It's said that the sense of smell can bring forth memories like no other. And some sounds are sweet, while others can drive a person to distraction.

Our office is on the second floor of a conventional office building. The other day some workers were building something in the basement. Upstairs we could hear the pounding as if it were in the next room. This led to comments and discussion about how sound carries through air ducts.

We have a print room where we store drawings in wide, flat metal cabinet drawers. The office next door shares a wall with the print room, and the people there say the sound of those drawers being closed is surprisingly loud.

We have special ventilating fans to remove the ammonia fumes created by our blue-line printer. The contractors initially vented those fans into the attic! It didn't take long to figure that out, as the smell permeated the building. We had to call them back to do the job right and vent the fans outside.

Mechanical engineering design must suit the specific needs of the building.

It will be an ongoing subject in KSA newsletters in 2001.