By Dr. John McKeon Medical director at Airmid and expert author on Aerobiology, infections aerosols and indoor air. Dr McKeon is an Ambassador of the World Filtration Institute, an accredited educator for the American Institute of Architects and a member of the Environmental Health Committee of ASHRAE.
From Historic Landmarks to Living Laboratories of Indoor Environmental Quality
When ASHRAE President Dennis Knight visited Trinity College Dublin recently, it was a privilege to guide him through the university’s architectural and intellectual landmarks, from the ancient Book of Kells to the pioneering Museum Building, where the past and future of sustainable design meet.
Passive Design Lessons from the 1850s: The Museum Building

Remarkable energy efficiency was the result of maximum possible use of natural systems carefully incorporated into original design courtesy of Dr Tim Cooper
Perhaps the most forward-looking moment came inside a 19th-century building: Trinity’s Museum Building, a masterpiece of passive design that quietly outperforms many modern structures.
Designed in the 1850s, the building showcases not only Romanesque revival architecture but also naturally integrated ventilation, heating, and thermal regulation systems that kept it warm in winter and cool in summer, long before HVAC systems existed.
Resilience Without Power: A Case Study from the 1976 Energy Crisis
During the 1976 energy crisis, when Trinity lost both oil and electricity, the Museum Building continued to function with minimal disruption. As detailed by environmental design expert Tim Cooper (who carried out in-depth energy audits and building monitoring), this resilience wasn’t accidental.
“I collected extensive data in the Museum Building that confirms the amazingly successful original heating and ventilation arrangements,” says Cooper. “In January 1986, I turned the heating off and monitored the building’s thermal response. It heated up at 2.5°C per week when the system was turned back on. The core of the building is a thermal juggernaut.”
His work reinforces the notion that passive design principles, stack ventilation, tempered airflow, thermal mass, and high ceilings, can outperform active mechanical systems, particularly in heritage structures that were built with careful attention to air and light.

ASHRAE President Dennis Knight and his wife Shirl pictured with Dr. John McKeon and Dr. John Gallagher outside the iconic Museum Building at Trinity College Dublin, a landmark of passive design and sustainable architecture.
Aligning with ASHRAE’s Goals of Decarbonisation and Net Zero Energy
As ASHRAE continues to drive the global agenda for decarbonisation, net zero energy, and indoor environmental quality (IEQ), the Museum Building stands as a living lesson in resilient, low-energy design.
At Airmid Healthgroup, we believe in learning from the past to validate the future. Our work in performance testing and healthy building verification draws inspiration from cases like this, where empirical data, thoughtful architecture, and occupant well-being converge.
The Museum Building: Not Just a Monument, But a Model
The Museum Building is not just a monument. It’s a model. And through voices like Tim Cooper’s research into energy-efficient heritage buildings, we’re reminded that healthy indoor environments don’t always require new technology, just timeless design.
Local Expertise and Leadership from ASHRAE Ireland
We were also fortunate to be joined by Edith Blennerhassett of Arup, a leading advocate for sustainable design, and the current President of ASHRAE Ireland, whose presence added valuable insight and local leadership to this remarkable visit.

Dr. John McKeon, ASHRAE President Dennis Knight, and Edith Blennerhassett (Director at Arup and President of ASHRAE Ireland) on the steps of Trinity College Dublin’s Museum Building, capturing a moment of shared leadership in sustainable building design and indoor air quality.
A Tactile Connection to the Past: Reaching Into History
At one point during the tour, ASHRAE President Dennis Knight reached into one of the original internal stone air vents, a tactile moment that connected us to the building’s living breathing infrastructure. I captured a wonderful photo of the moment, and it instantly brought to mind the Irish phrase “to chance your arm.”

ASHRAE President Dennis Knight reaches into a historic stone air vent in the Museum Building at Trinity College Dublin, symbolising the Irish phrase “to chance your arm,” a gesture of bold curiosity and reconciliation that resonates with the spirit of exploring natural ventilation in modern building design.
This expression, as told in the story of The Door of Reconciliation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, dates back to 1492 when a man cut a hole in a wooden door to offer his hand in peace during a bitter feud, risking it being cut off. It’s a phrase about courage, about taking a leap.
In that spirit, Dennis’s gesture was more than curiosity, it symbolised a willingness to reach into the unknown, to trust the past, and to embrace the kinds of natural, passive systems that we often overlook in today’s high-tech world.
A Moment of Shared Knowledge in a Historic Science Lecture Theatre
We were all deeply grateful to Dr. John Gallagher, Associate Professor in Environmental Systems Modelling at Trinity College Dublin, for his generous hospitality and expert insights during the tour. His deep understanding of the Museum Building’s environmental performance brought the visit to life. A highlight came when he graciously invited ASHRAE President Dennis Knight to indulge his passion for education, handing him a piece of chalk in Trinity’s timeless science lecture theatre, where Dennis momentarily became the professor, speaking to the spirit of knowledge-sharing that unites engineers across generations.

ASHRAE President Dennis Knight smiles at the chalkboard in one of Trinity College Dublin’s historic science lecture theatres, where he was invited by Dr. John Gallagher to briefly teach during a private tour. Surrounded by classic timber benches and original blackboards, the moment captured the shared passion for engineering, education, and timeless scientific inquiry.
From Steam Power to High-Efficiency HVAC: Engineering Through the Ages
As part of the visit, we also stopped by the Parsons Building, home to a collection of historic engineering equipment, including early steam engines that once powered entire campuses and communities. It was a fitting stop on a day centred around building performance and environmental systems. The evolution from steam power to today’s high-efficiency HVAC systems highlights how far we’ve come,and how the fundamental challenges of energy conversion, thermal control, and air movement remain central to both engineering practice and indoor environmental quality.
As he showed us around the engineering labs and legacy equipment—including early steam engines—the connection between historical energy systems and today’s pursuit of quieter, more efficient ventilation technologies became strikingly clear. The visit reminded us that innovation in indoor environmental control is as much about reducing noise and discomfort as it is about energy and air quality—an ethos shared by both ASHRAE and Airmid Healthgroup.
Standing among the cast iron flywheels and pressure gauges of a previous era, Dennis Knight reflected on the enduring ASHRAE mission: advancing the science of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration, from legacy systems to next-generation solutions.

PhD researcher Wenguang Zhao, ASHRAE President Dennis Knight, and Edith Blennerhassett (President of ASHRAE Ireland) pictured beside historic steam engines in the Parsons Building, Trinity College Dublin. The tour, led by Zhao, connected heritage energy systems with modern research into quieter and more efficient air-cooling technologies.
Preserving Rare Books Through Better Air: The Long Room Conservation Project
Our final stop in TCD was at the Long Room of Trinity’s Old Library where another conservation project is currently underway. The project seeks to protect the library’s vast collection of rare and vulnerable books, not just from time and handling, but from indoor air quality challenges, including temperature, humidity, and particle pollution. As the university’s librarian and archivist Helen Shenton notes,
“Books are organic artefacts… and the thing we can do to slow [their deterioration] down is to have better environmental conditions… [including] protection against particle pollution coming through the windows.”
This intersection of air quality science, cultural heritage, and environmental control resonated strongly with ASHRAE President Dennis Knight, whose leadership reflects the importance of environmental stewardship, not only for occupant health but for the preservation of history itself.

ASHRAE President Dennis Knight and his wife, Shirl, pictured beneath the suspended Earth installation in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin—a powerful setting to reflect on the global impact of healthy indoor air, environmental stewardship, and sustainable design.
Honouring Robert Boyle: A Founding Figure in Air Science
We also paused in the Long Room of Trinity’s Old Library for a photo beside the bust of Robert Boyle, one of Ireland’s most renowned scientists and a founding figure in the field of air and gas physics. Although not a Trinity alumnus, Boyle’s legacy is deeply honoured here, and rightly so. His famous Boyle’s Law, which describes the inverse relationship between the pressure and volume of a gas, underpins many core principles in modern HVAC systems.

ASHRAE President Dennis Knight stands beside the bust of Robert Boyle in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin. Boyle’s groundbreaking work on gas pressure and volume—now known as Boyle’s Law—remains fundamental to the principles of HVAC and building science.
As HVACR School explains, Boyle’s insights continue to shape how we control indoor air, through compression, expansion, ventilation, and building pressurisation. In a conversation about air quality, energy, and the built environment, standing beside his likeness felt like standing beside the roots of our science.
Concluding a Memorable Visit
We extend our sincere thanks to ASHRAE President Dennis Knight and his wife Shirl for their time, insight, and enthusiasm throughout this memorable visit. Our gratitude also goes to the dedicated staff at the Museum Building, the Old Library, and the Parsons Building at Trinity College Dublin, whose support and hospitality enriched every moment of the tour.
Following our time at Trinity, we continued to University College Dublin, where we were welcomed by Professor Donal Finn for a thoughtful exchange on Student Affairs and the impactful work of Young Engineers in ASHRAE (YEA). Dennis had the opportunity to meet with YEA members from UCD, engaging in meaningful conversations about the future of engineering leadership.
We now look ahead with great anticipation to welcoming Dennis to Airmid Healthgroup, where we will proudly showcase our state-of-the-art facilities and continue the conversation around innovation, health, and performance in the built environment.
Related Testing Services at Airmid Healthgroup
- Aerobiology Testing Services
Room Air Cleaner Devices and Portable Air Purifiers Performance Testing
- ASHRAE 241 Testing Services
- Custom Bioaerosol Protocols
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