Although only 10 years old, Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati has already embarked upon two major expansions. The latest, which includes expanding the atrium to more than 32,000 sq.ft., adding 22 new classrooms, and creating a 3,500 seat auditorium, means the church will now occupy more than 260,000 sq.ft. of space.

Commercial HVAC distinguished itself on this project by using a pro-active design approach. Instead of using large mechanical rooms to house air handling units, boilers, chillers, and pumps, Commercial HVAC proposed a radically different approach of using packaged rooftop units.

While using packaged rooftops may not be "innovative" in the normal sense, the approach Commercial HVAC employed on this project was truly a win-win for Crossroads. Without using a single sound attenuator, Commercial HVAC was able to not only meet strict NC-25 sound criteria, but in the process gave back more than 3,500 sq.ft. of much-needed space.

Two rooftop units were located on lower roofs to serve the auditorium. The ductwork was routed up the side of the building, and enclosed with metal panels to complement the exterior metal building appearance. The space that would have been occupied by the air handling units, boilers, pumps, and chiller became offices, AV production, a green room, and a large 1,800 sq.ft. scene shop.

The other areas of the 171,000 sq.ft. expansion/-renovation included classrooms, kids club areas,nurseries, gathering areas, meeting rooms, and administrative support offices. Because the existing areas were originally conditioned with variable air volume packaged rooftop units, this approach was used for the newly expanded areas. A total of 16 packaged rooftops units were added, for a total of 450 tons of air conditioning. Carbon dioxide sensors were installed on all units serving classrooms and other high-occupancy spaces to improve ventilation effectiveness and reduce energy costs.

EQUIPMENT LIST

• 16 Trane rooftop units and curbs
• 116 Trane VAV boxes
• 43 Cook exhaust fans
• 3 Trane split systems
• Trane controls