Despite being led by a brainless, heartless, and gutless entourage, one may presume that Dorothy could have eventually stumbled her way to the Wizard of Oz’s doorstep with or without the assistance of the yellow brick road.

When Miller Bonded Inc. (MBI) decided to design its new pipe fabrication facility in Albuquerque, NM, the HVAC mechanical contractor not only wanted to streamline production, it also wanted an energy-efficient building.

In which the design team realized they could pump irrigation water from the campus’ main distribution line at night to use for cooling during the day if they could figure out how to store thousands of gallons of water on the new building’s first floor -- a vertically small space. Piping strategy, CFD, and chilled beams fill out an innovative closing argument on behalf of this Utah law school.

Cornell’s Bill and Melinda Gates Hall required a suitably thoughtful design process. After considerable analysis, an unusual strategy emerged, led by chilled beams and DOAS with key dehumidification elements.

At some point, most college or university building committees are given the responsibility to establish a building upgrade program to enhance their campus and appeal to potential future students.