New M/E/P Infrastructure for URI’s Nursing School
The University of Rhode Island engaged our firm to design the replacement of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems and the main electrical switchboard at White Hall, the College of Nursing. The building is a 50,000 SF, four-story structure initially built in 1978. Most of the HVAC systems are original and high humidity was a concern in many spaces.
The project included replacing fan coil units which provided space heating, cooling, and ventilation air, with new systems that decoupled the ventilation air from new fan coil units. Conditioning ventilation air through a dedicated system allowed the air to be properly dehumidified, cooled, and heated prior to delivering it to the building, resulting in better indoor air quality for the occupants.
The critical elements of the new HVAC design included two rooftop dedicated outside air handling units with air-to-air total energy recovery, a new indoor modular air handler for the large lecture hall, and a new four-pipe system to provide more flexibility for space temperature control. A new building management system (BMS) was designed to control all new HVAC equipment.
Electrical systems were expanded to accommodate the new HVAC equipment and a new lighting protection system was designed. An existing bolted pressure switch on the main switchboard was a concern, so our team collaborated with an electrician to have the switch inspected and tested during the design phase. Although the switch was functional, the University elected to have our firm design a replacement consisting of a 1200 amp, 120/208 volt, 3-phase switchboard.
The project also included structural and architectural design to support the system improvements, along with a hazardous building material investigation and plumbing system improvements.
Services Snapshot
Tighe & Bond assisted the University of Rhode Island with M/E/P engineering, structural and architectural design, and hazardous building management services in support of this project.
