Akron Zoo Komodo Kingdom Education Center Komodo Kingdom is the first truly green building at the Akron Zoo. Scheeser Buckley Mayfield was a part of the new 35,000 square-foot Komodo Kingdom education center at the Akron Zoo. This $9.3 million building was designed and constructed with environmentally conscious materials and practices. A geothermal heating and cooling system was designed along with a storm water runoff basin and the use of recycled building materials. 'The innovative design strategies that were incorporated, such as the geothermal heating and cooling system and the humidity control sequence, allowed the mechanical systems to meet the zoo's desire for sustainable design while at the same time working within the visual parameters of the architect,' says Joshua Roehm, P.E., mechanical project manager. 'This enabled the Akron Zoo to have a truly intriguing building, both from an aesthetic and a building systems standpoint.'