Ohio State University South Campus Chiller Plant

_Ohio State University South Campus Chiller
Plant
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Collaborative Partners: Champlin Architecture
Cost: $61,700,000
Program: Chilled Water Plant
Status: Completed, 2013
LEED Certification: Silver
Selected Recognition: World Architecture Festival, Finalist 2014,
Energy Production Category. AIA Chicago, Distinguished Building
Award, 2014. World Architecture News, Concrete in Architecture,
Finalist 2014. PCI Design Awards, Custom Solution, 2014.
‘First Glass” OSU South Campus Central Chiller, The Architects
Newspaper, 12.12.2013, Chris Bentley. “Ross Barney’s Colorful
Ohio State Chiller Plant”, The Architect’s Newspaper, 8.23.2013,
Chris Bentley. “Ross Barney Architects complete large-scale
Chiller Plant”, World Architecture News, 8.9.2013. “Ohio State
University’s Psychedelic New Chiller Plant Earns LEED Silver
Certification”, Inhabitat, by Bridgette Meinhold, 09.12.2013.
World Architects-Review, OSU South Campus Central Chiller, by
John Hill, 2013. “r_b arc designs modular water chiller plant at
OSU”, DesignBoom, 7.18.2013. “South Campus Chiller Plant
at OSU / Ross Barney Architects”, ArchDaily, 8.1.2013. “Striking
Building for the New Chiller Plant for Ohio State University”,
DesignLike, 8.10.2013. “Chill, Baby, Chill”, Chicago Architect,
Denis Rodkin, 5/6-2011, “Unveiled: OSU’s Chiller Plant” Alan
Brake, The Architect’s Newspaper, 9.2010. World Architecture
News, “The Big Freeze”, May 2011.
ross barney architects
The Ohio State University (OSU) South Campus
Central Chiller Plant is an iconic marker at a major
entry and pathway into campus, providing the
OSU Medical District with a long term, efficient and
sustainable solution for chilled water production and
distribution. Conceived of as a “House for Energy,”
the LEED Silver Certified building has an envelope
that showcases the equipment inside and records
the sun’s energy on its exterior. Glazed openings are
located to frame views of the chiller equipment, and
dichroic glass fins and boxes cast color-changing
shadows with the movement of the sun. The result is
a dynamic façade that changes with the time of day,
season and the location of the observer. Functionally,
the facility minimizes the noise and vibration
impact of large equipment: chillers, cooling towers,
transformers and generators. The plant will ultimately
provide 30,000 tons of chilled water for the adjacent
medical center facilities and will accommodate future
campus cooling demands.
Ohio State University challenged the design team
to create a new chiller plant located on a prominent
site on a central corridor to campus. Design goals
included a quality environment that was timeless,
easily maintained, sustainable, and flexible. In
compliance with sustainability goals, the chilled water
system has been designed for optimum efficiency.
Chillers were sized to produce a 15,000 ton capacity
with room to expand to 30,000. Initially it was
+5
+4
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
anticipated equipment expansion would take place
in the future but upon completion the University was
able to expand equipment immediately to satisfy
demand, due to the design team’s ability to bring
the project in under budget. The result is a striking
new gateway to campus, housing a functional chiller
plant.
ross barney architects
Over 200 precast panels were created using 11
different panel types. The number of panel types
significantly reduced costs. To create variation,
panels were flipped or rotated, multiplying the
visual variety without adding to production costs.
Final transportation sizes of 9’ -0” x 30’-0” dictated
feasibility of final panel dimensions, allowing
accelerated installation with fewer parts and pieces.
To enhance casted color from the dichroic fins, the
precast concrete panels received a high-gloss polish.
The polishing process is the same used for concrete
floor slabs, in which diamond pads are used to
grind and smooth. Upon completion, the project
became the first in the United States to deploy a
polished finish on an exposed exterior surface of a
precast panel. Additionally, polishing alleviated the
owner’s concerns with maintenance and durability.
The process provides resilience against staining and
streaking typically seen on unfinished precast panels.
The slope of the panel was designed to assist in
preventing stains from developing on the surface,
ultimately proving to be a successful approach that
has allowed the building to age well.
Dichroic Glass Fins: The dichroic fins activate the
exterior using sunlight as a means of recording the
time of day and season. The dynamic expression
changes as the observer’s perspective shifts.
The desired affect created a technical challenge. The
design team worked closely with Goldray Industries
of Canada to perfect and experiment with what
had been a first time application of dichroic film
laminations at this scale.
Dichroic film is created by adding micro thin layers
of metal to a translucent material. The metallic layer
alters the wave length and therefore the color of light
passing through. The finished product can have as
many as 30 to 50 layers of material, yet the thickness
of the total coating is 30 to 35 millionths of an inch
(about .000760 to .000890 mm). Since the metal is
reflective, the film transmits a variety of colors.
There are a total of 177 fins and 8 glass boxes. The
majority of the fins measure 3’-0” wide x 5’-0” high,
easing the fabrication and installation process. A
bracket system holds the glass in place and prevents
rotation.
The Chiller is unusual in that it is not designed for
human occupants, but houses inanimate equipment.
Because of this, conventional sustainable strategies
needed to be rethought. Opportunities for
environmentally conscious design were in the siting,
water efficiency, and use of sustainable materials
rather than the typical emphasis on the energy
efficiency of the envelope, lighting, or HVAC systems.
Based on the project’s location on the campus of
a major university within a medium sized city, the
project received five LEED points for Development
Density and Community Connectivity and six points
for access to Public Transportation, due to its
adjacency to multiple campus and Medical Center
bus routes. Additionally, the project is sited on
a former surface parking lot and no new parking
spaces were added. The Walk Score rating for the
site is 83.
Without a conventional HVAC system, the building
is very energy efficient. The design team’s energy
reduction strategies focused on the use of locally
sourced materials with low embodied energy.
Regional materials consisted of over 30% of the total
materials cost for the project. Additionally, there is
a commitment to purchase 244,000 kWh of Green
Power over a two-year period. This strategy resulted
in two LEED points for both Recycled Content and
Regional Materials, in addition to all available points
for low-emitting materials.
ross barney architects
The project consisted of mostly shop fabricated
components: precast concrete panels, structural
steel and glass, which helped to minimize waste on
the job site. Over 75% of construction waste was
recycled on the project. The project also used all
low-emitting materials, achieving all four possible
LEED points for these items.
Water conservation strategies for the project
concentrated on the use of high-efficiency plumbing
fixtures and the installation of native and droughtresistant landscaping. All plant seed sourcing was
nearby and the project has zero use of potable water
for irrigation. The project has an anticipated potable
water usage of 1.53 kGal per year, which is a 50%
reduction from the baseline design. Additionally, the
project sought to maintain as much open area on
the site as possible. The project was granted a point
for exemplary performance for providing vegetation
for 71% of the open site area. This high amount
of pervious site area greatly reduces the amount of
precipitation directed to the storm sewers.
T/O PRECAST PANEL
LEVEL 04
LEVEL 03
LEVEL 2M
LEVEL 02
LEVEL 1M
LEVEL 01