A parable begins with four people coming across an unknown object in the dark. Limited only by feeling what was immediately in front of them, each person came to their own conclusion as to what the object was. One believed it was a fan, another a paintbrush, another a tree, and the last a wall. Had they communicated their findings to each other, it would have immediately been clear that the unknown object was, in fact, an elephant. As more buildings begin to consider capital improvement upgrades to their HVAC and mechanical systems, a broader holistic view of design must be taken to create a fully functional system. Gone are the days where a system can be installed in piecemeal, with the equipment initially specified by a mechanical design engineer, then installed by a contractor, and finally controls and other building management system components integrated as an afterthought. A good system design requires continuous coordination from the start between mechanical design and controls. This session provides an opportunity to learn from two case studies at one building where in one case, the design engineer, the controls engineer, the mechanical installer, and the systems integrator collaborated throughout the design, installation, and commissioning processes, and an earlier case where they did not. We will discuss the motivations and lessons learned from the earlier case and how later collaboration between all parties revealed design considerations that would not have otherwise been considered.