Temple University - College of Engineering New Computer and Undergraduate Research & Collaboration Laboratories
Temple University - College of Engineering
New Computer and Undergraduate Research & Collaboration Laboratories
Philadelphia, PA
9,000 Sq. Ft.
MEP/FP Design
In 2018, Wick Fisher White provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design and construction administration services for the construction of two new laboratory spaces in Temple University’s College of Engineering building, located on their main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first phase of project included the renovation of approximately 2,300 sf of space on the first floor to create a new student computer lab. The second phase of the project included the renovation of approximately 6,700 sf of space on the second floor for a new undergraduate wet lab for research and teaching. The new wet lab includes work benches and tables, with utilities such as retractable power outlets, compressed air hose wheels, and snorkel exhaust arms for point of use exhaust available from an overhead Unistrut support grid.
The project included unique challenges. The second-floor space had served as the College of Engineering’s library since the building’s original construction, and the base building mechanical systems serving the space did not have sufficient cooling or ventilation capacity for its conversion to a teaching wet lab. A new air handler was installed in the fourth-floor mechanical room to provide supplemental cooling and ventilation capacity. In addition, the base building laboratory exhaust air and compressed air systems lacked sufficient spare capacity as well. A dedicated air compressor and laboratory exhaust fans were provided to serve the space.
The computer lab portion of the project was completed in the summer of 2018, and the undergraduate research lab in the spring of 2019.