agchouston.org Fall 2025 Cornerstone 23 some “temporary” bracing should be added. “It solved the problem, although the temporary bracing is still in place today!” laughed Nelson. Cooling Concerns Heat Up Ironically, one problem posed a large challenge for Lott and caused plenty of heated debates over cooling concerns: the innovative air conditioning system, which had been designed by I.A. Naman + Associates. “Mr. Lott was worried that, with the way the stadium sloped, the air condi- tioning would freeze the people in the back nearer to the large compressors, and that the cooled air wouldn’t carry all the way down to the field and to the boxes alongside it,” noted Kiley. So, Lott came up with a creative solu- tion to be able to see the chilled current’s flow, direction and density: colored dye was released through the vents to visu- alize airflow, and he watched as it was pumped out and around the stadium. “There was so much anxiety around building this whole building and then seeing if the air conditioning system worked as intended,” continued Kiley. After all the planning, construction and expenses, it all came down to a single moment of truth for Lott. “Fortunately, the tests showed it was designed per- fectly because the smoke went every- where, all the way down, with the same consistency.” Simultaneously pleased and relieved, everyone was able to breathe a bit easier — and a lot more comfortably, thanks to the Astrodome’s flawless and func- tional climate control system. One of the most prominent accomplishments in the history of air conditioning, the day the system ran exactly according to I.A. Naman’s design was also one of the happiest moments of Lott’s life. Life on the Jobsite Construction crews working on the Astrodome often said they felt like they were building a spaceship and were proud to be part of something extraor- dinary. “The entire town was abuzz about the Astrodome,” Kiley reminisced. “People would go out to the site just to watch. And when they started to put the dome on it, newspapers regularly ran news stories with tons of photographs.” The site hummed with thousands of laborers, tradespeople and engineers, all hustling to meet an aggressive schedule. They worked long hours in the intense Houston heat before the air conditioning system was installed. Equipment like cranes had to be custom-built or heavily modified to handle the dome’s height and geome- try. Workers installing the steel trusses at dizzying heights operated without many of the safety protocols that are commonplace today. It was dangerous work, and tension ran high, especially when inspections were due or key mile- stones approached. Despite the pressure, though, there was a sense of pride and camaraderie among the tradespeople. H.A. Lott’s well-deserved reputation for managing massive projects with precision grew significantly during the job, and Lott himself was often present on the jobsite, Inside, the Astrodome’s innovative engineering was evident all around — from its incredible climate control system to its synthetic turf.
