New York Life Insurance Company
21st Floor Fan System Upgrade, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

On behalf of New York Life Jones Lang LaSalle retained the services of AKF to upgrade five existing fan systems.

The focus of the project was to replace or upgrade the five existing constant volume field-erected air handling systems and increase the capacity of those systems to meet the new occupancy requirements for a 21st century office building with variable air volume distribution. Based upon the loads and available space, it was decided to consolidate the original five-fan system into a new three-fan system. This reduced the quantity of operating equipment and lowered maintenance costs. The new system has approximately a 30,000- 40,000 CFM capacity each.

Complete demolition drawings were prepared for all trades. Due to the landmark status of the building, careful attention was given to defining a rigging path for access of new equipment. The components for the new fan system were designed to accommodate the available space in the corridors and elevators. Fans were specified with split casings and removable rotating assemblies to facilitate the effort.

This particular design commenced in September of 2002. Construction was deferred pending re-evaluation of the space requirements.

Jones Lang LaSalle later retained AKF's services to design and upgrade a two existing fan system for a television station studio located adjacent to the fan room. The Systems were approximately 11,000 CFM and 20,500 CFM each.

Because of the sensitive nature of the TV studio and the close proximity of the fan room, an acoustics and vibration consultant was retained to address these issues for the fans and duct systems as well as the construction of the room walls.

The design of the systems commenced in February 2003. Construction was started in June 2003 and the systems were scheduled for completion in December 2003.