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Temple University, Campus Infrastructure Improvement Program
Many of the nation’s well-established universities continue to evolve to accommodate enrollment growth and expansion of their curriculum. These hubs of learning are supported by mechanical, electrical and telecommunication infrastructure that at many universities are nearing capacity or have reliability concerns due to their age.
Over the last five years, Temple University’s student population has increased by nearly thirty percent. To accommodate the rapidly growing campus and student population, the University has embarked on a $400 million expansion program to upgrade its existing utility infrastructure. The program will replace outdated heating and electrical system infrastructure to provide new systems with greater capacity and reliability.
One of the first steps Temple has taken is to expand the existing boiler plant to provide additional capacity, utilizing a high efficiency design. Burns designed the installation of three new dual fuel high pressure steam boilers. The boilers are equipped with energy efficient stack economizers and low NOx burners for natural gas. This new, cleaner system will also reduce air emissions and save energy. To complement the increased plant capacity, the aging site steam distribution system was replaced. Burns designed a new underground steam distribution system running throughout the campus that will provide Temple the ability to deliver the increased capacity of the plant and provide a significant upgrade in system reliability.
Temple is also being strategic with the design of a new campus-wide electrical distribution system. To meet physical space as well as electrical capacity needs, Temple is planning to replace its primary substation with a new, larger one across the campus, adjacent to the existing standby generation plant. This move provides Temple with the ability to convert the existing electrical substation facility into a “green space” that benefits both students and the environment. To support this major change in the electrical system configuration, upgrades to the underground distribution system were needed. Burns designed new and expanded underground electrical distribution infrastructure to be installed along with the steam distribution piping. Performing the work simultaneously minimized site disruption and vielded significant cost savings for the University.
Burns’ knowledge of underground utility systems and electrical power distribution systems minimized construction costs and provided a new system that will both provide the University additional capacity for future campus expansion, and minimize downtimes for future tie-ins to the existing system. Important objectives also included minimizing campus disruptions, and reducing the impact of the project on the daily life of Temple’s approximately 37,000 students. Burns was able to successfully phase each task in order to minimize impact to community, and limit the disruption of services.
Universities are in constant competition with other schools to provide the best, most advanced student experience. Schools need a strategically designed, robust infrastructure system to allow them to rapidly expand and modify their operations to provide facilities to meet their vision for the future.
For more information on how Burns can help develop your university’s strategic vision, please contact Bruno Fiorentino at (215) 979-7714 or bfiorentino@burns-group.com.
Posted on Feb 5, 11:00 AM