Project Profile: Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity and Newborn Tower
The engineering team's design consisted of entirely new infrastructure of mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems for the new patient tower.
Engineering firm: BSA LifeStructures
2022 MEP Giants rank: 97
Project: Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity and Newborn Tower
Location: Indianapolis, IN, United States
Building type: Hospital/health care facility
Project type: Existing building retrofit
Engineering services: Commissioning, retro-commissioning; electrical, power; energy, sustainability; fire, life safety; HVAC, mechanical; lighting; plumbing, piping
Project timeline: March 2016 to November 2021
MEP/FP engineering budget: $2,144,260

Renovated lobby, with brick wall from the existing hospital. Courtesy: BSA Lifestructures
Challenges
When visitors enter the first-floor lobby, they are surrounded by bright, naturally lit and modernized spaces, public and more private waiting areas, open spaces and a grand view of the original front façade of Riley Hospital for Children that adorns one wall of the atrium. Two round, all-glass elevators greet visitors, inviting them to see all the way up the building.
BSA’s engineering team’s design consisted of entirely new infrastructure of mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems for the new patient tower. BSA engineers embraced the renovation-related challenge of working from within the box on the renovation rather than having the luxury of coordinating with an architect as is done with new construction. BSA designers were tasked with keeping electrical equipment operational as the renovation ensued because the equipment also feeds other critical operations in the kitchen, radiology, and phase two and four of the medical campus.
This project consisted of replacing the entire HVAC infrastructure.

Basement air handling units. Courtesy: BSA Lifestructures
Solutions
Updating the atrium meant bringing it up to code in all aspects which meant the addition of a complex smoke evacuation system for 202,800 CFM that was designed to meet the requirements without sacrificing the grand feel of the space.
The process of bringing the systems into operation was phased to prevent any overloads that could impact service to other areas on campus. Tight spaces in which to locate and add necessary systems and equipment added complexity to the project, as did the use of temporary electrical panels to transfer loads to the new electrical switchgear.
This project consisted of replacing the entire HVAC infrastructure, which consisted of eight custom air handling units totaling 334,000 CFM (cubic feet per minute), five of which are tethered together via plenums to allow for redundancy. Each have very custom designs that allow the units to fit precisely beneath existing utilities including an oxygen line that serves the entire campus. The air handling unit’s system design also includes water side economizer sequence with the addition of a heat recovery chiller.

Substation BHEPC A-B. Courtesy: BSA Lifestructures
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