Campus Development

The Campus Master Plan is the long term development plan approved by UNC back in 2001. The plan incorporates the full range of smart growth principles - mixed uses; compact buildings; multi-modal, pedestrian-oriented transportation; varied housing types; preservation and creation of green space; a predictable regulatory arena; and regular give and take among a large and diverse group of stakeholders. Carolina aspires to be a model smart growth campus.

The Master Plan includes the following environmental goals:

• Balance growth with preservation of the natural drainage system
• Manage stormwater as an opportunity, not a problem
• Recognize that the University is part of the Cape Fear Watershed
• Reinforce the University's position as a role model
• Decrease single-occupancy vehicle use
• Increase and diversify on-campus housing

The Campus Development Plan implements the first steps of the Master Plan and covers the period to 2010. The Development Planspecifically addresses sustainability issues including: environmental issues, stormwater, transportation, and utilities.

Commissioning

Commissioning is the process of testing the systems within a building (such as the HVAC system) to ensure that it performs as it was designed to perform. This process ensures the delivery of a functioning high performance building. Commissioning is usually completed after the building is constructed and before the building is occupied. However, existing buildings can also be commissioned. The latter type of commissioning is also known as retrocommissioning. Commissioning leads to energy savings, a more comfortable environment in the building, and often reduces the need for capital improvements. 

The following UNC buildings are among those which have been retrocommissioned: Bioinformatics, Medical Research, McColl, and the Rosenau Hall addition.

PACRAT Continuous Commissioning Software
Energy Services is in the process of acquiring and setting up PACRAT (Performance And Continuous Re-commissioning Analysis Tool). PACRAT software improves the operations of facilities by continually monitoring the performance data of each building and comparing it to the model building performance. The software points out what is not operating, gives suggestions of potential causes, and even shows the cost to fix the problem and to not fix the problem.

UNC Commissioning Workshop
A Commissioning workshop was held in 2004 to gather together UNC staff from a variety of departments that would need to be involved in a commissioning effort. This included personnel involved with maintenance shops, design, construction management, HVAC systems, grounds, sustainability, and environment, health and safety to name a few. There was widespread agreement at the workshop that commissioning should be a high priority of the university, although the need for increased resources from the University was also mentioned by many in attendance. The Triangle J Council of Governments along with university staff including the sustainability coordinator, an engineer, and a project manager organized the conference.