Chilled Water Plant Completed at Ohio State University
Leers Weinzapfel Associates announces the completion of its East Regional Chilled Water Plant at the Ohio State University. The firm’s third university chiller plant, this $38M, 33,000-square-foot project joins previous award-winning structures at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania. GBBN was associated architect for the building.
Located on a prominent site between the campus and the city, the new 12,000-to-15,000 ton (the latter with N+1 redundancy) chiller water capacity plant introduces a large, critically important facility to a mature campus, preserves an important green space at the east edge of campus, and frames the gateway for a new campus entry. Its perforated, copper-colored aluminum enclosure serves as a new interpretation of the brick used prolifically on this and many U.S. college campuses, adding aesthetic variety to its built surroundings. The result is an elegant approach that fits well with the building’s urban site and the surrounding context of older brick buildings.