IMEG provided engineering design and services for Thunder Vista, a new three-story school for Adams 12 Five Star School District. The school serves about 1,000 preschool through grade 8 students in the expanding community of Anthem Highlands in Broomfield, Colorado. Thunder Vista is the first Denver Metro school certified under the Collaborative High Performance Schools (CHPS). The design’s focus on CHPS and Net Zero energy consumption promoted occupant health, enhanced learning environments, and energy and water conservation. IMEG provided the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for the building. 

IMEG also performed initial energy services to develop some high-performance design concepts including daylighting, building envelope evaluation, and a building thermal analysis. The mechanical system for the facility includes a geo-exchange bore field with terminal heat pumps and dedicated outdoor air systems with energy recovery that utilize the latest in heat pump technology. The terminal heat pumps are located in the basement and duct up through central chases to serve the classrooms. This design approach avoids any acoustical issues within the classrooms and provides a centralized maintenance approach as desired by the school district. 

IMEG used a multiple system matrix approach in schematic design to ensure the District received a mechanical system that meets the desired goals of the project. These goals included initial and operating costs, energy usage, maintainability, constructability, and adaptability.