Described herein is an airflow management system and method. The system includes a top layer and a bottom layer, and each of the layers has a dedicated air flow management and hardware system that are operated independently. The top layer is a drop ceiling air plenum, and can store fan coils arranged in a hot aisle containment fashion or a cold hair containment fashion. The top layer receives fresh air from its own air source, and exhausts hot air through its own exhaust. The bottom layer can include server racks arranged in a hot aisle containment fashion or a cold aisle containment fashion. One or more servers in the bottom layer can include an air cooling component and a liquid cooling component, and receive cooling liquid from the top layer and receives cooling air from its own air source.