A&E SERVICES FOR THE DESIGN OF DORMS A & B
RED ROCK JOB CORPS CENTER, LOPEZ, PA

The work involved A/E Services for the design and construction administration of two new dormitory buildings (310 beds, 77,000 SF) to be constructed at the Red Rock Job Corps Center. The work followed DOL guidelines for design of dormitories for the Job Corps Center. The construction was done in two phases with Dorm A (Men’s) to be constricted first, followed by Dorm B (Women’s).  The Dorm location was at the remote Air Force radar facility located at Lopez, PA.  The building had to be designed to address not only the location and labor issues, it had to be designed the most extreme of weather conditions typically not seen at most educational campuses. The dorm construction was steel with concrete architectural precast panels with standing seam metal room.  The HVAC system was a centralized air cooled chilled water system with fan coil units serving individual dorm rooms.  The outside air was supplied by a dedicated outside air system through a duct distribution systems to individual dorm rooms and the common areas.  The electrical system was designed to be energy efficient and offer additional receptacles for the occupant use.  The domestic water was supplied by a series of deep aquifers wells which did not have the capacity for the new Dorm buildings.  A new well was sited and designed to provide 125 gpm of fresh water to the water treatment facility on-site.  This well was approximately 700 feet deep and required a hermetically sealed vertical multi-stage turbine pump.  The work also included miscellaneous site improvements in the form of general landscaping, paving required to service buildings, cable TV, IT Services, site/security lighting for the new buildings. The site conditions at the Red Rock Center are exceptionally difficult for construction. The site is very remote and skilled labor has always been a problem for work in the area.