Henderson Engineers Hits Slam Dunk on Sustainable Design Features for Intuit Dome

National Building Systems Design Firm Helps Bring World’s First Climate Positive Arena to Life

LENEXA, Kan. — Henderson Engineers, a national building systems design firm, is proud to be part of the all-star team helping deliver Intuit Dome, the world’s first climate positive arena and home of the Los Angeles Clippers. When fans pour into the state-of-the-art facility for NBA games, concerts, and other entertainment events upon its grand opening on August 15, they’ll be stepping into a multipurpose venue unlike any other in significant part thanks to sustainable mechanical engineering by Henderson Engineers.

Located in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Calif., the 17,700-seat, all-electric arena packs a punch on the amenity front. In addition to housing five basketball courts, a practice facility and training center, and an outdoor plaza with two bars, a restaurant, and a team store, the venue has the world’s largest Halo Board, an oval, double-sided 4K scoreboard that measures nearly an acre. Two megawatts of rooftop solar panels and 11 megawatts of on-site battery storage contribute to the facility operating carbon free, meaning it will directly produce no pollution from burning natural gas or other fossil fuels.

On their part, Henderson Engineers has incorporated sustainable technologies like heat pumps, heat recovery chillers, highly efficient mag-bearing chillers, and arena bowl under-seat supply air distribution, an innovative, energy-efficient system that provides ventilation and air conditioning from underneath the seats instead of from ducts hanging overhead. The HVAC system is configured to provide the seating bowl, locker rooms, and player and coach areas with 100% outside air, creating a clean indoor air quality environment and limiting energy use by taking advantage of Southern California’s pleasant climate. Such forward-thinking design is expected to help earn the facility a LEED Platinum certification, the highest sustainability rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“With only 30 NBA teams to go around, any new arena within the league provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a bold statement. One of the major goals of this project was to raise the bar when it comes to the level of amenities at a sports facility to ensure memorable experiences for millions of fans for decades to come,” said Eric Taylor, senior mechanical engineer at Henderson Engineers. “The owner and design teams collectively also wanted to push the boundaries of how to sustainably build and operate an arena, and we were intentional about Intuit Dome being a net positive for the environment and a shining example for other sports venues in the future.”

Resource conservation also played a key part in how Henderson Engineers approached the project. Intuit Dome’s cooling towers use 100% reclaimed water and are equipped with a water treatment system that maximizes water reuse. As a result, the facility’s cooling towers use 40% less water than traditional cooling towers.

“California has been prone to droughts during the past decade, so water conservation was top of mind across the entire project as climate change continues to be a challenge,” explained Taylor. “Your typical cooling tower cycles water a couple of times before evaporation and sediment get in the way. The make-up water treatment system is basically a water softener that treats the reclaimed water and allows us to recycle it up to 20 times. This level of efficiency is a great example of the lengths this project has taken to operate as sustainably as possible.”

In addition to mechanical, Henderson Engineers provided fire and life safety design services for the project. Thirty percent of its scope was in collaboration with PBS Engineers, an L.A. area firm. The design team also included AECOM, Anderson Barker Architects, City Design Studio, Hood Design Studio, Labib Funk & Associates, S20 Consultants, and Walter P. Moore. AECOM Hunt was the general contractor and Turner Construction served as the construction manager.

Intuit Dome is the second multibillion-dollar sports venue Henderson Engineers has completed in the L.A. area in the past five years. The company also worked on SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

ABOUT HENDERSON

Henderson Companies is the 100% employee-owned parent company of Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions. Henderson Engineers is a national building systems design firm focused on six core sectors: business, community, grocery and distribution, health, retail, and venue. Henderson Building Solutions is a national design-build construction management and commissioning firm that provides a seamless bridge between design, construction, and ongoing maintenance. Founded in 1970 and 2013 respectively, we’re licensed in all 50 states and bring buildings to life through 1,000 employees across our offices in New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Nashville, Bentonville, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City (Lenexa, Kansas, and downtown Kansas City, Missouri), Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. To learn more, visit our websites at www.hendersonengineers.com and www.hendersonbuilding.com