The uni­ver­sity is look­ing at under­tak­ing an exten­sive heat­ing, ven­ti­la­tion, and air con­di­tion­ing project for all the build­ings asso­ci­ated with the College of Arts and Sciences.

The project entails a com­plete redesign and replace­ment of the air con­di­tion­ing sys­tem and an upgrade to the heat­ing and con­trol sys­tem in the Science and Starr build­ings, Arts & Science Commons and Williams Auditorium.

Staff mem­bers from FSU’s Physical Plant are cur­rently work­ing with Progressive AE, an engi­neer­ing firm, Clark Construction, a con­struc­tion man­age­ment firm, and rep­re­sen­ta­tives from the College of Arts and Sciences on a design solu­tion and imple­men­ta­tion plan.

Michael Hughes, asso­ciate vice pres­i­dent of the Physical Plant, said, “I am hope­ful that con­struc­tion on the project will begin this spring.”

The project calls for con­struc­tion of a small “chiller” build­ing between Williams Auditorium and the McKessy House that would con­tain mechan­i­cal equip­ment for the College of Arts and Sciences com­plex buildings.

The new air con­di­tion­ing sys­tem will be based on a reli­able and energy effi­cient chilled water design. Significant infra­struc­ture, includ­ing pip­ing and elec­tri­cal work, will be installed under­ground from the new build­ing to the cur­rent Arts and Sciences build­ings, then up the out­side of the build­ings to exist­ing rooftop air handlers.

The air han­dlers will also be ren­o­vated with new inter­nal com­po­nents such as heat­ing and cool­ing coils and controls.