Departing from the simple question Why do we heat and cool buildings with air?, this book focuses on the technique of thermally active surfaces. This technique uses water in building surfaces to heat and cool bodies – a method that is at once more efficient, comfortable, and healthy. This technique thus imbues the fabric of the building with a more poignant role: its structure is also its primary heating and cooling system. In doing so, this approach triggers a cascading set of possibilities for how well buildings are built, how well they perform, and how long they will last: pointing the way toward multiple forms of sustainability. -Princeton Architectural Press

More after the break.

The first section of the book contrasts the parallel histories of thermally active surfaces and air conditioning. These histories explain the material, social, marketing, and technical unfolding of building technology in the twentieth century as a means to explain why we build the way we do and why that will change in the new century. The next section of the book covers the physiological and thermodynamic basis of thermally active surfaces. This section is designed for engineers and architects to grasp the logic and advantages of this technique. This section also includes a chapter on the de-fragmentation of buildings and design practice that is inherent in building with thermally active surfaces. The final section covers a series of contemporary case studies that demonstrate the efficacy of this technique. The project list currently includes Kunsthaus in Bregenz by Peter Zumthor, Zollverein School of Management in Essen, Germany by SANAA, and Linked Hybrid in Beijing by Steven Holl, amongst others.

-Princeton Architectural Press

Author: Kiel Moe
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Editorial: Lauren Nelson Packard, Dan Simon
Design: Paul Wagner

Language: English
Cover: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Illustrations: 250 color
Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1 inches
ISBN: 978-1568988801

Index

Foreword / D. Michelle Addington
Foreword / Tradition, Comfort, and Conservation / Matthias Schuler
Preface

Approaches to Technology and Human Comfort
Theories, Techniques, and Technologies
Conditioned Air
Thermally Active Surfaces

Principles and Practices of Thermally Active Surfaces
What Your Body Already Knows
Batiso (Constant  Temperature Building) / Building Design Guide by Geoff McDonnell
De-fragmentation of Buildings and Practices
Thermodynamic Figures in Architecture

Thermally Active Surface Case Studies
Kunsthaus Bregenz / Peter Zumthor
Zollverein School of Management and Design / SANAA
Südwestmetall Regional Headquarters / Dominik Dreiner Architekt
Linked Hybrid / Steven Holl Architects
Charles Hostler Student Recreation Center / VJAA
Housing for Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health / Peter Rose and Partners
The Fred Kaiser Building, University of British Columbia  / architectsAlliance
Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research / architectsAlliance, Behnisch Architekten
Klarchek Information Commons, Loyola University / Solomon Cordwell Buenz
The Graham Resource Center, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology / Tom Brock Architect, P.C.

Acknowledgments
Sources
Illustration Credits

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