Allied’s new office building is part of the City’s Gateway West downtown redevelopment. The seven-story 525,000 SF building accommodates 1,650 employees. The site includes a courtyard, clock tower and adjoining 2,500-car parking ramp. The building was designed for a future 250,000 SF expansion.
KJWW served as the MEP and technology engineer, providing construction observation and systems commissioning services.
The building features an open floor plan with classrooms, training rooms, an auditorium, large meeting rooms, an executive boardroom, a fitness center and cafeteria. It includes more than 50 high-tech spaces wired with the latest in audio/visual and security systems. A metal deck system serves as the conduit for much of the branch circuits and cabling.
The building houses the corporation’s central data center. The data center features a raised floor with N+1 redundancy for reliability.
A new central plant serves the building and is located across the street in the new parking ramp, providing easier accessibility and expansion and isolating noise. Piping for hot and cold water to the building was incorporated into the design and routed through the skywalk. For added reliability, critical loads are served from five UPS systems located throughout the building. A 3,000-amp generator feeder serving the physical plant enables Allied to significantly reduce its peak electrical demand on hot days. A two-megawatt emergency generator provides additional power back up for critical operations.
The computing center design includes packaged chilled water-cooled air conditioners with dual chilled water coils for humidity and temperature control. A non-halogen FM200 system protects the data center and uses a double-interlocked, pre-action sprinkler system, reducing the chance of accidental water damage.
A two-megawatt emergency generator provides additional power back up for critical operations, as well as backup to the UPS system. Electrical power distribution is from a looped-primary system from the utility company. Four PDU’s serve underfloor electrical distribution to equipment racks. Power system monitoring is tied into the building automation system.
Technology elements of this corporate headquarters project consisted of a large integrated security management system utilizing the latest in CCTV, digital recording, and access control technology. The color CCTV system has over 50 cameras throughout the building. All cameras can be monitored in real-time on dedicated monitors or split-screens. Monitoring is done in two different locations in the facility. New LCD flat-screen monitors are used to view video, providing a high-resolution image in a space-saving and aesthetic package. All camera video is recorded on digital recording equipment, replacing the conventional VCR.