Week 4 - Mechanical Systems Tour

    This week we stayed right in the building, Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, and looked at our own mechanical systems. It's interesting because we don't heat or cool ourselves with gas or electricity, but instead use steam provided by Abbott Power Plant. This is actually common for most buildings on campus.
    When it comes to the specifics of Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, there are two lower floors that contain a lot of the mechanical systems. However, we were not able to get access down there. Surprisingly, we still we able to see a lot and discuss many things. As you can see in the picture above, if you look into the windows, there are large ducts that carry air throughout the building. Temple Hoyne Buell Hall is interesting because it does not try to disguise or hide its inner workings. You can easily see the large air ducts, but also you can see water lines, electricity, and roof drains throughout the building.
    On this tour, I learned a lot about functional design and the many things that you need to worry about when creating a large building. You don't tend to think about the mechanics of a large building, and usually instead notice the aesthetic design and the grand space. It's interesting to notice how they designed the building's air flow, and where to supply and where to return air. Even the way that the air ducts have to have pathways through the building, so there is that extra height on the building where they run, and then there are cut outs in the internal windows and walls for everything to run through. Overall, the building and the tour really help you notice how much work goes into a large building.