Massachusetts Maritime Academy New Cadet Housing

By virtue of its location, the new dormitory is vulnerable to coastal flooding, gale force winds, and extreme rainfall. This project will serve as a dormitory during the academic school year, and as a conference center during the summer to generate revenue for the Academy. The varied uses within this building present challenges in the HVAC design, as both heating and cooling may need to be used simultaneously in different parts of the building. The building typology, which resembles residential construction, presents challenges based on the need to equip it with commercial systems. Finally, as a publicly bid, there is added complexity, requiring an even higher degree of care than most projects to ensure that every design detail is captured upon submission.

We designed the building with a Variable Refrigerant Flow/Air Source Heat Pump (VRF/ASHP) system. The project includes “resiliency rooms” served by emergency-generated power to allow students to shelter-in-place, as well as elevated mechanical and electrical equipment to reduce the risk of extended loss of services during extreme weather events. In addition, the electrical room was placed on the top floor of the building to avoid the flood plain.

This project is currently in construction, with an aggressive schedule to ensure completion in time for the 2022-2023 academic year. We look forward to sharing our results as the project concludes.