Week 4: TBH

Week 4

In exploring Temple Hoyne Buell Hall Tuesday, February 10, unfortunately we could not make it into the mechanical rooms since the locks were recently changed.  Still, Professor Hinders went ahead and showed us the overall ventilation infrastructure of the building. What’s great about TBH is that the entire building’s mechanical system is exposed. Actually, it’s put on display in a really cool way. Two huge ventilation pipes carry the cooled/heated air up to the top of the building – one to each side. The huge pipes slowly branch as they wind through the building. We ended up walking through the whole building, seeing how the pipes gradually shrink down in size through the studios and offices in order to force air out until they are very small on the first mezzanine level.  Professor Hinders showed us his office – which is barely tall enough for his tall stature. The cool thing is that he can actually open his ceiling vent to show the inside of the ventilation system.

There were many other things to appreciate about the building. I took some cool photos of the exterior, and enjoyed understanding how all the parts of the building work together in sweet unity. The paserelles cross from professor offices on one side of the building to graduate student studios on the other side, which is very symbolic. The interior materials of the building actually pass to the outside of the building in a flow which makes the building one with its environment. We also observed other parts of the infrastructure – different water flows and returning pipes. The entire system is extremely complicated, but well-designed to be exposed and shown off with the materials of the building. It was a fun tour and I learned a lot about how temperature-controlled air is transported around the building. The atrium has a set of vents at the bottom which allow for air to rise most of the way up the windows, too.

A panoramic shot of the exterior of TBH

What lovely reflection is the curved exterior of TBH where the pipes run along.