Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a world class center for the arts. This center consists of an 1,800-seat performance hall and a 1,600-seat concert hall surrounded by a grand lobby on the south and dressing rooms and other back-of-the-house areas on the north.

Marrying the artistic vision with the mechanical requirements of the space was challenging, but the design team collaborated closely to integrate linear floor grilles, in-wall displacement diffusers, and round floor displacement diffusers to meet the demanding performance requirements of the facility.

The lobby is a four-story atrium with curved glass walls and suspension cables. This wide-open space has 40,000-sf of glass and high solar load that uses a combination of displacement ventilation, radiant cooled, and heated floor. The lobby requires temperature and humidity control and monitoring of the space to ensure a low enough dewpoint to prevent condensation from forming on floor surfaces. Each of the instrument storage rooms are equipped with booster humidifiers and controls, and all equipment is monitored and controlled from a state-of-the-art Building Management System.

In the performing halls over 2,200 round floor displacement diffusers (RFDD) are inconspicuously installed beneath the auditorium seats. The underfloor diffusers beneath the auditorium seats offers distinct energy efficiency advantages and enhanced thermal comfort due to the low risk of draft sensation. Curved underfloor displacement diffusers are elegantly integrated into the aesthetic design of the lobby, and diffusers, situated where the suspension cables meet the floor, are custom crafted to exacting architectural requirements and blend seamlessly with the space.

IMEG estimated that conditioning the lobby/atrium area using overhead air distribution would triple or quadruple the air volumes required to maintain the same level of thermal comfort provided by the displacement air distribution. The use of displacement ventilation significantly increased energy savings within the building when compared to other spaces.