Located on the Oklahoma River in downtown Oklahoma City (OKC), Okla., the Boathouse District consists of six buildings, the five newest being:

• RIVERSPORT Rapids, a $45.2-million whitewater-rafting and kayaking center, completed in May 2016.
• SandRidge Youth Pavilion, a 2,000-sq-ft space for concessions, retail, and sports activities, completed in October 2015.
• CHK | Central Boathouse, home to the University of Central Oklahoma women’s rowing team and housing a live-music venue and art gallery, completed in April 2015.
• Chesapeake Finish Line Tower, a 7,500-sq-ft, four-level rowing and canoe/kayak venue, completed in October 2011.
• Devon Boathouse, a 33,000-sq-ft, two-level space for events of all types and sizes, completed in October 2010.

To complement the buildings’ modern architecture and efficiently cool and heat the diverse spaces, the OKC Boathouse Foundation chose variable-refrigerant-flow (VRF) technology from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating.

Devon Boathouse

Devon Boathouse, John Riggs, senior director of operations for the OKC Boathouse Foundation, said, is a “stunning high-performance facility and a designated U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training site” with “a little bit of everything: ... a dynamic rowing tank, a gym with a free-weight area, kayak ergometers and treadmills, locker rooms, an event room that holds 200 people seated, an endless pool, a high-altitude chamber, and multiple boat bays.” With so many spaces and each dedicated to occupant experience, a HVAC system with advanced controls was required.

“This is about access, the ability to remote in and change things on the fly,” Riggs said. “A high level of access and control means you can manage energy costs and customers’ comfort. VRF offers that kind of access.”

Devon Boathouse features glass and polycarbonate walls for an open feel. To match that aesthetic, the HVAC system’s indoor and outdoor units needed to be unobtrusive.

“We couldn’t have anything on the roof,” Riggs said. “That’s just how it is on the whole campus—nothing on the roofs; everything’s gotta be straight lines. And all of the buildings on campus are triangles, so they have this crisp, clean look. We needed a system that could match that.”

Damon McClure, project manager for the Boathouse District’s mechanical contractor, Oklahoma City-based Harrison-Orr Air Conditioning LLC, explained: “Most of the HVAC selection at Devon was definitely about achieving a discreet look. Trying to hide everything with a four-pipe system with a boiler, for example, would have been very hard. At the same time, energy efficiency was important. There are event rooms that need to be heated and also training rooms that need to be kept at 66 degrees all the time, receiving cooling even in the winter. Devon needed a system that would make economical use of consumed energy. Heat pumps with heat recovery offered the ability to zone properly, given the diversity of the space.”

Riggs said the installation process for Mitsubishi Electric VRF is “pretty quick.”

“The condenser units go in good and clean, and the flexibility of the indoor units has let us do some unique things, like taking out soffits and putting units in there,” Riggs said.

McClure was impressed with the training provided by Mitsubishi Electric.

“We sent several of our guys to a training class in Texas a few months before doing the Devon Boathouse,” McClure said. “The hands-on training is invaluable when working with VRF.”

For Riggs, an end-user, no specific training was needed.

“The system was simple to learn, in terms of using the controls,” Riggs said. “And the controls have been effective.”