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A review is offered for the Visual Arts Building (VAB) at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, integrating striking aesthetics with innovative mechanical systems.

The article announces the winners of the periodical 2020 Best Global Projects Awards including a housing project of Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial in South Africa; the Engineering Authority for Egyptian Armed Forces in Egypt; and Sindh Water sector Irrigation Project in Pakistan.

The article explores the benefits of a radiant heated and cooled slab with a low energy/low pressure drop Dedicated Outdoor Air ventilation system for school classrooms. Topics include that College of Continuing and Professional Education is designed to be a 35,000-square-foot net-zero classroom building and discussing the main source for heating and cooling of the classrooms is the radiant slab that is heated and cooled from the campus central plant.

The article discusses that how heat is transferred in and through a radiant floor. It mentions that floor coverings are part of the floor construction and part of the overall floor R-value. Changing floor coverings will impact fluid temperature; and also mentions in a radiant system, conduction takes place anywhere the radiant tubing is in contact with a flooring material, or subfloor.

The article focuses on a new construction project Perfect Indoor Comfort (PIC) completed on the shore of Tomahawk Lake. It mentions the two-story lake house totals 4,600 square feet above ground and 2,000 finished square feet in the daylight basement; and also mentions that before the home's boiler system was completed, mini-split units were the only source of heat through fall and into early winter.

The article provides an analysis of a building automation system (BAS) and evaluates the energy savings by sealing up the supply ductwork. Topics discussed include description of the ductwork design, findings on how much of the calculated Btu are most likely being recirculated into the return and never making into the space itself, and comparison of the average zone and return temperatures on each rooftop unit.

The article focuses on McIntosh, company required custom-designed distillation columns, pressure vessels and heat exchangers, and vessels must endure high temperatures and high pressure over decades of grueling use. It mentions company designed and engineered the plant's original separators, heat exchangers, storage tanks and pressure vessels. It also mentions fabricating to meet the performance specifications requires expertise and craftsmanship in metallurgy.