A data center includes a hot stack for exhausting heated air from the data center and a cold stack that cools intake air relative to the environment surrounding the data center. The temperature difference between air in the cold stack and the environment creates an airflow through the cold stack and into a cold aisle. This pressurizes the cold aisle, causing air to flow from the cold aisle across computing assets to a lower-pressure hot aisle. While flowing across the computing assets, the air absorbs heat generated by the computing assets. The temperature difference between the heated air and air outside the data center causes the heated air to flow through the hot stack and outside of the data center.