JJCA’s nine-year relationship with Ensworth started with program management and evolved as we developed a master plan for the Red Gables Campus and a new theatre at the Devon Farms campus. Our most recent project has been the design of their new gym, the Brown Athletic Center, located on the Red Gables campus.
In keeping with Ensworth’s desire to increase energy efficiency and encourage environmental awareness by students, the 31,781 square foot gym includes energy-efficient mechanical and lighting systems and features a geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling. The geothermal system, which is approximately 40% more efficient than a typical heating and cooling system, utilizes the constant temperature of the earth to add heat to the building in the winter and remove heat in the summer. A geothermal field adjacent to the building will consist of underground piping routed to a series of 84 geothermal bore holes, 300 feet deep, each containing a piping loop and filled with special heat-transferring grout. A pump inside the building will circulate water from the geothermal field piping to a series of heat pumps to generate hot or cold air to condition the space.
An aggressive schedule and the additional safety challenges of construction while school was in session kept us on our toes. But we delivered the gym on time, complete with fitness room and a really cool ceiling-mounted volleyball system that can raise and lower the volleyball net automatically. Go Tigers!