Student housing developer, American Campus Communities, renovated Drexel University’s vacant Calhoun Hall on Arch Street in Philadelphia into a dormitory and office space specifically for the school’s honors program and its students. Honors only housing is a growing trend in universities to foster more communication and collaboration between Honors students.
The project consisted of renovating approximately 90,000 square feet of the currently vacant residence hall and adding another 8,700 square feet of additions on the ground floor and stacked lounges. In addition to the new housing renovations the space includes a dean’s office, support spaces and conference rooms.
Bala’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection (MEP/FP) groups updated most of the systems within the space. The space conditioning for the first floor renovations is provided by a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system with a dedicated outside air system(DOAS) supplying ventilation air direct to the fan coils.