Hilton C. Buley Library

Southern Connecticut State University looked to move ahead with Phase II of a campus master plan which incorporated a 97,000 square-foot renovation to an existing facility making the com­pleted library close to 250,000 square feet.

The new library includes an art gallery, media collections, and reading area on the ground floor. The first floor houses a cyber cafe, computer lab, lounge, email stations, and reference and IT help desks. Classrooms, computer teaching labs, seminar space, and a faculty development center occupies the second floor. Much of the third and fourth floors consist of a tutoring center and administrative offices.

Kohler Ronan provided extensive MEP/FP and technology designs in support of renovations. Among the challenges of the project was the need to utilize previously purchased equipment for an existing project. We created systems with the existing equipment in mind and worked hard to maximize its operation. One existing chiller was utilized, while a new 400-ton chiller was added along with a new cooling tower. Additional equipment included two large variable air volume air handlers to condition the entire building, and another air handler for precision control of humidity and temperature for the rare book collections.

Photo credit: © Anna Wesolowska/ www.photographerhedman.com