UCSD Theatre District Project
Heading over to the top 15th research university in the world, the University of California San Diego has expanded their student housing. This project constructed five buildings with a total of 76 floors on 11.8 acres. The project produced 913,000 square feet of student housing spaces. A 509,000 square-foot underground parking structure was also included. This LEED-certified, design-build project awarded A.O. Reed the mechanical and plumbing scopes. The client’s vision was to provide a safe and healthy environment for the UCSD students to succeed. The university also wants to provide affordable housing to students and reduce traffic in the surrounding area.
The project transformed a once vacant parking lot into a state-of-the-art student housing neighborhood. A.O. Reed was responsible for connecting the mechanical system’s heat source from UCSD’s HTHW loop for high-temperature hot water. This source was converted by heat exchangers for comfort heating and domestic hot water. Our plumbing scope includes 1,000 bathroom sinks, 542 toilets, 183 kitchen sinks, and 542 showers. We have installed over 60,000 feet of PEX piping in the residential units. On the sheet metal side, we have installed 171 EF fans, 94 supply fans, 4 AHUs, 39 jet fans, and 69 VAV’s. Over 150 fire smoke dampers were also installed. Moving onto the piping scope of work, A.O. Reed didn’t miss a beat. We installed 1,642 radiant heating panels, 2 high-temperature heat exchangers, 10 medium-temperature heat exchangers, 10 medium-temperature pumps, and 10 chilled water pumps. Throughout the building, our team installed over 21,000 feet of vertical riser piping and 4,000 feet of underground welded pipe. Our scope of work includes 4 AHUs and 70 refrigeration systems. The project has a total of 7 mechanical rooms. In the parking garage, we installed over 5,000 feet of PVC underground pipe, along with two sump tanks.
The UCSD Theatre District project provides a neighborhood for students to be near nature while encompassing a welcoming environment to flourish socially, academically, mentally, and physically. The project studied the placement of the buildings and found solutions to maximize natural ventilation in necessary spaces to boost sustainability initiatives. Overall, the project will enhance student experiences and provide a meditation pavilion, fitness center, commuter lounge, residential spaces, a tea house, and other shared student amenities. The project was completed in August 2024.
