Deutsche Bank
60 Wall Street
New York, NY
Corporate Headquarters

This project involved designing significant improvements to the base building as well as the tenant fit-out for the Americas Headquarters of Deutsche Bank (DB). The size of the project is 1,100,000 usable square feet (usf) and included replacing central chillers, replacing electric service transformers, generator room upgrades and cooling tower refurbishment. The space utilization allowed for 126,000 usf trading, 350 seat auditorium, 20,000 usf of Technology Equipment Rooms, and 900,000 usf of office space for Investment Banking and Equities Research. One of the significant project challenges was to design and implement a major reconstruction effort around a partially occupied building.

Electrical Systems
Twelve, 2,500 kVA service transformers were replaced. The existing transformers were wound with aluminum and were not Con Edison approved. As part of the effort, we specified a transformer of an alternate manufacturer that was tested and approved by Con Edison. This approach saved DB $800,000 as the transformers specified were significantly less expensive than previously approved Con Edison devices.

A 2N+1 parallel redundant UPS system was provided for the critical loads. Each system is comprised of four, 750/675 kVA/kW modules for a total of 3,000 kVA/2,700 kW. Eight, 600 Amp Static Transfer Switches (STS) have been provided on the load side to provide uninterruptible “A” and “B” feeds to the user. The specific challenge of this installation was to locate a route for the 4,000 Amp feeders for the UPS, UPS bypass and load bank. MI cable was chosen as the transport method for the power. The project became the largest MI cable installation in the country consisting of approximately 12 miles of MI cable. UPS power was provided to three trading floors housing 1,600 traders and the Technology Equipment Rooms.

Mechanical Systems
The existing HVAC systems serving the trading areas consist of perimeter 4-pipe fan-coil console units, and an overhead VAV (pinch-down type) distribution system. The overhead system is fed by the base building’s central air system and supplemented by chilled water AHU’s (five at 30 tons each).

The perimeter fan-coil systems were refurbished and reused. The overhead pinch-down VAV distribution system was demolished and replaced with a constant volume fan-powered VAV distribution system to achieve proper ventilation and comfort for the traders. The existing central air system as well as the supplemental AHU’s, are being reused after refurbishment.

The new temperature control system on the trading floor includes a new DDC-based control system for all areas. The system reports VAV functions and space temperatures, as well as adjustment options to the building’s existing BMS system. Tamper-proof temperature sensors are located strategically within the traders’ desks, fully coordinated with the desk manufacturer. Technology Equipment Room AC systems are designed with 2N redundancy for reliability.

The existing AC systems which serve the General Office Floors are being adaptively reused to the greatest extent. RDA’s diligent surveys uncovered numerous physical and operational problems with the existing systems, such as severely leaking duct joints, poorly designed duct fittings, non-functioning VAV actuators, etc.

A new fuel oil distribution and storage system for the six existing emergency generators was designed. The challenge was to design the system in a manner that did not take the entire generator system out of operation, since existing tenants are connected to this system and have to remain on-line and protected. The challenge was met through the use of creative valving arrangements and close coordination with the construction team.

The central refrigeration plan was upgraded by replacing three existing chillers in the main chiller plant with three new 1,250 ton electrically driven centrifugal chillers together with a cooling tower refurbishment. All five condenser water pumps and five chilled water pumps were replaced with new pumps to match the flowrate of the new machines. Prior to the selection of chillers, a feasibility study and life cycle analysis was done in an effort to compare alternate types of chillers (electric, steam, gas) and configurations. The analysis resulted in concluding that electric chillers would be the most economically feasible due to the fact that DB’s cost for electricity is approximately $0.06 per kWH including demand as provided by NYCPA.