University Intake Filters Make The Grade
The oldest and one of the top law schools in the
United States is in the process of getting a major face lift.
The halls of this distinguished school have been walked by many
great world leaders including past and current Presidents,
Senators, Governors, Supreme Court Justices and Attorney
Generals. A portion of the major university renovation
includes a new 250,000 square foot legal academic complex situated
on top of a four story parking structure designed by architectural
genius Robert A.M. Stern.
Preparation for the new building construction
included moving three historical wood-framed buildings, and a
potentially messy demolition of a hall and parking
garage. Mass digging with excavators, busy bull dozer
and truck traffic coming in and out on a regular basis to remove
the excavated materials soon followed. A concrete slurry wall
needed to be constructed around the perimeter of the site so that
surrounding buildings did not collapse into the large construction
hole. Large rocks or boulders were frequently
encountered and needed to be broken up, causing noise, vibrations
and airborne dirt carried up to 300 feet from the site. Scheduled
to take approximately three years to complete, steps were put into
place to minimize disruption on the active 20,000 student campus
from noise, dust and debris associated with a major construction
project. Particular emphasis was placed on the busy classroom
building located next to the site that would be the most
affected. Special glass was installed in the hall to
reduce noise. During demolition, jets of water were arched
across the site, directed at the dust that would have choked the
scene. Mass excavation needs to be continually ventilated for
the workers using high powered fans.
School officials were concerned that
the airborne dirt would be sucked into the building's louvered air
intakes that surround the outside of the building just below the
windows. These air intakes lead directly to the indoor wall
mounted fan coil units used to heat and cool each classroom
individually. This type of unit ventilator is designed to
economically provide a large amount of outside air ventilation from
their enclosure directly into a classroom, hotel or apartment
application. Dan Shea, Air Filter Sales, based in Haverhill
Massachusetts, suggested installing Permatron's PreVent® Equipment Protection
Filters on the outside to protect the tight, permanent screens
that are part of the existing air intake louver system.
The filters were installed on the air
intakes of the first floor all the way around the building, and the
second floor on the side facing the construction of the new
building just thirty feet away from the air intakes. This
would be the most likely place for the dirt to be drawn into
on windy dry days.
Permatron custom sized the filters to the intake perimeters, and
added a layer of metal mesh for support. They riveted
magnetic stripping to the steel frames to hold them in place on the
building's metal louvers. Screws were used on all four louver
corners for a long- term secure fit. The dark black color of
the polypropylene filter was one of the features that school
officials liked since it matched the building aesthetics.
Almost two years into the construction project the building manager is very pleased with the filter's results. The filters are working well to keep the construction dirt from fouling the air intake screens of his building and infiltrate the classrooms. Debris is easily brushed off the PreVent® filter, and has the added benefit of periodic rain washing away the construction dirt.