In Dedication of Dedications

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a dedication of a new building on the picturesque Washington University campus. Unfortunately, it wasn't for our still unnamed building yet! It was for Brauer Hall, the lovely new engineering building adjoining Whittaker Hall and the even newer Preston Green Hall which is progressing very rapidly. The dedication seemed to coincide with the start of an energy symposium on campus which brings another 500 on campus. What the people at the dedication did not realize is that all summer long, the doorway to the loading dock of that new LEED certified, energy efficient building was left open practically non-stop during the day allowing its HVAC system to pump cool air into the hot St. Louis summer. What a great way to save energy!

As for the dedication, the people in our department were mad that the entire northeast parking lot was closed all day long for a dedication that started at 4:00pm. When I was leaving for the day and saw the people still seating under the tent, I noticed not even half the lot was full. Luckily I did not have to worry since I was just walking to the Metrolink! Another nice reason to use public transportation. Ironically, I was actually invited to the dedication as an active engineering alumnus so I could have received a parking permit to the lot for the ceremony. I wonder how much I could have sold it to one of my co-workers in the department.

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