The HVAC system installed in the building of the Faculty of Sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, in Bogotá, was selected as a finalist in the HVAC category of the CALA Awards 2025. The project was developed by Comercial y Servicios Larco S.A.S. and was executed in December 2024, integrating solutions from brands such as Samsung, Trane, Johnson Controls, Trox, CaptiveAire and Soler & Palau.
By CALA AWARDS
The installation encompassed a central cooling system of 210 tons of chilled water (TR), made up of modular refrigerators with heat pumps, primary pumping of variable flow and backup. In addition, a self-contained circuit with ethylene glycol was established for cold rooms, with two 15 TR coolers and pumps in series.
The heating system merges two methods: one through heat pumps of seven modules of 165 kBtu/h, while the other uses gas and diesel heaters of the same capacity, linked to different domestic hot water circuits, fan coils and reheating through a plate exchanger.
In terms of air conditioning, the property has outdoor air regulators, specific units for magnetic resonators and electron microscopy, laboratories equipped with HEPA and MERV 15 filters, and terminal fans. Specific biosafety systems for BSL-III and BSL-II laboratories were incorporated, including self-contained extraction and ventilation, humidification and isolation.
The extraction of cabins, designed with variable flow and variable frequency drives, incorporates integration with variable volume boxes, aligned to the building's monitoring systems.
"The engineering management was evidenced in the taking of the basic design by Larco, who reviewed and optimized it, achieving savings in investment and subsequent consumption of the system," the company said. The building is currently applying for EDGE certification and has energy efficiency systems, variable flow rates and centralized control, in line with institutional sustainability goals.
