A Showcase of Sustainability

  • 07/01/18
Mitsubishi Electric VRF

Johnson County Community College created a showcase of sustainability on their campus with help from Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF technology.

Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Overland Park, KS, serves about 20,000 students. In 2009, the school formed the Center for Sustainability to commit to an environmentally and socially responsible campus. This commitment meant changes were needed for every building project, including a new 3,000-square-foot Galileo’s Pavilion. Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating’s Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology, along with efficient practices, helped make Galileo’s Pavilion a true showcase of sustainability.

Not-for-profit corporation Studio 804, comprised of University of Kansas graduate students, was selected to work on Galileo’s Pavilion. These students design and construct technologically sophisticated, green buildings under the direction of Dan Rockhill.

Rockhill says, “We had three distinctly separate spaces. Although they’re in the same building, the loading on them is different. So that resulted in three separate air-conditioning and heating solutions. We pride ourselves on promoting sustainable everything, so HVAC is no exception.” VRF was the clear choice to meet these challenges.

Rockhill continues, “Mitsubishi [Electric] is, first of all, the leader in its field. That’s the most important thing. Many of the others follow, but Mitsubishi [Electric] developed the variable refrigerant concept. They know what they’re doing.”

Installation went smoothly and the staff is pleased with how well the systems operate. JCCC’s Sustainability Project Manager Michael Rea says, “Everything with the Mitsubishi [Electric] system has been going well. No compressor failures, no leaks, no fan problems, nothing. Our maintenance is easy, too—just changing the filters and making sure the condensers are clean.”

Plus, another sign of success: LEED Platinum certification was achieved for the changes that were made to Galileo’s Pavilion. The school was also honored to receive the 2013 CSI Kansas City Chapter Innovation in Sustainability Award for the building.

www.mitsubishielectric.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management July/August 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Virginia Tech Establishes New Facility for School of Construction

    Virginia Tech recently partnered with construction management firm Procon Consulting to establish the Procon Innovation Center on its campus in Blacksburg, Va., according to a news release. The facility inside the university’s newly built Hitt Hall will offer hands-on collaboration and learning opportunities for students in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction and College of Engineering.

  • Los Angeles Unified School District Adopts VR Learning Platform

    The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) recently announced its partnership with Avantis Education to bring educational virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) solution ClassVR to its students. A news release reports that the district has already deployed more than 16,000 ClassVR headsets as part of the Los Angeles Unified Instructional Technology Initiative.

  • New Elementary School Opens in South Bronx, N.Y.

    Forte Construction Corp. recently announced that it has completed construction on P.S. 487, a new four-story elementary school in the South Bronx, according to a news release. The school is open for the current academic year and will serve more than 500 students in grades PreK–5.

  • California District Completes Second Phase of Construction on Innovation Campus

    The Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) in Milpitas, Calif., recently announced that Phase Two of construction is complete on the MUSD Innovation Campus, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Blach Construction and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) on the education and workforce development center, which will support Calaveras Hills High School.

Digital Edition