Electrical Design

The Forum Building is a historic seven-story 375,000 SF building consisting of office space, the Forum Auditorium, the State Library, and associated archival space. The building is currently designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The primary focus of this project was fully renovating 180,000 SF of office space comprising Floors 2 through 5 to house the Department of Education.

Additionally, the project scope included the installation of five pedestal-mounted EV chargers, and provisions for an additional 11 chargers for official-use vehicles. The design for the chargers was added during construction because of Pennsylvania’s commitment to increasing the use of electric vehicles by government staff. This required an expedited design period, as the charger foundations and underground conduit needed to be installed so that the parking lot could be completed to allow portions of the building to be occupied before the project was fully completed.

The electrical design consisted of a new 480-V electrical feeder from the main double-ended 480-V switchboard to a panelboard dedicated to the EV chargers. Branch circuits were extended from the 480-V panelboard to the Level 3 EV chargers and a 225-kVA transformer that feeds a 800A, 208/120-V panelboard that provides branch circuits to the Level 2 EV chargers.

Erdman Anthony coordinated the conduit routing and charger foundations with the civil engineer on the project. Drawings and EV charger specifications were prepared and released to construction.

Sustainable Design Impact The EV chargers at the capitol complex have helped reduce vehicle emissions and noise while advancing the commonwealth’s goal of making its fleet greener.