Ryan Younis.
Ryan Younis, 28
Assistant director of mechanical services at Brookfield Properties
Growing up in a family of civil engineers outside of Boston, Ryan Younis realized early on that he wanted to work in construction. Watching his father work on job sites and run a small contracting firm inspired the Franklin, Mass., native to pursue a mechanical engineering degree at Lafayette College, where he also swam at the Division I level. (He even joined a competitive master swimming club right before the pandemic struck.)
When Younis graduated, he took a job in MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) commissioning and consulting. And, just as he’d hoped, he has been able to focus on sustainable and energy-efficient building systems.
First, he spent several years as an MEP consultant at Horizon Engineering Associates, working on large construction projects like World Financial Place, an Upper East Side residential tower and energy-efficient retrofits for the New York Power Authority.
For the past three years, he has worked on Brookfield (BN)’s sprawling One Manhattan West complex, first as a consultant and now as a Brookfield employee. His job involves testing all of the HVAC and electrical systems to make sure that they work as efficiently as possible. His team is also working on developing a platform that will integrate all of the building systems into a 3D model at One Manhattan West. When it’s finished, operations staff will be able to spot problems with fire alarms, elevators or HVAC systems more quickly than they would with a traditional building management system.
Younis is also working on the retail portion of One Manhattan West, the development’s Pendry Hotel and Two Manhattan West. The pandemic pushed Younis and his colleagues to consider new kinds of HVAC technology for the unfinished portions of the complex.
They’ve been exploring “different types of filter racks, bipolar ionization filters, hydrogen peroxide filters,” Younis said. “There’s all different kinds of devices you can install in the airstream to try and fight the virus. And we’ve been making things touchless for elevators and doors, faucets, toilets and paper towel dispensers.”
