Project description
The Student Commons Building at CU Denver serves as a central hub for both academic instruction and student support services. The facility houses lecture halls of various sizes, departmental office areas, and Student Services and Affairs functions, including Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Bursar, Counseling, and Tutoring. The building is designed to support high levels of activity while maintaining comfort and efficiency for students, faculty, and staff.
Cator, Ruma, and Associates provided the mechanical and electrical design along with contract administration for the project. The mechanical system places strong emphasis on energy efficiency to support the building’s goal of LEED Gold certification. Cooling is provided by a magnetic bearing water-cooled chiller, a roof-mounted cooling tower, and a remote condenser water sump. Three high-efficiency condensing boilers produce heating. Custom air handling units incorporate heat-recovery wheels, direct and indirect evaporative cooling, and fan arrays to maximize efficiency and performance.
Targeted water-cooled heat pumps and a dedicated process-cooling water loop were designed to serve high-heat-load areas, such as computer labs and IT rooms, ensuring reliable performance in spaces with intensive equipment use.
The electrical design includes a lighting control system with daylight harvesting and occupancy sensors to reduce energy consumption. LED and efficient fluorescent fixtures meet or exceed IECC and LEED performance requirements.
The building also includes a 250-kilowatt generator to support life-safety systems and selected non-essential loads, and integrated metering and monitoring to help CU Denver track energy use and optimize performance over time.
The combination of sustainable systems and high functionality creates a campus building that supports modern learning while reducing energy consumption and operational costs.
Guiding Principles for the Design
- Support Student Success
- Deliver High Efficiency Performance
- Comfort for Learning and Work
- Smart Controls and Monitoring