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CHILLER THRILLER: CARRIER INKS DEAL WITH DREAMWORKS

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Feb. 12 What do you do when reality exceeds your dreams? Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen had the answer when they collaborated to form DreamWorks SKG, one of the most creative and entrepreneurial partnerships in the entertainment business.

Similarly, Carrier Corporation's founder joined with six others to form a partnership 80 years ago that would change the face of urban architecture, including providing comfort cooling to some of the world's most prestigious buildings. The two industry giants recently signed an agreement to cool the first structure in an ambitious urban development project designed to create the prototype 21st century community. After months of careful planning, the dream is set to become reality in the form of the first new structure to be built for DreamWorks. A 500,000 sq. ft animation studio in Glendale, Calif. is being developed to provide a comfortable, cost effective interior environment while having the least impact on the external environment. Three Carrier chillers, working in tandem with 17 model 39T central station air handlers, will provide energy efficient, environmentally responsible comfort to the studio. The chlorine-free equipment includes two 500-ton Evergreen centrifugal chillers and a 200-ton screw chiller. The new 39T air handler offers increased durability and performance, convenient installation and maintenance and improved air quality.

Environmental technology communications consultant John Picard of E2 brings ecological design awareness to the DreamWorks project that includes reusing existing structures, conserving energy, using alternative fuel vehicles and restoring existing wetlands. "This is the first new studio to be built in Los Angeles in 75 years," said Picard. "Carrier's industry leading approach to environmental stewardship is the reason it was selected as the HVAC systems provider for the DreamWorks studio."

Carrier and Picard collaborated for two years to turn this dream project into reality. "The DreamWorks project accentuates Carrier's overall effort in environmental leadership," said Rick Fedrizzi, Carrier's director of environmental marketing.

Evergreen and Environmental Responsibility

The Evergreen line was introduced by Carrier in 1996 as the first centrifugal chiller built from the ground up to use chlorine-free refrigerant. With operating efficiencies approaching .50kW/ton at full load, Evergreen chillers enable DreamWorks and other building owners to use environmentally responsible, non-ozone-depleting refrigerant without compromising on energy efficiency or safety.

"In selecting chlorine-free chillers to do the job, DreamWorks demonstrates its commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility," said Roger Morey, vice president and general manager of Carrier's Commercial Applied Equipment and Services business unit. "We're looking forward to helping DreamWorks attain its goals of developing an environmentally safe and responsible community."

In addition, the 39T air handler features sloped, stainless steel condensate pans with recessed bottom drains to eliminate standing water and help prevent indoor air quality (IAQ) problems. The pan complies with ASHRAE Standard 62.

The DreamWorks Vision

When DreamWorks SKG was formed more than two years ago, its vision extended beyond creating a "virtual" studio with leading edge technology. The community is the brainchild of Spielberg, whose goal is to create a home where filmakers, writers, producers and actors can ply their craft together. The 1,087-acre master planned community will be the most technologically advanced mixed-use community ever built, including five million square feet of studio and office space, 600,000 square feet of retail space, 750 hotel rooms and more than 13,000 residential units, all linked with fiber optics and an internal computer network.

A 100-acre studio campus will occupy the eastern end of the community, called Playa Vista, in West Los Angeles. It will include a fully digital post-production center, 20 sound stages -- including eight television studios for live productions -- and the largest "superstage" in existence.

Carrier and the Silver Screen

This year, Carrier celebrates the 75th anniversary of the invention of centrifugal refrigeration, the principal process that will be applied to the DreamWorks project. When Willis Carrier built the first "centrifugal refrigeration machine" in 1922, Los Angeles itself was mostly farmland and the movie industry was centered in New York City. But the warmer climate, as well as the advent of air conditioning, attracted movie producers and stars to Southern California.

Carrier air conditioning systems played a role in the development of "talkies," as the new Hollywood sound studios could keep doors and windows closed, eliminating objectionable outside noise while keeping actors cool and refreshed despite the intense heat of the powerful 'Klieg' lights and the arid Southern California climate.

And it was the promise of "air conditioned comfort" that helped many a 1920s theater-owner improve summertime box office receipts, when crowds typically shunned hot theaters for cooler pleasures. In fact, Carrier provided a system for the first theater in the world to provide air conditioning -- Grauman's Metropolitan in Los Angeles -- in the early-1920s.

Carrier Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of heating and air conditioning systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace, building systems and automobile industries.

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