Northern Middle School Replacement

BKM served as the MEP consultant for the Northern Middle School project. This was a replacement school located in Owings, MD and is part of the Calvert County Public School system.

This approximately 110,000 SF, three story facility houses approximately 775 students and includes the following spaces: general classrooms, art and music classrooms, media center, digital learning spaces, cafeteria, gymnasium, as well as administration and health/guidance areas. The school is being constructed immediately adjacent to the existing middle school (which will remain occupied during construction) so the three story layout helped allow the building to fit on the tight existing site.

This building was designed as an all-electric facility (i.e. no use of natural gas, propane or other fossil fuels). The primary HVAC system used in the building is heat recovery variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system. This system consists of a series of indoor cassette type terminal units and outdoor condensing units. Several heat recovery boxes are also in the system to allow for energy transfer between spaces to maximize energy efficiency. The VRF system is coupled with dedicated outside air (DOAS) units to provide the code required ventilation air. These units are air source heat pump type with back-up electric resistance heat and energy recovery wheels. Large group spaces such as the gymnasium and cafeteria are served by single zone heat pump air handling units and are equipped with demand control ventilation.

To meet the electrical load of the building a 4,000 amp, 480 volt service was provided. The switchboard includes a tap ahead of the main section for a future photovoltaic (PV) system. All lighting is LED with low voltage controls compliant with the energy code requirements. A heat pump domestic water heater was also included to provide increased energy efficiency in comparison to an electric resistance type heater. The building is pursuing Two Globes certification under the Green Globes rating system.