The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) honored the Duke University Chilled Water Plant #3 with a 2025 PCI Design Award for Best Custom Solutions Building. Winners of the nationwide awards program were selected by a panel of jurors.
Flad designed the 48,500-square-foot facility. Featuring rooftop solar panels, it is part of a cooling system network that has helped Duke become the largest U.S. university to achieve carbon neutrality. The new facility also enabled a new 490,000-square-foot bed tower to come online at Duke University Hospital.
The plant features customized precast concrete wall panels as the primary exterior building material. Centrally located near the campus arts district, the plant seamlessly integrates with the surrounding architecture of a high-profile area of campus and provides visual flair not typically associated with utility structures
PCI Awards 
Duke University Chilled Water Plant #3
January 15, 2025