We are particularly proud of this project because of its complicated nature and the extraordinary demands that were placed upon our engineering imagination. In addition to all the issues of coordination and design that one normally confronts in a major public building, we are very proud of the new concepts which we were called upon to engineer.

1. Smoke control: The entire building is an atrium. Further, the exhibit materials are extremely flammable and represent a real hazard. Working with the local officials, the project life safety consultant, and the architect, we were able to provide a smoke control and fire suppression system which successfully protects the many visitors.

2. The two major indoor exhibits included a temperate rain forest and subtropical delta exhibits which house native plants and animals. We were called upon to interpret the requirements of the plants including soil chilling and heating, evaporative cooling, misting, and odor control ventilation. These systems provide seasonal environments for animal and plant life.

3. Emergency and standby power system to protect both visitors and animals. Rather than have duplicate systems, we engineered a shared use of the emergency generator. This was done by carefully analyzing life safety power requirements and integrating those with the needs of the animal life support system. The result was a computer controlled emergency power management system which the curatorial staff can utilize to provide filtration and contaminant control within the exhibits during power emergencies. This is clearly a case of "less being more" in that we were able to provide all the features necessary without the traditional costly independent life support and human life safety system duplication.