Project Summary
Klingner was selected by Campus Community Developers to design the new Blackhawk Tower residence hall for Southeastern Community College (SCC). This new dormitory and student center houses 126 students between floors 2-4, with a student dining center and lounge on the first floor.
The dining center was designed as a phased interior build-out that provides flexibility for food vendors in the production area and improved circulation for the students in the queuing and seating areas. The dormitory is comprised of 51 modular units that were shipped to the job-site 90% finished, including sinks, showers, cabinets, lights, plumbing, sprinklers, finished flooring, and a first coat of paint. Each student apartment, designed to house four people, consists of two bedrooms with an in-room sink and vanity, two bathrooms, a living room, and kitchenette area. Residential assistant rooms are located at the end of each hall of sleeping room floors. The 12’ x 55’ long modular units were erected in only six days. Building the units in a controlled environment resulted in high quality construction. This design concept allowed us to meet the client’s immediate need of student housing.
Klingner also designed the dorms to be both durable and highly energy efficient. All of the walls between the modular units have a layer of plywood behind the sheetrock, and the windows are low-E, argon-filled. The first floor is designed with industrial polished concrete and exposed steel beams. LED lights are installed throughout the building with daylight and motion-activated sensors. Klingner mechanical engineers designed the building with a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and cooling system that allows for individual suite temperature control and energy recovery between suites. The efficiency of this system is similar to that of a geothermal heat pump system without the need for a well field or pond. It is expected that the energy savings from these upgrades will save the Owners $28,009 per year with a payback of 5.6 years.
