South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Paleontology Building | Rapid City, SD

The SD Mines Paleontology Building was the first State-owned building in SouthDakota to obtain LEED Gold Certification, and was recognized by Mountain States Construction Magazine’s Gold Hard Hat Awards Program.

West Plains Engineering provided mechanical and electrical design services to this 27,716 square foot new construction, which notably included two air handling systems. One serves the preparation areas and labs that produce dust, while the second serve the clean archive areas, offices, etc. The systems also provide humidification control for the building to ensure humidity is held within a constant range. Dust collectors in the two labs capture and contain the particles produced during the fossil and casting preparation processes. All systems are monitored and controlled by the building and campus automation systems and include displays of the various system energy use.

Electrical systems designed included medium voltage power distribution, low voltage power distribution, lighting, communications and data distribution and preparation for security systems. The lighting system, as designed, was more energy efficient than ASHRAE 90.1 and LEED criteria require. Lighting within the archive storage area was specially designed for low Ultra Violet emissions to help preserve the materials being stored. The building lighting systems are controlled by a central lighting control system to assist in energy savings. The design provided rough-in for a security system that will utilize a card reader system to allow and record access into valuable archive and storage areas.