Drexel University URBN Center
project at a glance
- Client Drexel University
- Architect MRS Architecture
- Location Philadelphia, PA
- Attributes Higher Education, Classroom / Adminstration Building, LEED Certified, Green Building, Education, Pennsylvania
Drexel University’s URBN Center, which is home to their Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design occupies an historic, four-story, steel and concrete building.
The transformation of the space--which included preservation and protection of original features such as murals, and exposure of all steel and mechanical systems--included more than 146,000 square feet of renovations to build out art studios, classrooms, offices for the dean and faculty, an art gallery, a black box theater, and screening rooms, as well as demolition of the building's structural core to create a multi-story atrium.
In addition to the structural work to construct the atrium, the project added four interconnected mezzanine levels with floating stairways, and a glass elevator topped by a 120-foot by 20-foot skylight. Infrastructure work included installation of an active chilled-beam system coupled with dedicated energy recovery ventilation systems, high-efficiency chillers, and high-efficiency condensing boilers, the combination of which allows for a 25 to 30 percent reduction in energy usage
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