Taking Pediatric Care
to a New Level
University of Texas Dell Pediatric Research Institute
Austin, Texas, USA
“The DPRI will help take pediatric care in Central Texas to a new level.
Our faculty and students will be collaborating with practitioners.”
Steven Leslie, PhD
Provost, University of Texas at Austin
The Dell Pediatric Research Institute is the University of Texas at Austin’s new, state-of-the-art medical research facility.
The Institute’s researchers are developing new drug therapies for childhood diseases and disorders, operating a research vivarium and collaborating with the University of Texas at Austin research community as well as the University of Texas System’s health institutions.
The DPRI was built on a brownfield site next to the Dell Children’s Medical Center. It is an anchor project in the first phase of the larger redevelopment of Austin’s Robert Mueller Municipal Airport.
HOK’s engineering design for this new LEED Gold facility features energy-efficient HVAC equipment modeled to reduce energy costs by 42 percent compared to a conventional building. The efficient variable air volume control system consists of 100 percent outside air, with the VAV controls monitoring and adjusting volume in specific spaces as needed. The desiccant-based energy wheels pre-condition outside air and reduce the chiller load while minimizing maintenance requirements. Highly intelligent building systems automatically respond to changes in occupancy, loads and weather.
Low-flow toilets, urinals, showerheads and lavatory fixtures reduce indoor potable water use by more than 30 percent compared to a conventional building.
A design-build approach helped the team meet an extremely fast-track schedule.
LEED CERTIFICATION
LEED Gold
SIZE
150,000 sq. ft. / 13,900 sq. m.
SERVICES
Architecture
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing
Engineering
42%
Reduction in energy costs
30%
Percentage of building materials made from recycled content
75%
Amount of construction debris diverted from the landfill
