Kohler Ronan, LLC

Kohler Ronan is a multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm founded in 1998, with offices in Danbury, Connecticut and on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. It employs roughly 76 people and is led by five partners with close to 150 years of combined experience between them.

The practice covers mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design plus technology design, energy analysis, sustainable design and commissioning. Its niche is cultural and institutional work in and around historically significant buildings, where system routing has to be threaded through fabric that cannot be altered. The firm ranks fourth nationally in museums and galleries and ninth across all cultural facilities, with credits including the Princeton University Art Museum, the Frick Collection’s facilities expansion, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s ABC skylights, the Leo D. Mahoney Arena at Fairfield University and the new New Canaan Library. Kohler Ronan is a certified Small Business Enterprise, an approved NYSERDA and Energize Connecticut consultant, and a signatory to the Carbon Leadership Forum’s MEP 2040 Challenge.

Behind the museum and campus commissions is a deep systems bench. On the mechanical side Kohler Ronan designs air handling and ductwork distribution, chilled water and condenser water equipment, hot water and steam distribution, energy recovery, displacement and demand-controlled ventilation, and solar and geothermal systems. Electrical scope runs from power distribution and general lighting to emergency and standby generation, uninterruptible power supplies, photovoltaic arrays and clean power systems, plus fire and smoke detection and alarm design. Plumbing work covers sanitary, vent, storm and potable water distribution, backflow protection, natural gas utility service, waste treatment and neutralisation, grey water and rainwater harvesting. Fire protection includes fire pump, standpipe and sprinkler systems, gas suppression, life safety systems and code compliance.

Construction administration is a named service rather than an add-on. The firm reviews shop drawings and construction documents against design intent, makes site visits and troubleshoots on site, reviews and executes change orders, produces punch lists and progress reports, and coordinates schedules through to project completion.

Sustainability credentials sit with the staff as much as the firm. Kohler Ronan is a member of the US Green Building Council, more than 15 of its engineers are LEED Accredited Professionals, and one principal holds WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador and Certified Passive House Designer designations. Its energy-consulting work includes serving as an Independent FlexTech Consultant in New York and taking projects inside Eversource and United Illuminating territories in Connecticut, where its engineers supply energy modelling and controls commissioning to identify efficiency opportunities on new construction and substantial renovation.

The practice sums up its aim as engineering excellence and client partnering, with a stated preference for minimising any part of an engineering system that would detract from a building. That instinct matters on the landmark and historically significant sites the firm is regularly hired for, where the systems have to work without altering what is already there. Kohler Ronan also maintains an account on X at @kohlerronan and publishes a video series introducing members of its engineering staff.