Ohio University's Chilled Water Plant #3 brings high design to a campus utility

The Ohio University Chilled Water Plant #3, located between the main campus and the athletic fields, has been completed. The facility provides up to 7,500 tons of chilled water capacity on the Ohio University campus. It also provides the campus with electrical circuitry and switchgear for a new looped electric service and new feed point. The design of the plant also addresses the potential flooding, noise, and plume factors.

An important component of the Ohio University Chilled Water Plant's design was making sure that the actual building aligned with the college campus and other buildings surrounding the University. The building’s straightforward rectangular form and copper-colored insulated metal panel system blends with the neighborhood buildings in height, color, and alignment.

Resiliency was also something the design team was committed to. The main equipment is raised nine feet above the floodplain, which allows a ventilation system for the main floor. A ramp is provided for access to the elevated main floor, while bifold doors allow chiller maintenance. There’s also an effective acoustical sound wall with screen enclosure at the roof that provides noise protection for residential complexes.

Leers Weinzapfel Associates has also designed chiller plants on the campuses of Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Harvard University’s Allston Campus, and the Ohio State University.