Trinity University Dicke Hall + Business and Humanities District

The raised floor system, which hides electrical and mechanical systems, is another innovation. Five-ply CLT floor panels were covered with two inches of lightweight concrete and an acoustical mat, topped by an 8-inch-deep plenum. The system leaves just sprinklers and lighting overhead, eliminating the visual clutter of ductwork and other mechanicals while providing efficient air circulation and allowing flexibility for future redesigns.

Although Dicke Hall added 34,438 square feet of program space, it increased campus energy demand by less than 1 percent. With a rooftop solar array, the new building is designed to use 90 percent less energy than a concrete and steel building of the same size and function. The efficient wood structure and tight building envelope helped achieve an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 10.5, more than 70 percent lower than similar building types.

While energy efficiency and sustainability were important, so was budget. The project team compared the cost of the mass timber system to a steel design, which would have required interior finishes to achieve a similar aesthetic. While the initial cost of the timber structure itself was 13.5 percent higher, the team found significant savings through lower costs of interior finishes, a less expensive foundation due to the lighter weight wood structure, and faster construction. Projected savings using mass timber led to a total cost that was within 1 percent of a steel system, and they erected the Type V-B structure in just one month.

Dicke Hall’s mass timber success story was too good not to share, so the project team hosted a conference on site while the project was under construction. The event gave design and construction firms from across Texas the chance to learn about the mass timber design, systems coordination, installation processes, and lessons learned.