum.

When cooling is no longer needed and weather conditions call for heat two electric boilers begin their job. With three electrodes in each boiler the engineer is able to produce any temperature. Hot water is transferred from here through heat exchangers and then pumped to 520 heating coils located in the ductwork on each floor. A total of 2,200 thermostats located throughout the building are controlled by the engineering office.

A computerized lighting system has been installed to assist in energy management in building. Terry Serpico heads the dispatch office where a Honeywell Building Automation computer is installed. From here he can monitor controls for all major equipment. To ensure that lighting is only used as needed, each section of the building is given a sector code to enable or disable lighting. Through the use of the telephone lights can be turned on or off as needed simply by punching in a specific code for that area.

Three dedicated feeds from ComEd going into the building assure the staff that loss of power is highly unlikely.

Domestic water is delivered to the building through 2 12-inch water mains from the city. One main feeds a 250 HP 1,500 gpm fire pump while the other feeds the house pumps.

Ingenuity is not only seen in the energy management of the building but if you look closely at the floor of the sub-basement parking area you will notice a rather large turntable there. With no loading docks available at ground level the Thompson Center has found a unique way to provide delivery areas. A 51-foot long elevator specially equipped to handle a vehicle the size of a semi-truck transports the vehicle to the basement level. There it pulls on to the turntable where it is rotated to enable it to back into a docking area. Once unloaded, it is again turned to enable it to pull into the elevator and then pull straight out once it reaches street level again.

The engineering staff of the Thompson Center is just as remarkable as the building itself. Fourteen engineers are on staff running shifts 24/7, 365 days a year. All supervisory staff are certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and in the use of automated external defibrillators. A staff meeting held once a week ensures that essential communication between departments is achieved. In addition a full staff of carpenters, plumbers, and painters complement the engineering department. Also available is a staff of electricians lead by Chief Electrician Eliseo Rios.

Our guide for the day was Charlie Bronner, who is amazingly knowledgeable about the inner workings of the building. Originally employed by Honeywell for many years, Charlie started working at the Thompson Center as a contractor with Honeywell. Eventually he was given the opportunity to join the staff here. Charlie will be retiring at the time of this writing and it will be a great loss to the engineering staff. But Charlie will be enjoying retirement and doing the many things he has planned for the future.

Because of the building's makeup, there are no loading docks at street level. This high elevator accomodates semi-truck rigs, lowering them to the buildings lower levels, turning on a rotary base in the floor, the rigs are directed to docks and then back up the elevator to street level.

Dan Sullivan has been with the staff since the building opened in 1984. He was promoted to Lead Engineer two years ago and now works with Bill on the daily operations, scheduling, and equipment and supply purchases. According to Dave "Dan is our technical expert and he possesses an excellent mechanical background. We rely upon him to be our field guy, giving the crew instructions on what to do and how to accomplish the task at hand." Dan is married, has two children, lives in Oak Lawn and likes to work on old cars.

Bill Byerley, Chief Engineer, has also been at the building since the original construction of the building. Bill joined the staff as an engineer. He was promoted to assistant in 1990 and then to Chief in 1992. He brings an enormous amount of knowledge to the job. He holds a Supervisory Electrical License with the City of Chicago, Refrigeration Certification, and has passed the Plant Maintenance I & II exam which is required for the job. Prior to here he was employed at 310 S. Michigan Ave. Bill is married, has two children and lives in New Lenox. In his spare time he likes to build computers and has taken many classes for them.

David Arvans is the Energy Manager for the Thompson Center. While his is a fairly new position it is no less important. Dave's position gives the building a lot of flexibility and a huge advantage in the energy department over the other buildings. Dave relates, "We have backups, we can turn to alternatives, divide our strategies and meet the demand in the most efficient way possible." Dave also brings with him a vast amount of knowledge. He holds a degree in Energy Management, a City of Chicago Stationary Engineer License, NIULPE License as well as Indoor Air Quality and Refrigerant Certifications. Dave is married with two children and lives in Tinley Park. In his spare time he likes to fish and do woodwork.

Energy. Or lack of. We read or hear the words every day in the newspapers, on the TV, in general conversation. As citizens of the greatest nation in the world we all need to do our part in energy conservation. The Thompson Center has accomplished that and much more. They have managed to add beauty, elegance and innovation to energy conservation to make this building perhaps the most remarkable in the City of Chicago.

Archives