IMEG provided engineering design services for Great Hearts Academies’ new North Phoenix Campus.

Great Hearts is a charter school providing a liberal arts curriculum incorporating advanced math and science, a focus on the arts and foreign language, and a range of extra-curricular activities and athletics. The new campus will accommodate students in grades K-12 on co-located campuses on the same property. The project consists of three buildings – a K-6 classroom building, 7-12 classroom building with administration space, and a gymnasium with wood basketball floor, weight room and locker rooms. Spaces include upgraded classrooms, science labs, student libraries, art studios, music rooms and drama rooms. The campus also will include a full football field with sports lighting and parking.

IMEG provided MEP and fire protection design, along with construction administration services. The HVAC design features several energy conservation measures to help reduce operating costs. Classrooms with similar load profiles were combined to be served by high-efficiency DX heat pumps with variable air volume terminal boxes for space temperature control. Needlepoint ionization air cleaning technology was implemented into the heat pump units to allow greater outdoor air reduction via contaminant control as set forth in ASHRAE 62.1 IAQ procedures. With lower outdoor air requirements, heat pump unit sizes and overall electrical demand for HVAC were reduced without sacrificing indoor air quality.
The new campus is expected to open in time for the 2017-2018 school year.