The main trade-off I considered was whether it was worth sacrificing floor-to-ceiling height by allowing the supply and return air ducts to cross each other for easier duct design. My goal was to strategically offset the duct runs to avoid losing that vertical space. I decided that if I couldn't make that work, I would allow the ducts to cross over in the hallway, resulting in a lower ceiling in the less important space.
Fortunately, I managed to avoid any crossovers between the supply and return ducts. However, this meant that I had to incorporate a third return duct line instead of just two; specifically, I added a small one to serve the conference room near the utility room.
I believe that by adding a drop ceiling, this arrangement meets the design goals. I would also recommend installing vertical shading devices on the eastern façade or incorporating vegetation to help reduce cooling loads. Since the eastern façade is primarily glass and the cooling load is the dominant concern, addressing this area could significantly lower annual energy consumption.