Southern Connecticut State University

This SCSU project consists of a new construction, 60,000 square-foot school of business located on the university’s New Haven campus. The new facility houses comprehensive business school programming including accounting, economics & finance, management & management of information systems, marketing, and MBA business administration. General purpose classrooms, specialty classrooms, seminar rooms, a mock trading floor, and faculty offices are incorporated within the new building, along with a common lobby, study spaces, and a computer lab.

Kohler Ronan’s project scope included comprehensive MEP/FP and energy analysis services. As Southern Connecticut State University strives to be among the most environmentally responsible colleges in the US, it is extremely important to the university that this project continue on a path of environmental stewardship. From a building systems perspective, the goal of the project was to achieve net-zero energy consumption, specifically aiming for a low energy use intensity (EUI) target. Kohler Ronan created adaptive models that were tested for multiple parameters to achieve the projects high-efficiency target. Collaborating with architects, MEP engineers, and lightings designers, the iterative energy analysis process allowed us to determine solutions from a climatological, financial, and carbon reduction perspective.

Helping to achieve this goal, our team designed the most efficient MEP systems for the building, including a geothermal heat pump system with variable air volume (VAV) air handling units. The net-zero planning involved interconnections with a rooftop and off-campus photovoltaic array that guarantees zero-emissions status for the next 20 years.

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