PORTFOLIO
Ave Maria University
Naples, Florida
Situated just west of Naples, Florida, Ave Maria University is nation's first new major Catholic university in forty years. This private project was funded by the founder of Domino's Pizza, Tom Monaghan. It is centered around a massive 100-foot tall oratory building, with the development around it is designed to layout in the "prairie style" of simple lines pioneered by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The campus includes a 2,500 seat gymnasium, a science, math and technology center, a library and a student activities center. The University is surrounded by an entirely new town called Ave Maria Towne, which includes commercial and residential developments and a golf course.
Kirlin's work includes the Central Utility Plant and Site Distribution System, which includes an extensive underground piping system that provides conditioned air to the entire complex. Kirlin's scope primarily consisted of 18,000 linear feet of 20-inch pre-insulated, direct-buried chilled water piping and seven buried valve pit structures (actually small buildings themselves) of 80,000 lbs. each. The 30-inch condenser water and 24-inch chilled water central utility plant piping is sized for a 6,000 ton capacity with current installations consisting of two 1,800-ton chillers, six-cell cooling towers and sophisticated Systecon pump packages.
