Engineers and city officials from Beijing were on campus July 3 to tour the Central Plant and learn about several campus sustainability initiatives.

Coordinated by Facilities Management Assistant Director and Sustainability Lead Michael Burriello and City of Houston Sustainability Manager Lisa Lin, the visit was just one stop for the group of 13 who made their rounds to various heating and cooling facilities across the city during their stay.

Engaged and inquisitive, the visitors took many notes and pictures about how the Central Plant systems operate, all in hopes of taking what they've learned here and implementing it into their practices for the city of Beijing.

"Since the recent completion of its three-year expansion project, the Central Plant is more efficient and productive than ever before," said Burriello. "It's a great model of how to reduce emissions and increase monitoring capabilities and control without hindering productivity."

Happy to host the group, the Facilities Management team also took this time to share presentations and research they've conducted on Raspberry Pi technologies, Visible Workplace, Common Language Control Systems and the prospects of eventually having a "Living Campus" where buildings will be able to adapt and adjust to their occupants without the intervention of a manager.

"Although the primary focus of the visit was to educate our guests on our Central Plant's features, we wanted to give them a big picture view of how we work as a team," said Burriello. "It was exciting to share our work and we look forward to doing this more in the future."