Climate
HVAC for 571 million sq ft. Geothermal-primary, stack-assisted, smart-zoned.
Heating and cooling load for 571M sq ft is enormous. The architecture helps — hollow atriums move air, stable bedrock provides thermal mass, smart zoning kills load when occupants leave.
Heat pumps tied to bedrock
Drilled wells under the formation tap stable 55°F ground temperature year-round. Geothermal heat pump system as primary HVAC — provides both cooling and heating at 4–5× the efficiency of conventional systems. The 2-billion-gallon water reservoir doubles as thermal mass.
The atriums breathe
Hot air rises naturally up through 0.75–1.25 mile vertical chimneys — every Pillar's atrium is a stack ventilation engine. Free cooling for transition floors. The Void itself is the largest stack effect anywhere on Earth.
Central plant, distributed loops
District system: central plant in Foundation, distributed loops with local terminal equipment. Solar thermal on south-facing Pillar surfaces feeds water heating and absorption chillers. Smart zoning — empty rooms drop to setback automatically. ID-based occupancy detection (your .nw identity tells the building you're home).
Military-grade filtration
Multi-stage: MERV-17 minimum at all air handlers, HEPA at hospitals and clean spaces, activated carbon for VOCs, UV-C for pathogens, plant-based bio-filtration as supplement. Air quality monitoring at every floor, real-time, public dashboard. Outside air at the Apex is essentially pristine — minimal particulates, low pollen, no pollution. Origin's interior air is cleaner than any city on Earth.
Each Pillar independent
Each Pillar has independent air handling so contamination in one cannot spread. Climate failure in one Pillar does not propagate. The Spire has its own dedicated system. Six structures, six independent climate envelopes — sharing energy supply but not air.