Green

UConn’s NextGen Hall Cultivates Innovation

newman_uconn_nextgen_01

UConn Storrs NextGen Hall/copyright Robert Benson Photography

Storrs, CT – Next Generation Connecticut is a $1.5 billion initiative to increase educational opportunities, research, and innovation in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines at UConn over the next 10 years.

In addition to being the first on-campus housing facility built in 13 years, NextGen Hall is the first project that was awarded and completed under the Next Generation Connecticut program.

The building was designed to foster academic success, innovation, and community building, including the Learning Community Innovation Zone makerspace.

The new $105-million complex, which opened in August 2016, is a 210,000sf, eight-story, 727-bed residence hall with seminar rooms and an innovation zone laboratory for students’ use. The project was designed for LEED Silver certification.

BVH Integrated Services, P.C. served as the design engineer during the bridging documents phase, and continued on throughout the project as UConn’s design consultant during the completion of the design and the construction phases, which included commissioning services for the project.

Newman Architects was the bridging design architect and the university’s design consultant during the construction phase, and KBE Building Corporation served as the design-builder and constructor for the project.

The building is heated by three high-efficiency gas-fired condensing boilers. The terminal equipment was designed to operate at lower water temperatures, in order for the boilers to operate in condensing mode, and at their highest efficiency throughout the heating season. Cooling is provided by two water-cooled centrifugal chillers, with an open cooling tower on the roof. The cooling tower sumps are located inside the building, so that condenser water is available immediately when needed during swing seasons.

The residence rooms are heated and cooled by two-pipe valence units. These are units that use natural convention to quietly heat and cool the spaces without needing electric fans or filters to move the air. In addition, each room has an operable window. When the windows are opened, the cooling is disabled. A signal is sent to the building management system through a contact on the window, so the rooms can be monitored and protected from freezing if a window is inadvertently left open in the winter.

Reclaimed water from the campus central reclaimed water facility plant is being used for flushing of water closets and for make-up water for the cooling tower. The system is estimated to save about 19,000 gallons per day of water during peak use days. With the reclaimed water use, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and no permanent irrigation system for plantings, water use will be reduced 50% from the LEED baseline.

Domestic hot water is produced by 45 roof-mounted solar collectors that preheat approximately 2,850 gallons of hot water storage for peak periods. Supplemental heat is provided only as needed by seven high-efficiency condensing instantaneous gas-fired water heaters. The thermal solar collectors are expected to provide up to about 30% of the building’s domestic hot water.

The building envelope includes high-efficiency glazing. The building was scanned with infra-red cameras and spray water tested to correct potential water/air leakage and minimize infiltration.

Other energy-saving features include energy recovery wheels on the exhaust systems, LED lighting, a partial green roof, and dashboard displays to promote energy savings. The projected energy savings for this building is 29% above the LEED/ASHRAE baseline.