| ABS Consultants, Inc. |
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| April 21, 2005 | Copyright © 1997—2005 ABS Consultants, Inc. |
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| Colorado's Ocean Journey |
| Location: 700 Water Street, Denver, Colorado |
| Architect: Odyssea - Architect, (Joint Venture: RNL & Anderson Mason Dale), Denver, Colorado |
| Owner: Colorado's Ocean Journey, Denver, Colorado |
| General Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Company, Greeley, Colorado |
Colorado's Ocean Journey is a 105,000 sf three-story aquarium with saltwater, freshwater and several mammal exhibits located on the South Platte River near downtown Denver. There are three primary exhibit spaces designed with a natural habitat orientation to allow visitors to see the animals in their own environment. The building includes a large curved all glass Ocean Plaza entry/pre-function space with a River Otter exhibit, an Indonesian rain forest exhibit with two tigers, a Colorado River exhibit, classrooms, administrative spaces, animal surgery, labs, food service facilities and extensive life support equipment space. |
The mechanical systems for the project were provided on a design/build basis with Trautman & Shreve Inc. The HVAC system consists of two chillers totaling 600 tons that serve a total of eleven air handling units and five heat exchangers required by the Life Support Systems. A water-side economizer cycle was used due to the nature of the 24-hour cooling loads of the Life Support System. The air handling systems serving the exhibit spaces were designed to be quiet, corrosion resistant and completely integrated with the rockwork and foliage of the various exhibits so as to be "invisible". In addition, there were a wide range of environments to simulate within the exhibits including 60°F high-alpine breezes, hot arid desert sea breezes, 80°F humid rain forest and comfortable seating areas in front of the main viewing tanks. Special consideration to odor control in the mammal exhibits was also a design criteria. The HVAC systems serving the life support and service deck areas exposed to the salt water environment used special corrosion resistant materials to extend their useful life. |
Domestic cold water is provided to all plumbing fixtures including connection to the salt water makeup tanks and fresh water makeup tanks. A loop of salt water piping and fresh water piping is routed around the service area with drops for future connection as well as hard connection to Aquatic Tanks. Numerous hose bibbs are provided around the facility for wash down. |
The sanitary sewer system consists of collecting all domestic and kitchen effluent. A sewage ejection station with holding capacity of 8000 gallons is provided for collection of the backwash from the various aquatic tank filtration systems. The entire sewer system is connected to the public main. A number of area drains are provided throughout the facility for wash down and aquatic tank backwash discharge. |
Domestic hot water generation is provided for the life support systems via a double wall heat exchanger. The hot water is looped through the facility for connection to the life support systems. A separate domestic hot water heat exchanger is provided for the commons areas, i.e., showers, public restrooms, kitchen. The heat exchangers are a u-tube type with heating water as the heating medium. |
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