Project Profile: Virgin Design District Hotel

The vision for the Virgin Hotel brand is to create an adventurous and fun experience for its guests.

By Jordan & Skala Engineers September 1, 2021

Engineering firm: Jordan & Skala Engineers
2021 MEP Giants rank:
51
Location: Dallas, TX, United States
Building type: Hotel/motel/resort
Project type: New construction
Engineering services: Electrical, power; HVAC, mechanical; plumbing, piping
Project timeline: August 2016 to February 2020
MEP/FP budget: $230,000 

Interior Images for Virgin Design District Hotel in Dallas, TX . Courtesy: Jordan and Skala Engineers[/caption]

Challenges

The vision for the Virgin Hotel brand is to create an adventurous and fun experience for its guests. For that reason, our engineers had to deliver an equally creative approach to the hotel’s system design. One of the biggest challenges faced was maintaining a nine-foot ceiling height while utilizing a Dedicated Outdoor Air System unit with a 2-pipe VRF system, which typically has height limitations. Another significant challenge that our team efficiently worked through was coordination with the different consultants for the acoustics and lighting design. With acoustics being an important component of any hotel project, this brought a challenge of high-level coordination between our engineers and the consultant. The unique decorative lighting used throughout the hotel presented a greater challenge due to coordinating all the lighting system changes. Similar to the lighting system changes, another challenge was coordinating the design of the above-grade transformer vault. 

Interior Images for Virgin Design District Hotel in Dallas, TX . Courtesy: Jordan and Skala Engineers[/caption]

Solutions

Our engineers achieved a nine-foot ceiling height while utilizing a Dedicated Outdoor Air System unit with a two-pipe VRF system. With high-level coordination with the acoustic consultant, our team ensured that the design of the lobby, ballrooms, and guest rooms allowed for sounds and vibrations to efficiently flow through those spaces. To power the decorative lighting throughout the hotel, we were successful in completing the multiple lighting system changes through coordination with the lighting designers and vendors.  Additionally, our team was in constant communication with the on-core power company to ensure that the design of the above-grade transformer vault followed all design standards and protocols.