Duke University’s Central Campus Chilled Water Plant #3 sits on 7.4 acres in the central part of campus near the arts district, which includes the university art museum, a popular arts center, and a prestigious botanical garden. Its central location was chosen for efficiency and visibility: the site is close to the existing chilled water loop and positioned at a higher elevation, enabling energy-efficient pumping and distribution. Fronting a main vehicular and pedestrian thoroughfare, the facility reinforces the campus streetscape, provides a visual buffer for adjacent cooling towers and a high-voltage storage building, and offers views of the gardens — one of the city’s most visited destinations.

Locating a chilled water plant in such a high-profile setting required a careful architectural response. According to Chuck Mummert, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal at Flad, “We needed a material that would complement the surrounding architecture, including the university art museum. Among precast concrete’s many benefits is its flexibility as a design material – we used it to customize choices for color, texture, and materiality to fit in with its campus neighbors.”