Meeting/Event Information

Join ASHRAE Boston and AEE New England for networking and a live presentation. Speakers Andrew Kozak and Cory Foulk designed the cutting-edge HVAC system of New York University's (NYU) John A. Paulson Center.

Located at 181 Mercer Street in Manhattan, NY, the John A. Paulson Center is a mixed-use, 735,000 SF new building on NYU’s main campus. Opened in January 2023, the building houses 58 classrooms (more than any other NYU building), a 350-seat proscenium theater with fly loft capabilities, and performance spaces for the drama and music programs. It also has community space for a university without a quad, a new athletics facility with an NCAA regulation basketball court and a six-lane pool. It even includes a 400-bed residence hall for first-year students, 42 units of faculty housing, and two dining halls - all within a single block - in one of the world’s most densely populated cities. 

The project has an advanced HVAC system design, featuring Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) units with energy recovery wheels and active desiccant wheels. This system, in connection with NYU’s tri-generation facility (producing hot water, chilled water, and electricity), provides highly efficient heating and cooling to the project, while substantially reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and pollutants. There is a unique synergy between the building’s HVAC design and the plant serving 181 Mercer Street, which is highlighted by the desiccant dehumidification wheels regenerating with engine jacket waste heat from the tri-generation turbine. This optimizes the use of the steam turbine’s waste heat, shifting a substantial portion of the building’s latent cooling load from electricity to waste heat. 

Cory Foulk is an Associate, Sustainable Design at BR+A Consulting Engineers with over three years of experience in the building energy/HVAC consulting industry. His primary focus is on building energy modeling. This ranges from conceptual HVAC system options analysis to guide a project's HVAC design, to modeling the CD design to ensure energy code compliance. Often involved in cutting-edge HVAC designs, Cory develops in-house modeling tools to analyze the energy performance of complex mechanical systems, which are beyond the capabilities of conventional energy modeling software. He is particularly knowledgeable about energy recovery and geothermal systems, and notably managed a diverse project team to develop a detailed conceptual geothermal design for a critical healthcare facility. Beyond experience designing buildings in healthcare, Cory also has considerable experience with buildings in the higher education and research settings. Additionally, he has experience in HVAC design, including central energy plant design and hot and chilled water campus distribution piping design. Cory graduated from Lafayette College in 2020 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), and has the LEED AP BD+C certification.

Andrew Kozak is a Principal at BR+A Consulting Engineers, with over 30 years of industry experience, and an extensive background in energy management and sustainable design. As a Licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Andrew specializes in projects that require thorough analysis and innovative solutions. He has successfully completed an impressive array of projects in the higher education, commercial, residential, healthcare, mission-critical, and industrial market sectors. Andrew is a proud alumnus of the New York Institute of Technology, where he earned both a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MS in Energy Management. In 2018, he had the privilege of becoming a Fellow Member of the Association of Energy Engineers, an honor bestowed upon individuals who are considered to “have made significant contributions to the energy management and alternative energy industry.” Andrew is also the Director at Large of ASHRAE’s NYC chapter. As an Adjunct Professor for the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, he teaches graduate students in sustainability and energy management. Over the past 10 years, Andrew has regularly presented at conferences with AEE, ASHRAE, and IDEA.