Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf)

A campus chiller’s prime directive is to pump torrents of cool water, not to look good. But thanks to an inventive skin of dichroic glass fins and high-sheen concrete panels from Ross Barney Architects, the Ohio State University’s south campus central chiller does both.

When the project was first announced in 2010, Carol Ross Barney told AN, “Rather than just showing the pipes, we wanted to represent energy itself.”

Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf)

The 95,750-square-foot chiller plant is sprinkled with glazed openings that reveal some of its interior equipment. Because no moving parts are visible, a sense of motion plays out instead on the building’s iridescent glass fins. The recently completed project will pursue LEED certification.

Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Courtesy Ross Barney Architects) Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf) Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf) Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf) Ross Barney Architects’ OSU chiller. (Brad Feinknopf)