City National Bank

As part of City National Bank’s (CNB) expansion into the east coast, CNB began a design effort in 2019 encompassing three new banking facilities located at 440 Park Ave, 71 5th Avenue, and 450 West 33rd St (5 Manhattan West) in NYC. Kohler Ronan, as the MEP engineer of record for all three facilities, designed MEP systems that were specific to each building, reflecting differing building MEP infrastructure and programming requirements.

Kohler Ronan designed all the buildings to provide premium HVAC systems, efficient plumbing fixtures, and utilize sustainable lighting control initiatives for a highly sophisticated banking environment.

At 440 Park Ave and 71 5th Avenue, a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system was implemented for cooling with baseboard electric heaters providing heating. At 5 Manhattan West, heat pumps were specified utilizing the base-building condenser water system for cooling; however, for heating, the architectural aesthetic required that each CNB branch (especially 5 Manhattan West) have a less obtrusive heating system on the building perimeter due to the floor-to-ceiling glass façade. In order to achieve this goal, a steam-to-hot-water convertor system was designed for the space and flat panel fin tube radiators were installed to deliver perimeter heating.

In each of the buildings, Kohler Ronan implemented state-of-the-art building management and lighting control systems to allow for granular occupancy-level controls, daylight harvesting, and optimum energy efficiency. Kohler Ronan’s experience with various building types and systems allowed for both a seamless design and construction process as well as beautiful end products at all three locations.

The International Facility Management Association nominated 5 Manhattan West for a 2021 IFMA Award.

Photo credit: © Peter Aaron/OTTO