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Second Tower Completed at Wisconsin University

School News — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 14:21:56 +0000

By Lisa Kopochinski

EAU CLAIRE, Wis.—After completing a new residence hall study for the University of Wisconsin System (UW) in August 2018, EUA Architecture has now revitalized UW-Eau Claire’s North and South residence hall towers to attract and retain students and create new gathering and community spaces.

The North Tower was completed last fall, while the South Tower—the residence hall—was completed in August 2018. Both towers span near 244,000 square feet.

Key features of this $34.5 million two-tower project include the construction of 630 rooms that can accommodate 1,260 beds; replacing all mechanical systems; installed air conditioning; revamping the lobby and reception area and the common spaces on each floor and renovating bathrooms.

Miron Construction Company Inc. was the general contractor on this impressive project. In order to minimize the effect on the overall room availability, the renovation project was phased so that only one tower was off-line at a time.

A central space was added on each floor of the residence towers for students to study, gather and foster community. Bathrooms were relocated and rebuilt with modern features and new showers that include changing areas to increase privacy. All HVAC and plumbing were replaced along with all new windows and building-wide air conditioning.

The team transformed the first-floor lobby into open concept floor plan with a student lounge to provide up-to-date functions, increase efficiency and engage students.

“The biggest design challenge was allocating a very tight budget to address deferred maintenance items, while also physically transforming a building that had a very dated functional design and aesthetics,” explained Jonathan Parker, Senior Project Manager, EUA Architecture.

“Working closely with the University and the State, we were able to create a facility that provided new interactive spaces that enhanced student’s abilities to support each other and be academically successful, while also addressing comfort and life safety needs. Providing kitchens, lounge spaces, and daylight on each floor has provided a space for students to convene and form community ties. Reconfiguring the residence hall common space on the first floor has provided environments for all students in Towers Hall to bond with each other and support each other academically and socially.”

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Penn State Board Approves Building Proposals

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning approved proposals on July 16 for renovations to the Deike Building on the State College campus as well as an agricultural digester and replacement barns in the dairy research complex.

The university plans to renovate three floors of the Deike Building, built in 1965, to add a new laboratory space for the Department of Geosciences, which offers degrees in geosciences, geobiology, earth sciences, and policy and earth sciences. The project will include the creation of a clean room in addition to clean and wet chemistry labs, instruments rooms, teaching labs, field equipment shops and related spaces. The modern labs will replace those currently located in the Hosler Building, which was constructed in the 1950s. The committee approved Cleveland-based Bostwick Design Partnership to design the project, which will also include improvements to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

The university’s dairy research program includes management of the Penn State dairy herds and other livestock at a dairy complex at University Park. Currently, the university transports unprocessed manure from the complex to spread on nearly 1,500 acres of university-owned land, but restrictions limit where and when application can happen.

Construction of a complete mix digester to convert raw manure to digestate for land application could improve the manure management process. This would allow the university to apply the material with no restrictions to the 1,500 acres.

Additionally, the dairy complex’s two outdated existing barns will be demolished and replaced with one free stall barn, which will also help with manure management. The Board of Trustees Committee approved the appointment of Pittsburgh-based Mascaro Construction Co. to design and build the agricultural digester and diary barn replacement.

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Penn State Steam Contract Awarded

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The board of trustees at Penn State recently approved Burns and McDonnell as the consulting engineering firm for the design of steam production modifications at University Park.

The St. Louis, Mo.-based firm has “significant experience in the design and construction of large university campus heating systems, power plants and related emission control projects,” the university reports.

Al Horvath, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, said the university has focused on the issue of sustainable energy in their facility operations for several years.

"We discussed options for complying with upcoming federal regulatory changes, the age and capacity of the East and West Campus steam plants that heat most buildings on campus, and our commitment to meeting our sustainability goals,” Horvath said. “After considering all variables, the most viable solution to continue to heat the campus is to convert our coal-fired steam production systems to natural gas."

The coal to gas conversion for both the West and East campus steam plants is part of the school’s ongoing modernization strategy within the University’s Office of Physical Plant’s energy master plan.

The West campus steam plant, constructed in 1929, provides heat and power to 270 campus buildings and houses four coal-fired boilers from the 1960s and one 1947 boiler already converted to natural gas.

The East Campus plant, built in 1972 on Porter Road, provides steam during peak heating demands and currently operates a natural gas component.

The modifications are estimated to cost $20-35 million, a statement from the university said.

Information regarding energy production and distribution at University Park was presented to the school’s board of trustees in March 2010.

"We will continue to evolve toward more renewable sources of energy as the technology matures and solutions prove to be scalable for a University the size of Penn State," said Horvath, adding that the steam plant’s modifications should be considered first steps in a long-term move toward energy solutions that address reliability, cost, compliance and sustainability.

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