Projects
AN HVAC SYSTEM
BY ENGINEERS FOR
ENGINEERS
By Deo du Plessis, mechanical engineer at Spoormaker & Partners
The iconic new Engineering 4.0 facility on the University of Pretoria’s
Experimental Farm campus was completed in February 2020 and features
a state-of-the-art HVAC installation that combines specific laboratory
technical requirements, energy efficiency, comfort and aesthetics.
The 6 800m 2 facility is an expansion of the University
of Pretoria’s (UP) prestigious Department of Civil
Engineering, providing a new home for the Civil Engineering
concrete and timber laboratories. In addition, the building also
includes the new National road materials Referencing Testing
laboratory and a training laboratory for the South African
National Roads Agency (SANRAL), as well as a common
multivolume foyer that will link the building to future phases as
the School of Engineering expands even further.
DESIGN CRITERIA
Engineering 4.0 comprises a variety of spaces, each requiring
different and room-specific design conditions. These include
enclosed specific-use laboratories, open-plan training
laboratories, curing and high-humidity rooms, sample
preparation rooms, workshops, patch and server rooms,
offices, a foyer, and an auditorium. The tests and experimental
work being conducted in the Civil Engineering and SANRAL
laboratories typically involve a range of concrete, bitumen,
asphalt and soil sample preparation and property testing under
different conditions.
The associated mechanical design criteria for the spaces
therefore provided unique engineering challenges. Indoor
environmental condition requirements for each individual
space were agreed upon with the client and ranged from
typical 22.5 ± 1.5°C laboratories, all the way to humidity rooms
All photos by Simoné Senekal
Chiller plant
and screened
SANRAL plant
room.
www.hvacronline.co.za RACA Journal I August 2020 31