Central Campus Chilled Water Plant #3

This new Duke University Chilled Water Plant #3 is sited on 7.4 acres in the central part of this university’s campus. It is located near the arts district which includes prominent attractions such as a prestigious botanical garden and a popular arts center and university art museum. This central campus location was chosen for several reasons – first, it is in close proximity to the existing chilled water loop and second, the site is perched at a higher elevation, providing energy efficient pumping and distribution of chilled water to campus. The site also fronts a main vehicular and pedestrian thoroughfare for campus traffic and provides beautiful views of the adjacent botanical gardens - one of the most visited places in the city. The building is sited close to the street to reinforce the campus streetscape. The building also provides a visual buffer for a high voltage (HV) storage building and large cooling towers. Locating a chilled water plant on a major campus road and adjacent to prominent campus buildings required a careful approach to the design of the facility. The use of refined precast wall panels, large amounts of glazing, and sunshades enables it to fit seamlessly into the campus context and to be a positive contribution to the campus architecture and experience.

The new facility had to span high floor-to-floor construction due to the size of the mechanical chiller equipment inside. Construction would have been a challenge with typical building materials; however, employing precast concrete panels provided a beneficial solution. The steel structure beams and columns were erected from the inside out, then wrapped with the exterior load bearing precast panel. The panels were fabricated offsite and delivered ready to install in large sections. The precast concrete panels included two-inch insulation in the middle and eliminated the need for interior metal furring and drywall. The design team made effective use of the insulated precast by exposing the material as the interior finish for multiple areas of the building. 

Seeking to complement the surrounding campus context, the plant’s design employs the insulated precast concrete wall panels to maintain the color, texture, and materiality found in the campus precinct. Insulated architectural precast cladding boasts one-inch-deep reveals at different intervals and multiple finishes to visually reduce the scale of the tall walls. The versatility, durability, and energy efficiency of the insulated precast wall system provided the design team with the desired aesthetics within this high-profile area of the campus. 

The design provides unobstructed views into the facility from the street through large curtain wall openings in the precast, allowing pedestrians to see the large, color-coded equipment and piping inside that powers the campus. A steel sunshade canopy provides shading for the large windows and continues the use of metal sunshades and accent panels seen throughout the campus precinct. The sunshade structure is integrated into the precast wall panels with an inset steel channel that forms the main support for the sunshades. The sunshades emphasize the texture and relief variations within the precast panels through the shadows that are cast onto the precast wall panels.

This main building section is anchored with two massing projections to the north and south that house offices, training rooms and conference rooms. They are designed with a similar aesthetic and mirror each other. Large windows open views to the north and south of campus with a defining brow of aluminum composite panels. The aluminum brows provide dramatic geometric elements set within the precast wall panels and align with the precast horizontal banding and areas of textural relief.

As one of the campus facilities featuring rooftop solar panels, the plant is designed for enhanced energy efficiency. Acting as a hub, its powerful cooling systems are designed to carefully work in harmony with neighboring plant facilities through a looped, campus-wide network of pipes. With extensive institutional growth and over 12 miles of pipes running throughout the university and nearby medical buildings, this building will ensure optimal occupant comfort across campus and specifically for a new, 490,000-square-foot hospital bed tower. 

 

LOCATION
Durham, NC

ARCHITECT
Flad Architects

Related Projects