New Student Hall for Exploration and Development

Salas O’Brien collaborated with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to provide comprehensive engineering design services for the new Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) center, as well as renovations to the Wallace Library. Our services encompassed mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, sustainability, commissioning, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Our team designed a 225,000 cfm atrium smoke control system, optimized using CFD to reduce airflow by 100,000 cfm, along with an energy recovery chiller to utilize waste heat for campus heating. We also installed an energy recovery chiller to repurpose waste heat for campus heating.

Additionally, we designed a system featuring a 450 kW backup generator and a low lighting power density of 0.45 W/sf with high controllability. These systems maximize safety, performance, and sustainability, all aimed at fostering future-focused student innovation.