State Electric and Lee Kennedy Co. working on Harvard Business School’s Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center

Harvard Business School's Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center

CAMBRIDGE, MA State Electric Corp. is underway with the comprehensive electrical construction of Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center. The new, four-story, 90,000 s/f executive education building will house reception space, flexible classrooms, project rooms, offices and dining facilities. The project team includes architect Goody Clancy Associates, general contractor Lee Kennedy Co., and engineer Vanderweil Engineers.  

State Electric’s scope at the Chao Center includes providing the building’s primary and emergency power systems, lighting, fire alarm, tel/data, and A/V systems.  Electrical service will originate from a 15kV switchboard in the building’s basement. Provisions for a roll-up generator will be installed as a back-up to the shared main generator, which is located on the roof of the adjacent Tata Hall. 

Contemporary, energy-efficient lighting, controlled via a Lutron lighting control system, will be featured throughout the facility’s dining, meeting and classroom spaces. Custom lighting fixtures will be a focal point in entryways and the main hub area, which will include stadium seating. State Electric is also installing courtyard and walkway lighting to connect the Chao Center with the rest of the HBS campus.

The facility’s fire alarm system will be in keeping with the Harvard’s campus system fire alarm standard, and will incorporate virtually all aspects of the facility’s MEP system.  Extensive Tel/Data and A/V networks will be installed throughout the facility to dynamically accommodate communications and audio-visual requirements.

State Electric is supervising a field crew ranging upwards of 18 IBEW Local 103 electricians and technicians at peak construction in the nearly two-year project, which is scheduled for completion in April 2016.  The project team is headed by project manager Paul Higgins, supervisor and foreman Tom Page, and virtual coordinator Rocco Capalino.  The State Electric team was able to complete conduit infrastructure installations in the basement structure despite extreme weather and ground conditions this past winter.

When construction is complete, a comprehensive commissioning process will be undertaken, including a site area power drop test that will assess how multiple buildings and systems respond in the event of a loss of utility power, and ensure reliability of all systems. 

The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold+ certification.