University of North Carolina Chapel Hill – Marsico Hall

Numerous utility lines, including critical chilled water systems serving nearby research and hospital facilities, were located beneath the future Marsico Hall site. To maintain uninterrupted service during rerouting, Choate and the University coordinated the installation of temporary truck-mounted chillers before carefully shutting down and relocating existing utilities—a process that took several months.

The site also required deep excavation and shoring systems to accommodate two below-grade levels for the cyclotron and imaging equipment. Limited blasting due to nearby medical facilities, along with challenging rock and groundwater conditions, required extensive drainage, waterproofing, and vibration monitoring to ensure construction progressed safely with minimal disruption.

Running throughout Marsico Hall are the veins of incredibly intricate mechanical systems that sit hidden from plain sight, working tirelessly to power the facility. These MEP systems added considerable construction challenges requiring extensive teamwork and the implementation of frequently updated BIM models.

As the culmination of several different disciplines, Marsico Hall contains an expansive array of medical equipment, with the most notable being the 17 MEV Cyclotron and the 880 MeV cyclotron. Other notable technologies within the facility include four Magnetic Resonance Imagers, Crystallography equipment, a fully-automated Vivarium and five Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imagers.

Because of the massive imaging equipment Marsico Hall holds, the requirements of the mechanical systems were substantial compared to a facility of similar size. A MEP penthouse was designed and constructed in addition to the sub-basement MEP space, allowing room for the complex systems. With stacked air handlers totaling nearly 24-feet in height, a MEP penthouse was required given these air handlers could not be accommodated on any of Marsico Hall’s 16-foot high floors. Utilizing BIM technology, the entire team worked relentlessly to have all drawings and models properly coordinated, making the installation of the MEP systems straightforward.