BULLIS SCHOOL DISCOVERY CENTER
POTOMAC, MD
WILLY TSUI
LIGHTING| ELECTRICAL
Building Name | Bullis School Discovery Center
Building Site | Potomac, Maryland
Owner | Bullis School
Occupancy | Assembly and Education
Size | 72,199 SF
Number of Stories | 3 Stories (42’)
Date of Construction | Oct, 2015 – Fall, 2017
Cost Information| $27 Million
Project Delivery Method | Design-Bid-Build
Project Teams
Contractor | Coakley & Williams
Architect | DudaPaine Architects, LLP
Structural Engineer | Stewart Engineer
MEP Engineer | Newcomb & Boyd
Lighting Consultant | Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design
Theater Consultant | Theater Consultants Collaborative, INC
Architecture
The Bullis School Discovery Center will be the new heart of the Bullis Campus, enhancing learning, creativity and exploration for every student while allowing the school to maintain small classes and expand available classroom space on campus. The new addition will be increasing number of classrooms by almost 50 percent and providing an interactive, adaptable design creating a flexible learning environment. Fabrication Lab is modeled after the laboratories at MIT, featured with dedicated spaces for metal working, robotics, woodworking, digital and fabrication. In addition, there is different kinds of supportive spaces, such as Student Center, Versatile multi-use Theater and Telepresence Classroom to facilitate student’s needs.
The new addition at Bullis School will be 3 stories, adding almost 70,000 sq. ft. to the campus. As a focal point of the campus, the building do not stand apart from the rest of the campus while promoting a strong and unique identity by featuring soaring brick and curtain walls and versatile spatial flow.
Applicable Codes
Accessibility | COMAR 05.02.02, ADAAG & FFHAG
Commercial Building | ICC International Building Code/2012
Commercial Mechanical | ICC International Mechanical Code/2012
Electrical | NFPA National Electrical Code/2008
Energy Conservation | ICC International Energy Conservation Code/2012
Fire Alarm | NFPA72/2010 & COMAR NFPA 72/2010
Zoning | Assembly (A1, A2, A3) | Education (E)
The major materials for the building facades are masonry brick, terra cotta panel, stone panel, metal panel and curtain wall. The lobby space on the west side of the building is made of curtain wall facades, with 1” insulated clear glass, low-e coating, providing exterior view and daylight into the space. On the side of the building where the classrooms and supporting spaces is featured with a combination of masonry brick and terra cotta panel. TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION WILL BE SHOWED BELOW.
Building Enclosure
Roofing
The typical roof construction is TPO roof assembly, consisting 60 Mil thick TPO roof membrane, cover board, 2 layers of 2.6” polyisocyanurate (ISO) board insulation and composite floor deck. TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION WILL BE SHOWED BELOW.
Sustainability
A rooftop terrace on the north-east corner on the building, providing gathering space for classes, special events and social gathering. Energy-efficient, local materials, rain gardens and the latest technological advancements were used throughout the construction to promote Bullis green commitment to environmental stewardship
Primary Engineering Systems
Structural
The structural system for this building is made up of a mix of steel members with concrete spread footings for the foundation system. The gravity system for the structure consists of wide flange steel columns, with a typical size of W10’s. The floor framing system consists of composite steel beams with composite metal deck. The floor deck configuration is 3 ¼” lightweight concrete on 2” – 20 gage composite deck, which is intended to meet a 2 hour fire rating requirement. Steel joists were used to frame the roof of the building. The deck used in the roof construction was 1 ½” – 20 gage deck with rigid insulation and roofing membrane materials. Finally the lateral system is composed only of HSS braced frames located at various exterior bays and stair openings.
Mechanical
The Bullis School Discovery Center is conditioned using water source heat pumps in every zone, and ventilated using a 100% outside air Energy Recovery Unit. The water loop for the heat pumps is cooled with a 100 ton closed circuit cooler and heated with 375 MBH boiler. There is 15000 cfm of air supplied from the ERU to each zone. The ERU has 494MBH of direct gas fired heating and 69.8 tons of cooling with a DX coil. There are 850 cfm exhaust fans for the fume hoods in the labs with sound attenuators to attenuate the sound produced by the fans.
Electrical
Pepco provides the building with 480/ 277 V, 3 phase power from an exterior utility transformer on the north side of the building. The 480/ 277 V, 3 phase 2000A main switchboard. The main switchboard is feeding 11 panels for different loads in the building. Within the 11 panels, 3 of the panels are located at different wings of the building and connected to upper level as well. These panels utilized a step down transformer to provide 208/ 120V, 3 phase power. The combination of the voltages provides most of the loads in receptacles, lighting and other assistant load types for the classroom and other supporting spaces. The mechanical system utilized the 480/277V.
Lighting
Over 95% of lighting fixtures is energy efficient LED luminaires, providing adequate illumination while minimizing energy consumption. The design defines the purpose of the space by emerging the lighting fixtures as part of the architecture. Luminaires are controlled using Lutron Grafik Eye Qs and Wattstopper dimming system integrating with photocell and occupancy sensors. Walking into the building’s lobby, a series of pendants tubes were installed to emphasize the hierarchy of the atrium space. The stair in the lobby that connects to the classrooms is illuminated with handrail lighting fixtures and recessed downlights. On the second level, the innovation lab uses custom circular acoustical ceiling tiles hanging from the ceiling at different height to create a space for brainstorming that differentiate from a tradition work space and enhance ideas. In order to accommodate the special architectural ceilings, circular pendants rings with a direct white/ indirect blue distribution are mounted at the center and below the circular ceiling tiles.
Construction
The project delivery method of this building was design-bid-build. The building was designed by Duda Paine Architects and the construction manager was Coakley & Williams. The overall project cost was $27 million. All construction complies with codes and requirements of city zoning and national/ international codes.
Additional Engineering and Support Systems
Fire Protection
The building is categorized as type E building. Therefore, the exterior walls, structural framing, and ceiling/floor separation have a minimum of 2 hours of fire rating and ceiling/roof assemblies have an at least 1 hour of fire rating. The travel distance of a common path of egress cannot exceed 100 feet and a dead end of no more than 50 feet under codes.
The fire suppression system is operated with a sprinkler system throughout. A 50 HP, 500 GPM is connected to the main switchboard to pump water to the sprinkler system during emergency. Emergency lighting and life safety loads are connected to the main switchboard and a back-up battery pack to comply with all necessary codes for group E occupancies. The fire alarm system includes smoke detectors, speaker and strobe.
Transportation
The Discovery Center has two elevators and two main stairways connecting to all floors. The elevators and stairways are divided into two sets of one of each systems located on the east and west sides. The grand stair at the lobby connects to the second floor which is the feature of the lobby.
Telecommunications
The building is equipped with communication and data outlet throughout. The cables runway are hidden above the ceiling.
