Pennsylvania State University Pollock Commons Renovation

The Pollock Residence complex is comprised of nine high-rise student residence buildings with pipe tunnels to Pollock Commons, a 3-story facility that provides dining facilities, lounge areas, and administrative space for the Residence complex. The extremely fast-track project encompassed various upgrades and modifications, and was conducted in four phases over the course of two years. Construction was restricted to 13 weeks during each summer when fewer students were in residence. Phase 1 encompassed renovation of the Football Team Cafeteria, on a further compressed schedule.

Rhino’s value engineering: The project MEP dictated that the existing water service was insufficient to supply the new sprinkler system, and that a new larger service was required. Our engineers were able to demonstrate that the existing service was indeed sufficient through design and calculations, thereby saving the University approximately $200,000 in trenching costs alone.