ASHRAE 2008 Student Design Project Competition

ASHRAE sponsors this design project competition to encourage undergraduate students to become involved in the dynamic profession of Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning, to apply their knowledge to practical design use, and to promote team work. ASHRAE will recognize the outstanding student design projects at next year's ASHRAE 2009 Winter Meeting in Chicago, IL.

The student design competition follows a prescribed format. The contest’s guidelines provide enough background information to enable the teams to select and/or design the HVAC system for the given building and/or perform the architectural design for the given program. The teams may compete in one or more of the three subcategories: HVAC System Selection, HVAC System Design and Architectural Design.

ASHRAE recommends that the project groups consist of at least two members. However, team members can attend different colleges. Five copies of the all competition entries must be submitted to ASHRAE. Along with the hard copies of the entries, a CD with the electronic version must be included as well. Each entry, including drawings, diagrams, calculations and manufacture’s data, must be no longer than 45 pages. The report should include, at a minimum, the following:

• Statement of subcategory criteria and major goals,
• Descriptions of how the design satisfied these criteria and goals,
• Descriptions of how and why the final HVAC system or architectural design was selected,
• Supporting calculations, and
• Design drawings and/or schematic diagrams.

Entries may originate from an undergraduate engineering or architecture curriculum. All team members must be enrolled in an undergraduate program during the semester/term they contribute to the design. Projects submitted by graduate students are not eligible. Deadline for this is Friday May 9, 2008.

Awards

Awards will be presented to the winners of each of the three competition subcategories as follows:

First Place: $1,500 Plus a representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights lodging and $100 expenses for attendance at the ASHRAE 2009 winter meeting in Chicago, IL where the award will be presented.

Second Place: A representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights lodging and $100 expenses for attendance at the 2009 winter meeting in Chicago, IL where the award will be presented.

Third Place: A representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights lodging and $100 expenses for attendance at the 2009 winter meeting in Chicago, IL where the award will be presented.

Project Guidelines

The ASHRAE 2008 Student Design Competition features a 60,000 ft² Community Recreation Center. The original project was designed for the Nashville, Tennessee area. The recreation center includes:

• A gymnasium with two full size basketball courts and a running track
• A wellness center complete with both a fitness equipment room and an aerobics room
• A natatorium with a six lane swimming pool
• Indoor racquetball courts
• Men's and women's locker rooms
• Administrative office space

The teams may compete in one or more of the three subcategories: HVAC System Selection, HVAC System Design and Architectural Design.

HVAC Systems Selection – Encourages students with a solid HVAC base to use life-cycle cost process to select the building HVAC system(s) as well as incorporate the sustainability process promoted by ASHRAE by integrating the US Green Building Council's LEED™ Rating System into the project.

HVAC Systems Design – Focuses on "right-sizing" HVAC equipment and systems to provide an energy efficient design for the facility. Students are required to determine heating and cooling loads, and design an HVAC system for the recreation center while complying with ASHRAE Standards 55-2004, 62.1-2004 and 90.1- 2004.

Architectural Design – Architectural students are asked to "redesign" the building in an effort to achieve a LEED™ Silver Rating. Students will be asked "document" select LEED™ Credits to measure how their design meets the sustainability goals. An emphasis on integrating the requirements of the mechanical and electrical systems should be a strong element throughout the design.

Student Design Competition Judging Criteria

•  HVAC System Design Criteria
•  HVAC System Selection Criteria
•  Architectural Design Criteria