VAULT · MEP, Structural, Acoustic Technical Requirements

Doc date: 2026-07-28. Engineering-side companion to 03_BUILD_SPEC. Basis: 18,000 SF envelope, adaptive-reuse or new construction shell, main studio dual-mode (class plus broadcast), premium wet zone recovery wing, commercial café.

HVAC zone map and design targets

Arrival lounge

• Area: 1,200 SF. Occupancy: 40 max.
• Setpoint: 70 F cooling, 70 F heating.
• RH: 40 to 50 percent.
• CO2: less than 900 ppm.
• ACH: 6.
• Filtration: MERV 14.
• Notes: Vestibule with sliding automatic door to control infiltration. Positive pressure vs street.

Main studio (dual-mode)

• Area: 3,600 SF. Occupancy: 60 max in class; 40 max plus crew in broadcast.
• Setpoint: adjustable 68 F to 74 F.
• RH: 40 to 50 percent.
• CO2: less than 1,100 ppm demand-controlled.
• ACH: 12 in class mode, 6 with high-MERV recirculation in broadcast mode.
• Filtration: MERV 14 plus UV-C in air handler.
• Notes: dedicated AHU with variable speed fan. Broadcast quiet mode target NC 25 or better. Redundant AHU for reliability during broadcast.

Secondary studio (heated flow plus barre)

• Area: 1,400 SF. Occupancy: 30 max.
• Setpoint: programmable 78 F to 92 F.
• RH: 40 to 60 percent (up to 55 percent for heated flow class).
• CO2: less than 1,100 ppm demand-controlled.
• ACH: 10.
• Filtration: MERV 14 plus UV-C.
• Notes: radiant floor heat for base plus supplemental forced air for RH management. Dedicated dehumidifier for post-class RH pull-down.

Gym and strength

• Area: 2,400 SF. Occupancy: 40 max.
• Setpoint: 66 F cooling, 68 F heating.
• RH: 40 to 50 percent.
• CO2: less than 1,000 ppm.
• ACH: 10.
• Filtration: MERV 14 plus UV-C.
• Notes: supplemental exhaust for platform zone to purge quickly after intense sessions.

Recovery wing (multi-zone)

• Notes: entire wet zone in negative pressure relative to dry front-of-house. Dedicated dehumidifier at 12 gal per day capacity minimum. Wall assembly full vapor barrier plus non-corroding fasteners.

Locker rooms (2 gendered plus 1 all-gender)

• Area: 2,200 SF total. Occupancy: 40 total peak.
• Setpoint: 72 F.
• RH: 50 to 60 percent.
• CO2: less than 1,000 ppm.
• ACH: 12.
• Filtration: MERV 14.
• Notes: dedicated exhaust for showers plus toilet plus steam. Radiant heated floor. Anti-fog mirror heat.

Café and lounge

• Area: 1,600 SF. Occupancy: 60 max.
• Setpoint: 70 F.
• RH: 40 to 50 percent.
• CO2: less than 900 ppm.
• ACH: 8 general plus Type I hood makeup air (4,000 to 6,000 CFM depending on cooking load).
• Filtration: MERV 14.
• Notes: hood-mandated exhaust plus tempered makeup air.

Broadcast control room

• Area: 400 SF. Occupancy: 4.
• Setpoint: 68 F.
• RH: 40 to 45 percent.
• CO2: less than 900 ppm.
• ACH: 6 plus 24 hr operation.
• Filtration: MERV 14.
• Notes: continuous cooling for equipment load. Dedicated split system as secondary path. NC 30 or better background noise.

Back of house (admin, laundry, storage, staff)

• Area: 1,600 SF.
• Setpoint: 72 F.
• RH: 40 to 50 percent.
• ACH: 4 admin, 10 laundry with dedicated dryer venting.
• Filtration: MERV 13.

HVAC system architecture

• DOAS with ERV for ventilation baseline. Minimum 10,000 CFM rated capacity, sized to code plus 20 percent for reserve.
• VRF heat pump (Mitsubishi CITY MULTI or Daikin VRV IV) for zone control, 4 to 6 outdoor condensing units split across zones.
• Radiant floor: Uponor or Watts hydronic, boiler-fed, in secondary studio and locker rooms.
• Dedicated exhausts: sauna, steam, cold plunge, hood, laundry, restrooms.
• Building automation: Distech, Automated Logic, or Tridium Niagara BMS. Full remote monitoring plus alerts.
• Redundancy: N+1 on main studio AHU. Cold plunge chiller with backup. Boiler with staged units so single-boiler failure doesn’t kill radiant.

Structural requirements

Deck live load (finished)

• Main studio: 100 psf live plus 50 psf partition plus rigging point loads per plan.
• Gym platform zone: 150 psf.
• Recovery wing: 100 psf, plus point loads for sauna and steam vessels per manufacturer.
• Café: 100 psf.
• All other occupied zones: 100 psf per NC Building Code assembly minimums.

Rigging attachment (main studio)

• Per pole point: 1,500 lbf static working load. Dynamic factor 10x. Ultimate 75,000 lbf per point at 5:1 safety.
• Grid: independent load-rated aerial grid rated 5,000 lbf per bay point load OR 100 psf uniform, whichever governs.
• 24 pole positions on 6 ft x 6 ft grid, in a 30 ft x 40 ft rigging zone within the main studio.
• Broadcast truss: 4-point motorized truss, 500 lbf per point static, 200 lbf per foot uniform.
• Fall arrest anchors at aerial positions: 5,000 lbf ultimate per OSHA 1926.502.
• Grid integration: independent steel grid hung from primary structure via engineered connections. Do not attach to existing wood truss or bowstring truss.

Steel grid detail (adaptive-reuse case)

• Main member: W8x18 or W10x22 beam pattern on 8 ft grid.
• Secondary: W6x12 cross-members on 6 ft centers.
• Hangers: 3/4 in threaded rod, seismic braced per ASCE 7 for NC seismic zone.
• Coordination: rigging grid installed after MEP rough plus before ceiling.

Structural verification (adaptive-reuse LOI)

• Structural engineer walks property before LOI.
• Confirms deck load capacity via existing drawings plus in-situ measurements plus intrusive testing if drawings absent.
• If capacity insufficient, budget for supplemental steel or reinforced deck. Add $50 to $150 psf on main studio area to buildout budget.

Acoustic requirements

Isolation targets (per assembly)

Wall assemblies (typical)

• STC 65 studio-to-studio: double stud, 3.5 in cavity each, Green Glue between double 5/8 in Type X GWB each side, staggered stud, decoupled top and bottom plates on resilient pads.
• STC 60 studio-to-support: staggered stud plus double 5/8 in Type X plus resilient channel one side.
• STC 55 back-of-house: standard 6 in metal stud plus double 5/8 in Type X plus batt insulation.

Ceiling assembly (main studio, dual-mode)

• Structural grid: independent steel grid for rigging (see structural section).
• Acoustic ceiling: sound isolation clips (RSIC-1 or PAC International RSIC) plus resilient channel plus double 5/8 in Type X GWB.
• Cavity: 8 in mineral wool.
• Broadcast treatment: motorized theatrical curtain track around perimeter, retracted in class mode, deployed in broadcast mode. Curtain fabric NRC 0.75 minimum.

Floor assembly (main studio)

• Base: existing structural deck.
• Vibration isolation pad: Fabreeka or Kinetics Noise Control neoprene 3/4 in.
• Plywood sub-floor 2 layers 3/4 in staggered.
• Sprung dance floor system (Harlequin Liberty or Rosco Cadence) with resilient rubber pads.
• Wear surface: engineered walnut plank (see finish spec).

Background noise targets

• Main studio in broadcast mode: NC 25 with all HVAC operating.
• Main studio in class mode: NC 30.
• Control room: NC 30.
• Recovery relaxation lounge: NC 30.
• All studios: RT60 tuned per acoustic consultant. Main studio dual mode: 0.6 to 0.8 sec class, 0.4 to 0.5 sec broadcast.

Vibration isolation

• All rotating equipment (AHU, VRF condensers, boilers, chillers, dehumidifiers) on spring hangers or spring isolators plus inertia bases.
• Roof-mount RTUs on spring curbs.
• No hard connections from equipment to structure.

Broadcast production infrastructure

Control room

• 400 SF, adjacent main studio, glass window with dual-pane STC 45 window into studio.
• Equipment power: dedicated 100A 3-phase circuit, isolated ground.
• HVAC: dedicated split for redundancy plus base VRF connection.
• Audio: Dante network fiber, 32 channel base capacity, expandable.
• Video: SDI plus fiber runs to studio positions, 4 camera minimum plus overhead plus PTZ options.
• Uplink: dedicated fiber to street, redundant carrier (Spectrum Business plus AT&T Fiber). 1 Gbps symmetric each minimum.
• Streaming: Blackmagic ATEM Constellation or Ross Ultrix routing plus Vimeo Studio plus YouTube Live plus custom CDN.

Main studio broadcast prep

• Motorized truss lighting: 4 to 6 point Tempest or similar. DMX and sACN control.
• Cyclorama or seamless backdrop system on one wall, motorized.
• Perimeter theatrical curtain, motorized.
• Camera positions: 4 hardwired plus 2 wireless, IFB return.
• Talent audio: 6 channel Shure Axient wireless plus 4 channel Wisycom IEM.
• Reference monitor system: Meyer Sound or L-Acoustics.

Power for broadcast

• Isolated 100A 3-phase, tech neutral, isolated ground.
• Star ground topology to eliminate hum loops.
• UPS backup for control room equipment: 10 kVA minimum, 30 min runtime.
• Generator failover to control room plus main studio lighting: within 10 sec on utility loss.

Water and drainage (recovery wing detail)

• Cold plunge: dedicated chiller circulation, ozone plus UV sanitation. No chlorine. Copper-silver ionization as secondary. Recirculation pump 20 gpm minimum per plunge.
• Sauna: dedicated 240V 30A circuit plus per manufacturer.
• Steam room: dedicated steam generator (Mr. Steam or Steamist Total Sense), dedicated water supply plus drain.
• IR sauna: dedicated 240V 30A circuit per unit.
• Floor drains: linear channel drains, honed travertine tile with tight epoxy grout.
• Trench drain at cold plunge threshold.
• Water treatment: whole-building softener plus RO for café and hydration.
• Grease trap: 1,500 gal exterior for café.

Fire and life safety

• NFPA 13 sprinklered.
• Assembly Group A-3 or B (personal service) as determined by AoR.
• Occupant load calculated per NC Building Code table 1004.5.
• 2 means of egress from every occupied zone.
• Emergency lighting plus exit signs per code.
• Fire alarm addressable, monitored central station.

Cross-references

03_BUILD_SPEC.md for finishes and program. 06_BUILDOUT_BUDGET.md for line items driven by these systems. 03_CONCEPT_PROGRAMMING/00_FLOOR_PLAN_CONCEPT for zone layout.