Electrical:

The electrical system has 15kv medium voltage feeders that come off of the substations.  A unit substation consists of two 15kv, 600 amp switches (incoming); one 15kv, 600 amp switch (outgoing); 2500 KVA transformer; and 3200 Amp, 480Y/277 volt, 3 phase, 4 wire, 60 hertz switchgear.  Power will be distributed at 480Y/277 volts and dry type transformers will be provided to supply 208Y/120 volt loads.  Emergency power will be provided by a natural gas-fired engine generator with a 600KW, 480Y/277 volt, 3 phase, 4 wire set.  The facility program required the switchgear to be a double-ended substation, but in the project team meetings, UMBC has decided that a single line up with one transformer is sufficient for this building and a double ended substation is not required.  

Lighting:

The lighting system illumination levels in the interior spaces will be based on functional category as recommended by IES standards as well as the owner’s lighting requirements and design guidelines.  The lighting levels will be based on average maintenance factors of 70% and calculated at the desk top of 30” above finished floor.  Most of the lighting fixtures will utilize energy efficient fluorescent T8 and/or T5 lamps and electronic ballasts.  Lamps will be rapid start with a correlated color temperature of 4100K and color rendering index of 80.  Fluorescent lamp down lights will be provided with high power factor electronic ballasts and compact fluorescent lamps.  The lighting fixture selection will be coordinated with the architectural ceiling, and all offices, rest rooms, storages, and other general areas will be provided with 2’x4’ fluorescent lighting fixtures.  Dimmable lighting fixtures will be used for special applications, which require dimming. 

Emergency lighting will be provided in the paths of egress and other critical areas as required to meet the University’s and National Electrical Code requirements.  All emergency lighting fixtures and exit lights will be served from the emergency power; no separate emergency lighting fixtures with battery back-ups will be provided. 

New parking lighting will consist of pole mounted fixtures and security lighting which will consist of exterior wall mounted fixtures. Bollards lighting fixtures will be used for sidewalks and grounding rods will be provided for each pole.  All parking, sidewalks, and security lighting will be controlled by a combination of photocells, 7 days/24 hour time clock and a hand-off-automatic switch.    

Mechanical:

The mechanical rooms are located in the basement level of the new PAHF.  A goal of the HVAC systems will be to minimize energy consumption while maintaining space design criteria.  Some of the interesting features that contribute to LEED are an automatic shutdown of air handling systems during unoccupied hours subject to building low and high temperature and humidity limits.  The controls isolate supply air flow to each floor served from centralized air handling systems based on the floor occupancy schedule.  This will be accomplished through DDC system programming, to isolate airflow per floor and per AHU, by closing air terminal unit dampers or floor zone dampers during unoccupied mode.  The occupancy sensor controls are reducing the air supply to each space during the day when not in use.  There are variable airflow air handling systems with variable frequency controlled fans and variable water flow heating and chilled water distribution systems with variable frequency controls.  There is energy recovered from exhaust air and temper outdoor air by the total energy recovery heat wheels. 

Cooling and dehumidification control for the building will be provided from the campus chilled water distribution system.  A pair of 10” chilled water mains are proposed to serve the building.  The chilled water system will utilize variable flow pumping within the building via three base-mounted, bronze fitted, end-suction pumps.  The campus high temperature hot water system will be utilized as the energy source for heating and domestic hot water generation within the new facility.  Preliminary load estimates of design day heating and domestic water requirements for the new facility indicate a peak hourly load of approximately 9100 MBH.  The HTHW mains will extend to three shell and tube heat exchangers for low temperature hot water heating service.  Chemical water treatment for the HTHW system will be provided at the central plant by UMBC.  Humidity will be controlled year around throughout the facility due to its impact on the short term tuning and the long term preservation of musical instruments, and due to the intermittent high occupancy levels which will require the introduction of large amounts of outdoor air.  Steam will be generated to humidify the building by point of used gas fired steam humidifiers generally for each AHU located within the building.  The facility will be conditioned by fifteen air-handling units, providing each space with their own capacity.  The AHU’s airflow quantities will be controlled by VFCs, not inlet vanes or any other control device.  Each system will have a dedicated roof mounted spark resistant exhaust fan, corrosion resistant exhaust ductwork, and automatic isolation dampers. 

Structural:

The complex is composed of a variety of spaces including the three performance spaces, a scene shop, studios, classrooms, offices and support.  To respond to the variety of spatial and performance challenges, a composite structural steel frame is recommended.  Floor slabs will generally be composed of 2” 20-gage galvanized steel deck plus 3-1/4” of lightweight concrete reinforced with WWF 6x6 x W2.9 X W2.9 creating a 2-hour floor system.  The slab will be supported by composite steel beams ranging in depth from 12” at 20’ to 18” at 40’ spans.  In general, column spacings have been planned to allow floor beams and girders not to exceed a total structural envelope of 2’-0”.  This will expand slightly at some spaces such as the dance studio when a built-up floor with a damping slab and floor vibration criteria may require a slightly deeper structure.  There are 6 different roof elevations and many will have roof-top units supported thereon.  Roof screen frames are also required.  The baseline scheme suggests the use of composite steel construction for all roofs as the concrete is necessary for noise attenuation.  Column sizes are generally W10s, although larger columns may be required at tall spaces such as the scene shop and theatre rehearsal spaces.

The façade is a mix of metal panels and masonry.  Perimeter columns are generally spaced at less than 30’ to insure spandrel beams are rigid enough to meet façade support deflection criteria without being excessively heavy or deep.  There will be at least two large scale window wall support at the lobby café and theatre rehearsal where tube steel columns will be integrated with the wall design to supplement lateral loads on the wall systems.

Fire Protection:

An 8” combined (fire and domestic) water service will be provided.  Once inside the building, the service will split into separate domestic water and fire suppression systems.  Because of low water pressure in this portion of the campus distribution system, an electric fire pump will be provided in a dedicated fire pump room on the First Floor.  Two fire department Siamese connections will be provided on the exterior of the building.  An alarm bell will also be provided on the exterior of the building adjacent to the Siamese connections.  Inside, the building will be protected throughout by hydraulically designed automatic wet pipe sprinkler systems.  Class 1 standpipe risers will be located in all exit stairways, and 2-1/2” fire department valves will be furnished at each main floor landing inside the stairways where the standpipes are provided.  One standpipe riser will supply the sprinkler floor control valve assemblies for the automatic sprinkler system.  Also incorporated into the building is a complete microprocessor based, power limited, supervised, 24V DC, non-coded, voice evacuation/alarm fire alarm system.  The fire alarm system will be comprised of smoke detectors, heat detectors, duct smoke detectors, manual pull stations, strobes, audio-visual devices, horns, speakers, magnetic door holders, water flow switches, tamper switches, and other accessories.  The fire alarm system will be compatible with common stage effects such as fog, haze, smoke, and pyrotechnic special affects without false alarm triggering.  As per UMB requirements, no fire alarm devices will be located in the elevator shafts.  

Transportation:

The transportation throughout the building entails two elevators and seven stairwells.  Elevator one services Level 0 to Level 2 and is approximately 100SF.  This elevator is located near the lobby at the front entrance of the building.  Elevator two services Level 1 to Level 4 and is approximately 40SF. This elevator is further down the corridor past elevator one and is more towards the back of the building.  The stairwells are located throughout the entire building near the perimeter and the inner core of the building, allowing there to be multiple forms of egress. 

Telecommunications:

The communications cable pathway has four 4” EMT sleeves between each vertically stacked telecommunications room and a ladder racking run vertically attaching to the wall.  The primary pathway for the cabling throughout the interior of the building will be via cable tray.  Outlet pathway will include EMT conduit stubbed to accessible above finished ceiling space in close proximity to or right up to the cable tray.  The EMT fill ratio is not to exceed 40% with three or more cables.  J-hooks or other NCCS shall not be used on this project.

The surveillance system is comprised of a closed circuit television system that will provide complete coverage of the exterior perimeter and key interior spaces.  The CCTV cameras shall consist of fixed color cameras, capable of low-light level capture, and mounts suitable to interior and exterior use.  Video signals shall be transmitted over co-axial or network cabling terminated in the local telecommunications room.