Here’s a task: bridge the new mechanical room to the utility connection in the old space - located in an adjacent building in Chicago’s South Loop. Room for equipment is frequently tight, but in the case of this steam pipe, the room for error was less than one inch. The kind of planning that navigated that challenge accounted for (almost) everything in this tricky retrofit.

The approach they came in thinking about wasn’t the chiller plant strategy they chose. However, it was twice as efficient as the piecemeal system that had evolved over the years. Modern planning to minimize changeorders and navigate tight fits - plus smart choices from valve selection to installation tactics - comprise a star HVAC exhibit in this Chicago museum.