Applied provided the mechanical, electrical, and utilities engineering design services for the new Jacobs School of Music East Studio Building located on the Bloomington Campus of Indiana University. This five-story building is adjacent to other music buildings and provides additional rehearsal rooms, faculty studios, other music studios, and general practice rooms.
Each of the practice rooms and faculty studios are acoustically isolated and all of the mechanical and electrical systems have been designed and installed to operate in accordance with stringent acoustic standards. This project earned LEED Gold Certification.
The heating and air conditioning systems throughout the building were designed to maintain very tight tolerances on the temperature and humidity levels due to the age and sensitivity of the instruments throughout the facility. All of the fresh air brought into the facility is pretreated by utilizing a variable speed heat recovery wheel before it is delivered to each of the air handling units. CO2 sensors throughout the building constantly monitor the air quality and automatically adjust the amount of outside air being introduced to the building. In addition, heat pipes were used in each of the air handling units to reclaim heating and cooling energy to meet the close tolerances needed to maintain temperature and humidity levels. Close attention was given to infiltration of untreated air into the building which required working closely with the architect on building materials and envelope construction. Supplemental direct digital controls and sequences of operation were required to maintain the environmental conditions required by the owner.
The power and lighting for the building was designed with acoustics and energy efficiency in mind. To limit excess noise, the building transformers and main power distribution were isolated in one room. This consisted of one transformer for 480/277 voltage and one transformer for 208/120 voltage. Lighting efficiency was achieved using control panels to turn the lighting on/off in public spaces. Occupancy sensors were used to control the lighting in break rooms, restrooms, and other high traffic areas. The faculty studios utilized vacancy sensors to control a mix of direct/indirect lighting and dimmable track lighting.
Low-voltage systems consisting of communications, access control, and security were distributed throughout the building. Communications were provided in every faculty studio and office. Access control was installed at the building entrances and in other select high-security spaces. Rough-ins for future access control were added to each faculty studio. Security cameras were posted at the building entrances and exits with additional surveillance in spaces where instruments are stored.
We also removed existing outside plant cables consisting of copper pairs, coax cables, and fiber from a building to be demolished back to source. At source, maintenance hole RE-1, the fiber, copper, and coax cables were spooled and saved for re-termination. A new 1×3 telecom ductbank with handholes was constructed from maintenance hole RE-1 to the new building. We worked with the owner to provide engineering calculations on signal loss, confirming that splicing of the new fiber optic cable onto the existing cable within RE-1 would be acceptable while also saving them money. The ductbank slope and handhole placement were strategic to allow maintenance access, ensure a longer life for the system, and provide for future expandability.
