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Karpinski Engineering Wins Engineering Excellence Award for Heights High School
Heights High Front - Karpinski Engineering
April 5, 2018 -- Karpinski Engineering (KE) won an Outstanding Achievement Award for their contributions to the newly-renovated Heights High School, which reopened last August. The award was part of the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition, sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio (ACEC Ohio). The Heights High renovation was one of six projects to receive an Outstanding Achievement Award. 
 
KE provided mechanical, electrical, technology, and lighting design; security engineering; and energy modeling for the project. 
 
“Heights High School is a tremendous facility,” said Brian David, PE, Principal and Senior Vice President of Karpinski Engineering. “The community cared deeply about what their new school would be like, and I’m proud of what our team accomplished for the community and its students.”

Heights High School blends new and old. The District renovated the original, 134,000-SF, 1926 school building and placed it at the center of the design. It is flanked by 216,000 SF of new construction.

Sustainability was a core value for the new school. The CH-UH community advocated specifically for sustainable design strategies. The completed Heights High School is projected to reduce site energy use by 60% and utility costs by 32% below baseline measures. It is also on track for LEED Gold Certification.
 
A key sustainability feature is Heights High School’s hybrid geothermal system, which allowed the District to meet both sustainability and financial goals. Geothermal systems leverage the earth’s natural properties in order to heat and cool buildings. Heights High's system is sized for the heating season, and additional cooling equipment supplements the geothermal system during the warm months. (Diagram courtesy of Karpinski Engineering; click for larger)
 
Geothermal System Diagram 
 
ACEC’s Engineering Excellence Awards program spotlights engineering projects that demonstrate a high degree of uniqueness, ingenuity, and value. A panel of judges evaluates the projects on their innovation; value to the engineering profession; complexity; sustainable design benefits and community impact; and alignment with the client’s project goals.
 
Release courtesy of Karpinski Engineering