Inside the Restoration of UMB Davidge Hall

Driving creative solutions

Inside the restoration of Davidge Hall at the University of Baltimore, Maryland.

By: Richard Heim, PE

Constructed in 1812, the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Davidge Hall is the oldest building in the Western Hemisphere that has been continuously used for medical education. Home to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the fifth-oldest medical school in the United States, Davidge Hall was showing signs of age that signaled the need for updates, including improvements to its mechanical and electrical equipment. RMF Engineering embraced the rare opportunity to help restore this National Historic Landmark for modern teaching purposes. From the circular geometry of the architecture to the out-of-code HVAC systems, Davidge Hall presented a variety of challenges to the RMF team, driving creative solutions to bring the building into the future of medical education.

The History

Named after Baltimore physician Dr. John Davidge, who founded the medical school and served as its first dean, Davidge Hall is the original building of UMB and the entire University System of Maryland. Davidge and other founding clinicians paid for the facility with their own money, which resulted in the commanding Pantheonic architecture — intended to signal the importance of formalized medicine. Famous physicians such as James Carroll, who discovered that mosquitoes were carriers of yellow fever, walked through its halls. Adding to ​its colorful past, the top floor was once a secret dissection lab with stolen cadavers.

Chemical Hall, a 200-seat amphitheater with kiln-like niches in its front wall for chemical experiments, occupies most of the first floor. Directly above it is the oldest known anatomical hall in the United States, a similar amphitheater with a unique decorative ceiling where Marquis de Lafayette received an honorary doctorate in 1824. Both theaters include surrounding galleries, stadium seating, and stepped aisles, with concealed spiral staircases. Because of its single exit, Anatomical Hall is no longer in use. The rest of the building now houses offices, conference rooms, and a museum.

In 2011, an earthquake shook the 200-year-old building, tearing copper seams apart and exposing design flaws in the roof and windows. Rainwater repeatedly seeped from the faulty roof into the glass-domed lecture hall, staining the ornate plaster wall with brown streaks and cracks. Because of the building’s storied history, it was important that Davidge Hall be preserved and remain relevant and useful for students to come.

The Challenge

To preserve Davidge Hall and prepare it for future medical students, the building’s HVAC system needed to be replaced. When originally constructed, it was designed only to be heated by stoves close to the ceiling in the winter. In 1979, a new HVAC system was installed to keep up with modern technology. The building was connected to the campus’ central chilled water and steam systems –– with steam being converted locally to heating water –– for heating and cooling. Nearly half a century later, the HVAC systems could no longer provide adequate environmental control and did not meet modern code.

RMF’s mechanical and electrical design teams prioritized the historical significance of Davidge Hall and worked to limit the impact of the new equipment as much as possible. The circular building’s tight spaces and curved walls created a number of obstacles when deciding where to place new equipment and how to best run connections. After evaluation of equipment types and arrangements, the only viable approach that allowed the majority of the architectural elements and intent to remain intact was to design the system to be housed where the existing systems were.

As such, RMF’s design aimed to reuse locations where piping bulkheads and enclosures were already in place for the new system. Supply and return distribution re-used existing diffusers and grilles, keeping the look from inside the building as close to original as possible. A semicircular louver was added to minimize impact to the exterior walls and keep with the existing architectural design.

The Process

Before the renovation, the outside air ventilation in Davidge Hall was limited, which was highlighted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising concerns about the spread of the virus. Outside air ventilation took a front seat more broadly during this time, and options to increase outside air came into focus on the project. Water leaks and high humidity caused by the inability of the existing system to properly dehumidify had further contributed to the deterioration of the property. Instead of replacing the mechanical equipment with the same system that failed, the University sought a new, more efficient approach that would not only improve Davidge Hall’s condition but also limit the potential for future water leaks.

RMF’s design for the building’s HVAC replacement removed 10 air handling units as well as ductwork, chilled water piping, and hot water piping from service, and exchanged them for a variable refrigeration flow (VRF) system. This system allows each space in the building to have individual control. Sixteen large units of 3- to 4-ton capacity each were designed to condition Anatomical Hall and Chemical Hall, with eight units providing the required ventilation air. The use of several units versus a single unit for each space was driven by the existing mechanical space constraints for fitting the equipment. Smaller units of less than 1 ton of capacity were used to heat and cool various offices, with one unit providing the required ventilation air.

These are served by air-cooled condensing units (air-source heat pumps) mounted on the adjacent roof of the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. Careful consideration was given to ensuring that the existing structure could accommodate these units, as well as to providing proper piping penetrations in the new roof to minimize future water leak potential. The air-cooled condensing units were strategically split into five systems, with two assigned to Anatomical Hall, two assigned to Chemical Hall, and the fifth to support the various offices.

To bring the new VRF system online, RMF designed a series of electrical improvements, including upgrades to the distribution equipment, as well as new panels, breakers, disconnectors, conduits, and wiring to power the VRF units and heat pipes. In addition to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades, RMF facilitated the connection of new fire alarm devices to the fire alarm system and implemented a new fire protection and egress plan. All of these upgrades came together in a new Siemens building automation system. This provided the ability to monitor and control space temperature, occupied/unoccupied modes, and monitor drain pans for water accumulation.

Throughout the project, RMF handled construction administration for articles like request for information responses and shop drawing review. The construction administration process remained efficient largely because of the project’s highly engaged and technical owner.

The new equipment allows Davidge Hall to maintain a 72-degree temperature and comfortable levels of humidity across each space and has been noted to be very quiet. According to UMB’s Office of Operations and Maintenance, the building’s overall energy usage has decreased by about 20 percent due to these mechanical upgrades, and occupants report that the building has never felt more comfortable.