Project Brief

KPMG rebuilt the restrooms and made tenant improvements across levels 42, 43, and 44 of 811 Main Street in downtown Houston, with Perkins and Will as architect and Hines as landlord. KeRi engineered the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection work.

Level 42 took new men's, women's, and gender neutral restrooms, level 43 new men's and women's restrooms, and each group was given its own continuously running in-line exhaust fan on a programmable timeclock, sized at 550 and 450 CFM, with ductwork and registers laid out to the new fixture plan. Plumbing carried the new fixtures, floor drains, and instantaneous electric water heaters, with an automatic leak detection and shut-off system designed into the wet areas: sensors in the restrooms and pantry, a control panel, and motorised valves that close the supply before water reaches a tenant floor below.

Electrical covered lighting and power demolition and new work on all three levels, using LED fixtures throughout and run through an energy code compliance check for the altered spaces. The sprinkler layout on levels 42 and 43 was revised to the new ceilings and partitions.

MEP Engineering Scope

What We Engineered

MEP and fire protection engineering for the three-level fit-out:

• New restroom groups on levels 42 and 43, including a gender neutral restroom
• Dedicated continuously running exhaust fans on programmable timeclocks
• Plumbing fixtures, floor drains, and instantaneous electric water heaters
• Automatic leak detection with sensors, control panel, and motorised shut-off valves
• LED lighting and power, with energy code compliance for the altered spaces
• Sprinkler revisions on levels 42 and 43 to suit the new ceilings

The Challenge

The work sat forty-two storeys up an occupied tower, directly above other tenants. New wet rooms in that position carry a real risk: a failed supply line does not stay on the floor it starts on.

Our Solution

KeRi designed the restrooms with their own continuous exhaust and timeclock control, and protected the floors below with an automatic leak detection system, sensors through the wet areas feeding a control panel that closes motorised valves on the supply. Lighting, power, and sprinklers were revised across the three levels alongside the architecture.