The 20-story Westin Hotel opened in downtown Austin, Texas in July 2015, and features 366 guest rooms and more than 15,000 square feet of event and meeting space. Building owner White Lodging chose HTS as the basis of design for this project based on prior experience working in hotels, which made equipment offerings more attractive to engineers. HTS worked with The Porter Company and Bury & Partners to install an HVAC system that could create a comfortable climate throughout the entire facility, for both guests and individuals hosting events in the space.
The hotel required a semi-custom air handling system to accommodate the needs of the building, and HTS was able to fulfill that requirement with six Daikin custom air handling units. Two 12,000 CFM Daikin energy recovery units were also installed, along with three Haakon Airpack custom air handlers totaling 235,000 CFM, which were chosen for their ability to produce minimal noise to minimize disturbance for hotel guests. Noise from the system was also minimized by the use of 392 IEC fan coils and 10 Daikin mini-split systems. The facility was completed with industry-leading equipment by incorporating 28 Danfoss variable frequency drives and 38 Krueger variable air volume boxes.
The large amounts of equipment being delivered and installed created obstacles for coordinating to meet construction deadlines, but HTS was able to work with the construction team and complete the job on time while meeting all of the facility’s needs.