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Columbia University
Knox Hall
New York, NY

Knox Hall is an early 20th century Gothic, rough stone façade, building located on the campus of the Union Theological Seminary.  The building, which was originally constructed as faculty residences, was converted to meet the requirements of several academic departments.  The seven-story, 50,000sf facility will include department and faculty offices and classrooms.

The scope of the project includes coordination of asbestos and lead abatement, interior demolition, restoration of designated decorative wood trim, replacement of windows, new elevators, a new emergency stair, and new building MEP systems and infrastructure.  The HVAC systems are based upon a ground-source heat pump system utilizing four, 1,800-foot geothermal exchange wells and a small supplemental boiler.   An emergency generator is located on the roof of the adjacent building to provide emergency and stand-by power for the building.  Commissioned systems include all mechanical, electrical, fire alarm, and life safety equipment and systems, and vertical transportation.

The project is designed and built to meet the requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.  As commissioning agent, SBS provided integrated commissioning services in accordance with LEED EA Prerequisite 1, Fundamental Commissioning, and LEED EA Credit 3, Enhanced Commissioning, from the schematic design through the warranty phase.  During the design phase, SBS developed the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR), reviewed the design to ensure it met the University’s objectives, and provided detailed commissioning specifications.  During construction, SBS developed detailed installation checklists and functional performance tests, verifying the installation of the commissioned systems and equipment, and coordinating and witnessing the execution of the functional testing.  SBS is also responsible for ensuring that CU Facilities personnel were properly trained, performing a 10-month review to help ensure there were no outstanding construction issues before the warranty expired, and developing a Systems Manual.

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