Office of Information Technology

Auburn University’s Office of Information Technology provides a centralized office space for its 120 IT staff and contains the campus data center. Energy efficiency was a key focus of the project, and Auburn sought design solutions that would ensure reliable cooling for the facility while also conserving energy.

Bernhard’s solution was to tie the new building into the campus district energy system. A backup air-cooled chiller connected to emergency power ensures cooling in the event that chilled water supply is lost. The mechanical system design also incorporated a data center chimney system that collects rejected heat from servers to provide free heating to office spaces in the winter. These efforts enabled the building to achieve LEED Silver Certification.