The Bell Tower Residence Hall is the newest dormitory on Duke University’s East Campus. Designed to achieve a LEED Silver rating, the building contains bedrooms for 140 students; student study, gathering, and kitchen areas; an extensive laundry facility; and university offices. RDK Engineers of NC, as PWI Consulting Engineers, designed all MEP systems for the sustainable new facility. The HVAC system, for example, features energy-efficient variable air volume air handling units. The AHU’s utilize chilled water delivered from the East Campus chiller plant. Steam is converted to heating hot water via heat transfer packages located in the building pump room. All chilled water and heating hot water pumps also operate on variable frequency drives. Other LEED design features include carbon dioxide monitoring, building energy and water metering, and controllability of systems.
RDK Engineers of NC also designed the building’s fully addressable fire alarm system which reports to the campus central monitoring station. The entire building is sprinklered and is served from a fire pump located on the ground level. The domestic hot water system is served by two steam-to-hot water heaters located on the ground floor. All plumbing fixtures are low flow and selected for maximum water use reduction in a residence hall.
Duke University New Bell Tow...
