News & Insights
VIDEO: Engineering learning and living at Quinnipiac University
Building the Heart of Quinnipiac University’s Campus
Salas O’Brien has partnered with Quinnipiac University since the early 2000s, supporting the evolution of its campus across academic, athletic, and residential facilities. This long-standing relationship positioned our team to play a central role in advancing the South Quad—an important milestone in the University’s 10-year master facilities plan. Designed as a new campus heart, the South Quad reflects Quinnipiac’s commitment to enhancing the learning-living experience through thoughtful planning, collaboration, and long-term infrastructure investment.
A key goal of the project was to address inefficiencies created by legacy buildings operating with independent boilers and chillers. Salas O’Brien designed a high-performance central utility plant to serve three new facilities—the 417-bed residence hall, the School of Business, and a 137,000-square-foot general academic building known as “The Site.” By consolidating heating and cooling into a single, centralized system, the campus benefits from reduced energy use, streamlined maintenance, and infrastructure sized to support future expansion. The plant incorporates condensing boilers, magnetic-electric chillers, variable-frequency drives, and high-efficiency cooling towers—helping the project exceed its original sustainability goals and target LEED Gold certification. Today, the South Quad is a vibrant hub where students and faculty gather in light-filled atriums, study spaces, labs, and innovation environments—demonstrating how high-performance engineering can directly support comfort, connection, and the next generation of learning.
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Richard Loveland, PE
Richard Loveland has nearly 24 years of design and management experience. His portfolio includes many successful projects for public and private clients throughout the Northeast and across the country ranging from Division I athletics, student recreation centers, and classroom buildings to laboratories, office fit-outs, manufacturing facilities, and new medical centers. Rich has a Bachelor of Science in electronics engineering from the University of Hartford. He serves as a Principal at Salas O’Brien. Contact him at [email protected].
Devon Neal, CPD
Devon Neal is a Senior Plumbing and Fire Protection Designer with more than 17 years of experience in the engineering industry. He specializes in the design of efficient, code‑compliant plumbing and fire protection systems for complex building projects.
Certified in plumbing design through the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), Devon is highly proficient in AutoCAD and Revit and brings strong construction knowledge to every project. He works closely with multidisciplinary teams to deliver coordinated designs that support constructability, performance, and long‑term reliability. Contact him at [email protected].