Tag: ventilation | ArchDaily

Designing Quietly: Rethinking Architecture’s Overlooked Surface

Kiana Buchberger — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 06:09:40 +0000

The ceiling is one of the largest continuous surfaces in a space, yet why is it rarely the first architectural element people notice? Often perceived as the plane that conceals structure and building services, it quietly recedes into the background while facades, materials, structural systems, and furniture define a building's architectural identity. Yet few architectural elements influence the experience of a space as consistently as this one. The ceiling shapes how sound travels, how light is reflected, how air moves through a room, and ultimately how architecture is experienced, bringing together technical performance and architectural expression through a single continuous surface.

Reimagining Air Conditioning: Traditional Cooling Methods for the Future

Eduardo Souza — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Traditional building solutions tend to work well in their respective contexts, as they have withstood hundreds of years of testing and improvements, and use techniques and materials available locally. Although globalization and the democratization of access to technology have brought more comfort and new opportunities to humanity, it has also led to the homogenization of solutions in the construction sector and a dependence on global supply chains for construction materials and components. This has also caused a rupture in how knowledge is passed on to new generations and, eventually, the disappearance of traditions.

Zaha Hadid Architects Unveils Design of Oystra Mixed-Use Development in the United Arab Emirates

Reyyan Dogan — Wed, 14 May 2025 06:30:00 +0000

Oystra, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a 128,000-square-metre seafront development located on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, that comprises 950 residential units, a comprehensive range of shopping, dining, and leisure amenities. Ras Al Khaimah, one of the UAE's fastest-growing emirates, is projected to see a 55% increase in its population by 2030, driving the need for an additional 45,000 homes. The emirate's tourism sector is also experiencing significant growth, with the number of visitors expected to rise to 3.5 million annually by 2030, up from 100,000 in 2013.

Rethink the Power of Daylight: Redefining Horizontal Spaces with Vertical Light

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Architecture goes beyond its fundamental function of defining spaces and providing protection; it shapes the user experience, influencing sensations of comfort, spaciousness, and well-being. Among the many elements that make up a building, openings play a crucial role in connecting the interior and exterior, balancing privacy with transparency, and allowing the entry of natural light and ventilation. In particular, natural light transforms environments, defines atmospheres, and enhances architectural details, making spaces more dynamic and inviting.

Designing with Humidity: How Architecture Adapts to the World’s Dampest Climates

Olivia Poston — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Humid environments present some of the most complex challenges in architectural design. From the tropical monsoon season of Southeast Asia to the equatorial heat of Central Africa, these environments demand solutions that account for intense moisture, high temperatures, and the constant battle against mold, decay, and stagnation. Yet, for centuries, communities in these regions have developed architectural techniques that do not fight against humidity but instead work with it, leveraging local materials, climate-responsive design, and passive cooling techniques to create sustainable and livable spaces. By considering atmosphere as a sensory and climatic phenomenon, architects will craft spaces that are not only evocative but also responsive, adaptive, and sustainable.

Houses in Spain: Mobile Wooden Enclosures for Sun Protection

Agustina Iñiguez — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 07:30:00 +0000

According to the climatic conditions of each region and its implantation environment, exterior enclosures play a fundamental role in providing the necessary climatization and ventilation conditions to make indoor spaces habitable and comfortable. While there are various bioclimatic strategies and designs that can be applied to achieve energy efficiency, the determination of materiality, the choice of hardware, and the definition of opening and closing technologies contribute to the performance of facades, providing functionality and a high degree of adaptability to contemporary uses, among other factors.

How to Improve Natural Light and Ventilation in the Bathroom With a Shower Window

James Wormald — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:30:00 +0000

As one of the smallest spaces in the home, shower rooms often find it difficult to get enough light. While bedrooms are given priority to choose the most favored spots alongside exterior walls – giving them access to the fresh air, natural light, and better views provided by windows – sanitary spaces are often left to feed from the scraps in the aftermath, afforded only a sliver of external wall, if any.

How to Improve Internal and External Environments with Glass Ceilings

James Wormald — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 07:30:00 +0000

As a highly transparent material that stands up to all but the most extreme of weather conditions, is easily formed into any size or shape, and, once formed, will last for thousands of years, glass is still one of the most innovative and crucial materials used in architecture. Although contemporary building practices allow us to form huge, glittering skyscrapers of glass that rise hundreds of meters into the air, the ancient material’s original purpose – to welcome light into weathertight and secure interiors – remains its most important more than a thousand years on.

Architectural Interventions in the Desert: Natural Escapes, Minimal Intervention and Reclusive Luxury

James Wormald — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:30:00 +0000

Set deep within some of the most isolated desert landscapes across the Middle East and further afield, these desert camp hotels offer a way to connect with their surroundings through the solitary experience of open and expansive scenery.

What Are Clerestory Windows and Their Spatial Advantages in 24 Projects

James Wormald — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Not nearly as complex an architectural typology as the word suggests, a ‘clerestory’ is a simple – if lexically loose – a portmanteau of ‘clear’ and ‘story’. Denoting a section of the wall that contains windows or cavities above eye level. The word is often assumed to have a religious context. Clerestories historically appeared at the upper levels of Roman churches, Hebrew temples, and early Christian architecture after all. And the earliest references we have to the feature come from religious texts.

Design for Health at the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023

Pernille Maria Bärnheim — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 03:30:00 +0000

The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 is an invitation for architects from around the world to meet in Copenhagen July 2 – 6 to explore and communicate how architecture influences all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more than two years, the Science Track and its international Scientific Committee have been analyzing the various ways in which architecture responds to the SDGs. The work has resulted in the formulation of six science panels: design for Climate Adaptation, design for Rethinking Resources, design for Resilient Communities, design for Health, design for Inclusivity, and design for Partnerships for Change. An international call for papers was sent out in 2022 and 296 of more than 750 submissions from 77 countries have been invited to present at the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 in Copenhagen. ArchDaily is collaborating with the UIA to share articles pertaining to the six themes to prepare for the opening of the Congress.

What is a Traditional Windcatcher?

Dima Stouhi — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 04:00:00 +0000

Before fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning became widely available, people living in harsh climates had nothing but natural means to ventilate their spaces and control the interior temperature. To do so, they took into account several external factors such as their location, orientation with respect to the sun and wind, their area's climate conditions, and local materials. In this article, we explore how ancient civilizations in Western Asia and North Africa have used windcatchers to adapt to the region's harsh climate and provide passive cooling solutions that are still being used in contemporary architecture, proving that local approaches to climate adaptability are fundamental to the development of today's built environment.

Houses in Guatemala: Shade and Ventilation in Tropical Architecture

Fabian Dejtiar — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0000

"Here in the tropics, it's the shade not the stove that refreshes and brings people together," says Bruno Stagno about tropical architecture.

Natural Ventilation Solutions in Interior Design

Giovana Martino — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 05:00:00 +0000

When designing homes, architecture is constantly evolving and adapting to environmental conditions. Each climate has specific needs and requires different solutions in terms of comfort. Hot and humid environments require a very different design from cold and dry environments. Natural ventilation, for example, is very important in projects located in warm climates.

Back to Basics: Natural Ventilation and its Use in Different Contexts

Dima Stouhi — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 04:00:00 +0000

Automation is everywhere around us - our homes, furniture, offices, cars, and even our clothing; we have become so accustomed to being surrounded by automated systems that we have forgotten what life was like without them. And while automation has noticeably improved the quality of interior spaces with solutions like purified air and temperature control, nothing compares to the natural cool breeze of mother nature.

Natural Ventilation Isn't the Most Efficient Solution in All Cases

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 03:30:00 +0000

Ventilation serves two main purposes in a room: first, to remove pollutants and provide clean air; second, to meet the metabolic needs of the occupants, providing pleasant temperatures (weather permitting). It is well known that environments with inadequate ventilation can bring serious harm to the health of the occupants and, especially in hot climates, thermal discomfort. A Harvard University study demonstrated that in buildings with good ventilation and better air quality (with lower rates of carbon dioxide), occupants showed better performance of cognitive functions, faster responses to extreme situations, and better reasoning in strategic activities.

Houses with Side Patios: Bountiful Natural Light and Ventilation

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 11:00:00 +0000

Patios and gardens play a crucial role in a project's planning and layout. In some instances, they serve as organizing elements while in others, they improve the quality of life in a space by providing light, ventilation, and a connection to the outdoors while maintaining the privacy of the inhabitants.

Cross Ventilation, the Chimney Effect and Other Concepts of Natural Ventilation

Matheus Pereira — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 06:35:00 +0000

Nothing is more rational than using the wind, a natural, free, renewable and healthy resource, to improve the thermal comfort of our projects. The awareness of the finiteness of the resources and the demand for the reduction in the energy consumption has removed air-conditioning systems as the protagonist of any project. Architects and engineers are turning to this more passive system to improve thermal comfort. It is evident that there are extreme climates in which there is no escape, or else the use of artificial systems, but in a large part of the terrestrial surface it is possible to provide a pleasant flow of air through the environments by means of passive systems, especially if the actions are considered during the project stage.