Cool the floor.
Cook+Fox architect Serge Appel says the accommodating feel of One Bryant Park begins with the mild breeze in the 38-foot-high lobby. But the cooling there and throughout the building comes from widely available "radiant floor cooling:" tubes of water under the floor rather than ducts that blast air from above.
First LEED-Platinum skyscraperThe technology is common in apartment buildings and easy to install in office parks as well, says Appel. But beware: relatively low supply for office-sized floor plates means there are long gaps between ordering the coils and getting them in place, which can lead to angry subcontractors. "I would rather put a needle in my eye than put in another radiant system," jokes Winston.
NEXT: Let the tenants cool themselves.
