Whole-life Carbon in Office Building Design: Lessons from Built Precedents and Design Application

atmos lab

Our team is firmly active in the expansion and development of environmental design and its assesment tools. We are engaged with many universities accross the globe providing courses, lectures and workshops and regularly publish research papers on various topics. We are constantly involved in research projects and consider transfer of knowledge as ways of enriching and updating our practice.

Projects

Location: English

Institution: PLEA 2018 Hong Kong

Year: 2018

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau, Simos Yannas

Type: Conference proceedings

ISBN: 978-962-8272-35-8

Projects

Order by:

Villa Medici

Location: Rome, Italy

Client: Académie de France

Architect: -

Year: 2026

Size: 266 m²

Type: Space valorization

Program: Cultural

Status: Studies in development

Project

The project aimed to investigate how architecture can provide summer comfort by working with the climate and the building's inherent qualities. A two-week survey and monitoring campaign, conducted in February, taught us about the building fabric and served as a basis to calibrate a dynamic thermal model. The model reached an accuracy of 83–96%, providing a reliable basis for simulating the building envelope and extrapolating climate data for summer conditions. In the current situation, empty and with windows closed, temperatures surpass 30°C day and night throughout the summer months.
However, the study demonstrated that the Villa's thick masonry, operable windows and solar protection already offer valuable potential to moderate summer temperatures, if operated adequately. Combining proper window operation with simple adaptive measures (external blinds, insect screens to prevent intrusions, existing shutters and curtains) significantly reduced indoor temperatures. Fans can also complement these passive strategies by reducing felt temperature. This approach nearly eliminated overheating, with only some afternoons reaching 27°C indoors, without any air conditioning.

Architecture

The Villa Medici is a 16th-century Renaissance villa, originally built for Cardinal Ferdinando de Medici as the Roman residence of the Medici family, close to the papal court. It occupies one of the highest points in Rome's historic centre, on the crest of the Pincian Hill, overlooking the city and enjoying full exposure to sun and wind. In 1803, under Napoleon Bonaparte, the villa became the seat of the French Academy in Rome, a state-sponsored institution for artistic research and education, a role it continues to fulfill today. The rooms of the main building now host guests year-round. On the upper floor, the former attics beneath the roof were progressively converted into bedrooms.

Today, however, these rooms grow too hot in summer. The Academy's question was how to reduce the heat and adapt to increasingly frequent heatwaves without compromising the building's architectural and historical integrity. In a structure that has maintained comfortable conditions for centuries on its own terms, introducing technical systems now calls for careful reassessment. Our proposed intervention draws on the building's inherent qualities, using simple, non-invasive measures to restore its capacity to adapt and to build a new relationship with the climate: external blinds, insect screens, and additional lightweight curtains, complemented by a guide to using the space and other adaptive measures — sleep masks, baldaquin beds, and more.

studies were developed in collaboration with cdlt.

Climate

Rome has a Mediterranean climate (Csa), characterised by hot, dry summers, mild winters, and seasonal wind regimes. In summer, the average high temperature is 31.5°C, and temperatures exceed 30°C on most days. Solar radiation is intense, with a predominance of the direct component, as the sky is almost always clear. This also results in relatively low humidity, favouring evaporative cooling to deal with the heat. During this period, the Ponentino brings a gentle westerly sea breeze to the city, generated by the temperature difference between the land and the sea, providing natural cooling in the late afternoon. This is particularly beneficial at the Villa Medici, which occupies one of the two highest points in the city. In winter, temperatures typically range between 8°C and 12°C, although they can fall to around 5°C or rise to 17°C on sunny days. During this season, the Tramontana brings cold, dry air from the north, producing clear but cooler conditions across the city.

Villa Hegra

Location: Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

Client: RCU, AFAlUla

Architect: Lacaton & Vassal

Year: 2023

Size: 24300 m²

Type: New built

Program: Cultural

Status: Studies in development

Project

The project draws on the traditional organisation of the old town in terms of density and climate intelligence. In the city plot, like in the winter town, the building is compact to prevent too much heat gain or loss, highly protected on the perimeter, and organised around courtyards that bring light and ventilation. On the oasis plot, lighter, spread constructions draw inspiration on the summer city as these benefit from a milder microclimate, the shade of the palms, and humidity of the citrus trees.

In these latitudes, shelter from the strong sun is primordial (solar exposure can increase felt temperature by some 10ºC) to avoid that temperature increases above the air one: the project provides large canopies, slabs extend for 3m or more (cutting down radiation on glazed surfaces by at least 55%), musharabiyas protect from the horizontal rays, palm trees cover outdoor spaces, and in the roofs, a double layer (with a canopy of PVs or simply rocks) creates an air gap that avoids direct contact with the sun. The spaces in-between cool down the air before it reaches inside, progressively controlling the climate. When the weather allows it, large sliding windows remain open, extending the space, to enjoy outdoors. The structure holds concrete to stabilise peak temperatures: during summer, the main levels have natural temperatures 3-8ºC lower than outdoors, which in its turn reduce the need for air conditioning.

Inside the oasis, measured air temperatures are 2-3ºC lower than in the surroundings. The ground floor is always in the shade: palm trees cover the highest layer, whereas citrus and fruit trees are closer to the human height. Humidity is higher, especially in the afternoon, and radiant temperatures are also much lower due to the low surface temperatures of the leaves, which effectively balances air temperature. Felt temperature is all year long 3-8ºC lower than air temperature. The large shaded parvis is a type of space is unique in these climates. As no surface is ever exposed to the sun, radiant temperatures never surpass air temperature. During hot days, the thermal sensation is some 5ºC lower than air temperature and can be up to 10ºC lower than in the street.

Architecture

"Al Ula is situated on an ancient Incense Route, and is home to many ruins including Hegra, an old Nabbatean city, Saudi Arabia first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The history and the landscape here are impressive and fascinating, almost overwhelming in their strength and dimension. The old town of Al Ula is divided between a winter city, dense and compact, and a summer city, sprawled out in the oasis, under the palm trees, to take advantage of the oasis’ microclimate and shadow. The site of the project is not the old city nor the great landscape. The project engages with the city, it is part of the modernity of AlUla, reflecting its historical particularity: a fixed stop on a nomadic route. This project should become a link between different experiences of the site: nomadic or sedentary, temporary, or long time, local or touristic, educational or cultural, urban or agricultural. The space must give room to all these experiences and mixes.

The project proposes to let the ground floor almost free of constructions and open. At six meters high, a large platform is built on pilotis, to accommodate the program: the Villa Hegra, a cook school, and a hotel. It forms a second public circulation, above the ground, which serves all the functions and enables to cross the whole plot in the canopy of the trees, offering two possible paths for the pedestrians: on the ground or in the air.
On the urban part of the plot, the platform provides on the ground floor an open and high space, shaded, like a large parvis, used as a free public space. The permanent and pleasant shadow, the gardens in the patios, and the proximity of the oasis brings coolness in this public space.
In the oasis part of the plot, the platform protects the buildings from flooding and allows a very minimal footprint of the constructions on the ground, leaving the soil completely natural and free for agriculture. The agricultural oasis will be regenerated, building a layered farming with dates, citrus, figs, and vegetables.

· Creating a link between the urban and the oasis side of the plot
· Reinterpreting the old town’s organisation in term of density
· Bringing back the garden inside the city
· Taking advantage of the oasis microclimate to limit the energy needs"

Lacaton & Vassal

Climate

AlUla has a Dry Arid climate of Low Latitudes (BWh in the Koppen Geiger climate classification, 26ºN). Temperatures are very high, especially during summer as they normally reach above 40ºC due to the intense solar radiation (daily incident radiation of 700-1000 W/m² across the year). However, diurnal ranges are also large - 13-14ºC-, as temperatures cool down quickly at night due to the cloudless night sky. The annual average is 23ºC. Humidity is very low (20-50% on average), wind speeds are low and constant (annual average of 2.7 m/s), and should be carefully controlled, as it normally carries dust. During the hottest period, average temperatures are around 32-33ºC, and reaches 40ºC on average in the afternoon. During the mild period, the average temperatures are around 13ºC, with a low average of 5ºC, and a high average of 18ºC in the afternoon. A small amount of sun can heat up interior spaces very fast.
A study of local conditions revealed that inside a fully developed oasis, temperatures can be 2-3ºC lower than in the weather station, which significantly improves the conditions inside the oasis plot. Local wind studies pointed that during the mornings, the wind comes from the north: the breeze is welcome as temperatures are lower and comes from the oasis bringing freshness. During the afternoon, the wind comes from the west-south-west, charged with the heat of the city. This time, the breeze is not necessarily welcome as during the hot period temperatures are too high, and the wind from the city can be at even higher temperatures.

BEIC

Location: Milan, Italy

Client: Comune de Milano

Architect: Baukuh, Onsite Studio

Year: 2022

Size: 30000 m²

Type: New built

Program: Cultural

Status: In construction

Project

The library is a compact building with a large atrium that hosts the main circulation, brings plenty of daylight to the deep areas, and allows them to ventilate. The Dipartimenti -traditional library space- with very low internal gains, is in the south nave, to benefit from the sun and heat up naturally -books remain in the core of the building, on the northern areas, whereas the reading areas are close to the windows. The Media library with high internal gains is located in the north nave to avoid coupling its heat with the sun, and avoid glare. Since the atrium is not permanently occupied, it can tolerate a wider temperature range, becoming a buffer space. In winter, the sun rises naturally its temperature reaching 10 to 16ºC, whereas in summer, it is fully shaded in its south facade and windows are fully open for cross ventilation. Its temperature never rises above outdoors, and is usually below. It becomes a “better exterior” for the conditioned ones adjacent to it. Only 63% of the built volume is heated, and from the heated spaces, 41% of the envelope faces the atrium. Book storage is located underground, where hygrothermal conditions are very stable across the year, tending to Milan´s yearly average (13.5ºC), which naturally prevents book degradation. The envelope is protected from the strong sun with a metal mesh, which was optimised by orientation. In all the spaces, windows are operable to ventilate when outdoor temperatures are mild, and at night. The concrete of the structure is exposed to stabilise temperatures, and especially keep them cool during summer. Night cooling is performed via secured windows: should it be achieved via the mechanical system, energy demand for cooling would increase by some 50%.

Architecture

“The new European Library of Information and Culture (BEIC) is not a traditional library, where the treasures of a culture can be stored and made accessible for the future, but a laboratory, where to develop the tools necessary to produce contemporary culture. The new library exposes its productive atmosphere already in its physical conformation. The new building consists of two naves with a trapezoidal cross-section, extensively glazed, forming an explicitly industrial figure, part greenhouse, part station, part factory. The building appears as a large laboratory, sober, busy, open, ambitious, a Officina Milanese (Milanese workshop) entirely at the service of a multiple but concrete cultural life, where learning processes are always also an opportunity to construct objects, to invent devices, to make things. The new BEIC is a simple, compact building: the two naves accommodate the two main parts of the program: the northern volume houses the Forum, the southern one the Departments. The two naves are the same in terms of envelope, but different in content: the first is lighter and open towards the square, the second more dense, reserved, and silent. The two volumes give shape to a double, yet unitary building.”
Baukuh & On Site studio

Climate

The climate of Milan is humid subtropical (Cfa in the Koppen Geiger classification), with hot and humid summers and relatively cold winters. In summer, the average high temperature is 28ºC, though the temperature exceeds 30ºC very often. Current predictions for 2050 suggest that Milan´s summers will suffer considerably climate change, as temperature is expected to increase by 2.5ºC on average, which is very high. Solar radiation is considerable, with a direct proportion that is very high, which is why solar control is key to avoid heat accumulation indoors -especially in the coming years. During the coldest months, temperature varies on average between 1 and 5ºC, and can fall below 0ºC for several days. Prevailing winds come all year round from the all the southern orientation, from the east to the west, with an average speed of 2 m/s, which is very low. This translates into considerable air pollution, and therefore a difficult situation for natural ventilation. However, the city has been working on a plan to improve air quality, which has reduced considerably pollution levels. Besides, the highest levels occur during winter, and during the mid-season and summer, pollution levels are low enough to naturally ventilate, which allows to rethink air renewal strategies in Milan.

Kampnagel

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Client: Kampnagel, Sprinkenhof

Architect: Lacaton & Vassal

Year: 2023

Size: 24.000 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Cultural

Status: Studies in development

Project

When the Kampnagel company took over temporarily the abandoned industrial naves in the 80’s, they adapted progressively the envelope to host theatre plays. Interventions resulted in glazings that were dark painted, some covered with insulation, others covered with plants. This freedom allowed independent theatre to flourish. However, today the building uses too much energy and needs upgrading. The company planned to insulate the envelope from the interior, which posed a problem to the heritage authorities as the walls are listed.

Our task was to reduce the energy consumption whilst keeping the spirit of the building. The team proposed to clear out completely the glazings to bring back the generous daylight of typical industrial buildings. Whilst the plays happen only during ~2-4 hours a week; during rehearsals, montage, and events, the venues can enjoy full daylight. For the plays, thick darkening curtains are provided.

A very precise survey was carried out: envelope components, hourly energy and heating consumption dats during a full year, daily schedules of the venues, with temperature and CO2 surveys from summer and winter, and user interviews. Our computer thermal models were calibrated to reach 87% similarity with reality in temperature, and a 99.7% accuracy in predicting heating consumption. The most valuable outcome was understanding that we could reduce by 80% energy consumption just by regulating properly the heating setpoints.
The rest of the envelope would remain untouched, maintaining the free spirit of the house.

Architecture

“Everything will change, and nothing will change.

For many years, Kampnagel has been - in terms of construction and technology - unable to keep up with the high artistic level and international appeal of its productions. Since its provisional use as a substitute venue for the Schauspielhaus at the beginning of the 1980s and the conquest of the site by freelance artists, the house has grown organically without ever being equipped as a long-term venue.The technical equipment is outdated because it has not been sufficiently adapted in the last 35 years due to a lack of funds.

-Preserving the character of the location: Atmospheres are preserved - the industrial halls from the site's beginnings as well as its use as a Kampnagel theatre, which has been housed in the building for 40 years. The procedure should be limited to repairs. It does not envisage a conventional refurbishment measure that would completely renovate the building. The traces on the building - as an indication of the history of the place - must be preserved. This means that every well-preserved component of the building and the entire complex will be left in its current state.
-Modernisation and expansion of theatre operations: additional spaces for new functions, research and education as well as the creation of new uses for existing spaces - Improved comfort and well-being inside the building.
-Ecological approach: Preservation of the existing building in its entirety, conversion, optimisation, additions to the existing building, limitation of new materials used
-Bioclimatic processes and pursuit of low-tech strategies: natural ventilation, climatic adaptability of the building, contributions via the behaviour and active participation of users, summer comfort and reduced energy consumption thanks to passive systems.”

Lacaton & Vassal

Climate

Hamburg has a Marine west coast climate (Cfb in the Koppen Geiger classification), with an annual average temperature of 9.8ºC. Winters are very cold with an average maximum temperature of 4.9°C in December. Solar radiation is low and mainly diffuse. Temperature drops below -5ºC at night for some 20 days a year. Summers are mild and solar radiation is not very intense (546 W/m2). The average maximum temperature of July is 23.4ºC, though it can climb above 30ºC for a few days. The maximum altitude of the sun in summer is 60º and in winter 13º. Humidity levels remain relatively high throughout the year with averages ranging from 68% to 87%. Wind speed is considerable and constant with an annual average of 3.1 m/s and coming mainly from the west.

Boisgeloup les communs

Location: Boisgeloup, France

Client: Privé

Architect: Lacaton & Vassal

Year: 2023

Size: 2630 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Cultural

Status: Studies in development

Project

The spaces of the old ateliers offer very different microclimatic conditions. The ground floor were the spaces that Picasso used as ateliers, whereas the first floor has smaller spaces that were used as storage. Contrary to what was asked, the team opted to leave the ground floor as is, to preserve its spirit and avoid covering the walls where Picasso´s signature and drawings are visible. Exhibitions in these spaces will only happen during summertime as these should only host art pieces that can be exposed to light and the weather. If these were to be used as exhibition spaces all year round, they would either use far too much energy to be conditioned or they would have to be completely insulated to maintain acceptable conditions. The first floor will be renovated punctually, and will be conditioned to host exhibitions all year round. To host different types of art pieces, different conditions are required, and the space can be adapted to that. To prevent art pieces from degrading, they should receive only a limited amount of light (cumulated lux) a year. This amount depends on the materiality of the piece and can be classified in “over-illumination for sensitive objects”, or acceptable for “low”, “medium”, or “high” sensitive objects.

Architecture

"The spaces on the ground floor are perhaps the most emblematic of the building, bearing witness to Pablo Picasso's work and the use he made of the place. However, carrying out work to make their climate controllable would involve numerous changes and would alter their appearance. With the aim of preserving Pablo Picasso's use of the space, preserving the appearance of the rooms, and drawing inspiration from exhibitions already held, we imagined assigning specific exhibition characteristics to the spaces on the ground floor. We believe that these spaces could be used as they are today, by adapting the works on display to the constraints of these rooms:

The series of alcoves is accessible from the outside and no major changes are made to the exhibition rooms.
Natural light is provided by the large openings in the façade.
As in previous exhibitions, the works on display are in the open air. Only works that can be exhibited in the open air can be displayed in these alcoves.
The exhibition spaces on the first floor have a controlled climate, so that they can be exhibited all year round: the existing insulation will be maintained, the floor will be renovated where necessary, and heating, electricity and lighting systems will be installed."
Lacaton & Vassal

The climate

Boisgeloup is located near Gisors, to the northwest of Paris, in Normandie. It has a slightly colder climate, with an average temperature of 1.7ºC less. In January, the average is 4ºC, with overcast skies. The most extreme days (around 15) have temperatures below 0ºC, reaching as low as -5ºC. In July, the average temperature is only 19ºC, with an average high of 24ºC, and a considerable amount of sunshine. On the hottest days, temperatures exceed 30ºC. Wind speed is considerable and constant, with an annual average of 3.8 m/s, with prevailing winds blowing from the west-south-west.

Fermes St. Denis

Location: Paris, France

Client: Fermes de Gally

Architect: Lacaton&Vassal + Gaëtan Redelsperger architecture

Year: 2022

Size: 998 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Industrial

Status: Built

Project

Two spaces play a bioclimatic role in the project: the greenhouses, on the first floor and the winter garden, on the west facade of the multipurpose workshop. Their glazed envelope allows to capture the sun throughout the year to convert it into passive heat. In summer, the envelope opens to evacuate the heat. These systems have been tested with thermodynamic simulations. In both cases, the solar heat is by far the largest source of heat gain.

Architecture

The project experiments with the use of the energy generated from the greenhouses arranged on the roof of the workshops. With a simple validated construction method, the project fits in the middle of existing buildings, operated by Ferme Kersanté in Saint-Denis. It leans on two sides to existing constructions.
On the ground floor, a multipurpose workshop to the West largely opens to the farm's activity spaces thanks to bay windows. To the east, a maintenance workshop extends under an existing hangar. The first floor houses greenhouses on a concrete platform, surrounded by peripheral balconies.
Two spaces play a bio-climatic role in the project: the greenhouses, on the first floor and the winter garden, on the west facade of the multipurpose workshop.
In the cold season, greenhouses naturally heat the air. The slab plays the role of thermal regulator thanks to its inertia: it accumulates the heat of the day resulting from solar radiation to redistribute it in the multipurpose workshop on the ground floor. The winter garden on the west facade of the multi-purpose workshop creates a buffer space which, through the greenhouse effect, heats the outside air.
In summer, the balcony protects the bay windows from overheating. An important ventilation in the greenhouses allows cooling. The inertia of the floor slab and the exposure of its thermal mass allows cooling during the night to restore this fracture during the day.
Lacaton & Vassal and Gaëtan Redelsperger Architecture

Climate

The climate of Paris is temperate with a summer average of 21ºC and peaks reaching 33ºC, and a winter average of 6ºC with peaks reaching -5ºC. In general, the most common source for energy consumption is heating, but special attention needs to be given to the very hot days, as they become more and more frequent. Solar radiation is considerable, with an indirect proportion that is very high. Solar control will be important to regulate heat gains and optimise indoor comfort passively. Prevailing winds come from west-south-west and are not very strong, as the average speed is of 2.5 m/s.

Ilôts B1C1N

Location: Lyon, France

Client: Quartus

Architect: Foster + Partners

Year: 2021

Size: 32000 m²

Type: New built

Program: Mixed use

Status: Competition

Project

In this new neighbourhood in Lyon, the challenge is not only to create nice and performant indoor spaces, but also to create an enjoyable urban space. The 11 buildings surround two courtyards with different solar and wind conditions. Whereas one tends to be fresher as it has more wind and less sun, the other-one is warmer as it has more sun and less wind. These affect considerably the felt temperature across the squares. The uses in the ground floor have been adapted to the environmental conditions each zone has to offer.

Architecture

In the new neighbourhood of La Confluence, new buildings follow closely the masterplan defined by Herzog & de Meuron. The architects Foster and Partners, Tectoniques and Link designed the buildings for the blocks B1 and C1N. On the river front, four educational buildings get the best views and are exposed to the main road whereas the residential buildings remain inside the urban tissue. All the buildings are organised within a grid that gives unity to ensemble.

The climate

Lyon is located at a latitude of 45.7ºN and has a temperate oceanic climate like most of France, but with more marked seasons. The average annual temperature is 13°C, and the diurnal range averages 7°K in winter and 10°K in summer. Winters are cold, with an average of 4ºC in January and regular drops below 0. Summers are hot, with averages reaching 28ºC in July and August: temperatures exceed 30ºC around twenty days a year, and goes above 35ºC a few days. Solar radiation is quite intense throughout the year, with a large proportion of direct sun. The average wind speed is around 3.2 m/s with predominant winds coming mainly from the northeast and southwest. Compared to Lyon-Bron, temperatures in Lyon-Confluence are slightly higher in winter than in summer and generally warmer at night than during the day. This is due to the presence of the rivers on both sides of the Confluence which stabilise temperatures. In 2050, temperature will be on average 1.3ºC higher than today.

Coeur de Carnolès

Location: Roquebrune Cap-Martin, France

Client: Ogic

Architect: NP2F

Year: 2021

Size: 35300 m²

Type: New built

Program: Collective housing

Status: Competition

Project

Mediterranean architecture is an architecture of shade, of thick walls, of freshness. An architecture where the massiveness of the buildings rub shoulders with lush nature. The climate is mild in winter, powerful in summer, and bright all year round. To work in this specific framework, two thicknesses, corresponding to two bioclimatic approaches have been developed for the entire district: thin buildings (18 m wide) and thick buildings (23 m wide). The slim buildings offer cross ventilated housing open to the exterior. The rooms are organised according to the air currents and exposure to the sun. The thick buildings with more inertia, have courtyards to cross ventilate the spaces that do not ventilate in angle. The facades, far from the slab edge are protected, allowing large bay windows. The depth of the balconies has been optimised in each case according to orientation, thickness, program and masks. The aim is to give buildings the option of not being mechanically heated or cooled all year round.

Architecture

"The urban plan promotes the idea of a fluid, porous neighbourhood, creating unobstructed viewpoints and a multitude of situations both outside and inside the plot. The very strong relationship that the site maintains with the territory and its neighbourhood shapes the buildings. Each gesture was aimed at strengthening the urban plan in order to minimise the built volumes and to maximise the view for future inhabitants as well as for neighbours. The project offers an architecture that is desirable, readable, generous and free… a Mediterranean landscape in itself. All buildings respond to thermal contingencies, the organisation of apartments and the relationship with the outside. The covered enclosure does not systematically follow the outline of the buildings, it creates recesses, slanting, loggias, large continuous balconies, summer kitchens. This is a fundamental point shared here for the whole neighbourhood. The limit between interior and exterior is not fixed, it changes in its materiality (wall, glazing, tiles, curtains, blinds), it becomes ambiguous and sometimes disappears."

The climate

In Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, winters are mild and summers are hot but not extreme, and with a moderate daily range (6-7ºC). This is due to its proximity with the sea: the big body of water with large thermal inertia regulates air temperatures naturally as the diurnal ranges are smaller than inside the continent. During summer, average high temperatures reach 29ºC, and go above 30ºC around 15 days a year, but never reaching 35ºC. The sky is sunny most of the time, both during summer and winter. Solar radiation is intense, with a large proportion of direct sun which calls for solar protection such as balconies and awnings. In winter, this represents a large potential for passive heating. In 2050, temperature will be on average 2ºC warmer than today. In summer, the increase will be larger, reaching an average high temperature of 31.2ºC. Peaks will also be higher and more frequent, which calls for special attention for summer conditions.

Chateau Lafite

Location: Pauillac, France

Client: Chateau Lafite

Architect: John Pawson

Year: 2021

Size: 10000 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Winery

Status: Competition

Project

Wineries are very energy intensive as some areas require to maintain very low temperatures (14-15ºC) even during the summer months. The climate of Pauillac has an annual average air temperature of 14ºC, which turns out to also be the case all year round at 10m underground. The transformation of the winery included burying the cellars to reach that depth to benefit from the thermal inertia of the ground in order to condition the spaces naturally. On top of the buried cellars, a succession of spaces helps to create natural buffers that reduce the thermal exchanges with outdoors and other unconditioned rooms. This principle of Matryoshka dolls helps to progressively control and stabilise temperatures naturally. Rammed earth was used as main material in the cellar helps not only to regulate temperature, but also humidity.

Architecture

"Our design approach seeks to weave natural and enriching links between the past and the present to respond to the specificity of the Château Lafite Rothschild site. Since its origin, the Lafite estate and its buildings have undergone many transformations to adapt to the evolution of working methods and wine-making over time. This historical palimpsest, which brings together spaces from different periods and architectures, today poses significant functional problems, to which an ambitious project must provide lasting answers. We choose to preserve this spatial heterogeneity, constitutive of the identity of the place, to found a coherent narrative and an architecture harmoniously integrated into this unique setting, and adapted to today's requirements."
John Pawson and David Leclerc Architecture

The climate

The climate of Pauillac has four distinct seasons, with an average yearly temperature of 13.9ºC. This average temperature can be found across the year at a depth of - 9m below ground, which was probably handy during the past centuries to maintain the temperature of the wine during the ageing process. Summers are warm and sunny with temperatures that can reach up to 35ºC on peak days, but can drop to 10ºC on the cooler nights. Winters are mild, with an average temperature of 6ºC. Temperatures can reach 16ºC during the warmest days, but can go below freezing at night. Winter days are humid, both during the day and night. In 2050, temperatures on average will increase by 2ºC.

Volumes résiduels de La Défense

Location: Paris, France

Client: Paris La Défense

Architect: Baukunst

Year: 2020

Size: 10100 m²

Type: Space valorization

Program: Activities

Status: Studies in development

Project

Below the esplanade of La Défense in Paris there are large unused volumes in between highways and metros built in concrete. The intervention seeks to valorizing those spaces by bringing liveable conditions to the underground. The project creates an underground promenade that connects all the new spaces and that sometimes opens to the sky. The intention is to preserve as much as possible the original state of the concrete, to benefit from its thermal inertia for stabilizing conditions throughout the year. However, this poses a challenge to face regulatory compliance. This project is still ongoing.

Architecture

“Historically, the plinth of Paris La Défense was designed to separate the functions intended for users of the district from those of a technical or logistical nature. Thus, several tens of thousands of m² of underground space are unused.
In order to develop the basis for a programme in permanent movement, Baukunst follows two complementary axes: (1) the creation of a continuity between the different spaces that are today compartmentalised, and (2) the optimisation of the existing ≪ porosity ≫ between the slab and the lower levels.
Two major achievements of the pilot project are necessary to make these principles a reality:
-a public promenade evoking the passages of Paris. As the backbone of the project, this walkway will make it possible to distribute the successive volumes and reach the Place Basse,
-a monumental ring-shaped footbridge ≪ floating ≫ above the Place de la Statue. As the main entrance to the volumes, it will be accompanied by a qualitative landscape treatment. Interior gardens and biotopes will be linked to the green spaces of the slab by hoppers bringing in natural light in the image of a patio.
The interventions will aim to de-compartmentalise spaces and maximise possible porosities.”
PLD

Climate

Economic Pole of the MEET

Location: Toulouse, France

Client: Vinci Immobilier

Architect: Lacaton&Vassal

Year: 2019

Size: 26300 m²

Type: New built

Program: Mixed use

Status: Studies in development

Project

In Toulouse, summers are hot, with a strong sun and clear skies. Both the office and hotel programs are very sensitive to these conditions. Offices have high internal heat gains, which can create a frequent overheating when coupled with high air temperatures and solar heat. In a hotel, while occupants are usually out during the day and windows remain closed, indoor temperatures can rise significantly as the sun enters and the heat does not escape. To prevent from overheating, a balcony is precisely specified throughout the entire perimeter of the building, blocking the higher solar angles, while vertical orientable screens block the lower solar angles. This balcony also serves as an enjoyable outdoor space and allows large floor-to-ceiling openings. Winters are mild and the heating demand is kept low, even without using a double-flux system.

Architecture

"If a landscape exists, there is nothing to do, except to slide delicately into it.
If it is not there, you have to invent it, add, with finesse, what changes the look and creates the extraordinary. The project aims to create a unique place, an atmosphere, to make you want to settle there; to create a landscape that does not exist, an identity of this place, today neutral and soulless. This place will be characterised by a particular, unexpected and delicate garden, which will be the spirit of the project. The project consists of three elements:
-an open, wide, high and fluid ground floor, where air, light and gaze circulate widely. The spaces dedicated to public functions are inserted there, with a low density.

aerial buildings, perched on pilotis, 10 m high, to escape from the ground and find the view towards the distance. They follow the periphery, forming closed islands, for work and living spaces.
-a garden, composing the ground of the project. It is a new landscape, which occupies the entire terrain. The built-up spaces are placed there lightly like glass pavilions."
Lacaton & Vassal

Climate

The climate of Toulouse is temperate warm with an average of 23°C in summer punctuated by regular peaks up to 35°C; and in winter, it has an average of 6°C with some peaks down to -5°C. The sky is rarely covered and the sunshine very high with a dominant part of direct radiation. Solar control will be paramount in ensuring indoor comfort levels by blocking high summer sun and capturing heat gain from low sun in winter. Prevailing winds come from northwest. In general, winds are frequent with an average speed of 4 m/s, which is strong and offers good potential for natural ventilation in summer. They present a risk of gusts that can cause nuisance. The air is rather dry during the day from June to September making it suitable to cool down by evaporation. The diurnal temperature difference is almost 10ºC, which offers an opportunity to cool spaces naturally by combining the exposure of thermal inertia and night ventilation.

Saint Vincent de Paul îlot Lelong

Location: Paris, France

Client: Quartus

Architect: Lacaton&Vassal + Gaëtan Redelsperger architecture

Year: 2019

Size: 12000 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Collective housing

Status: Studies in development

Project

The project of the Lelong building in Saint Vincent de Paul consists of the refurbishment and transformation of an old hospital into a residential building with an extension of 4 new levels. The main energy requirement of a residential building in Paris is space heating, which can be offset to a large extent by passive solar heating. The lower levels receive less sun and keep a standard window-to-floor ratio, whereas the upper levels can take full advantage of the sun with a fully transparent double façade system. Winter gardens wrap entirely the building providing a high degree of envelope control: they mitigate heat loss, allow maximum solar gains, daylight and views, reduce infiltration, pre-heat the air for renewal, reduce wind pressure on the façade and provide an enjoyable outdoor space for the summer. In order to determine precisely all these benefits and the actual behaviour of winter gardens, a research project was carried out with Lacaton&Vassal in previous built work.
For this project, the environmental requirements in terms of certification aimed for the PassiveHaus/Enerphit label, the BBCA label and the Bâtiment Biosourcé level 3 label.

Architecture

"The project is part of the transformation of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul hospital site. (...) The project aims to renovate the existing but also to densify the site and develop public space to create an urban residential district.
Intentions:
-Housing: Maximum spatial quality for all housing without distinction. Generous spaces to promote appropriation.
-The existing: to do with its qualities, to act in the direction of the existing.
-Environmental approach: Re-use the existing to the maximum of its capacity without destruction. Build efficiently using as little material as possible. A bioclimatic design for the thermal and comfort of the building.
-Landscape: Preserve, repair, consolidate, amplify the vegetation potential already present.
-Involve the inhabitant: Friendly common areas and more generous housing space, to facilitate appropriation."
Lacaton&Vassal

Climate

Stationstuinen

Location: Ghent, Belgium

Client: Triple Living

Architect: OFFICE KGDVS

Year: 2020

Size: 19700 m²

Type: New built

Program: Mixed use

Status: Studies in development

Project

The towers in Ghent are wrapped with a glazed double skin, that creates winter gardens for the residential floors and intermediate spaces for the base. The environmental conditions in these unusual spaces are complex to predict, as they will depend on how closed or airtight the envelope is, the amount of solar heat received and the exposure to winds. Studying the microclimate of these spaces with precision enabled the team to improve the thermal comfort across the year with simple actions, opening more or less to harness sun and wind. The environmental benefits that these spaces provide to the parent building were quantified to valorise their contribution and optimise the project's performance.

Architecture

The project of the twin towers was initiated on a site where foundations were already built for a former version of this project, as the exact location and dimensions where constrained. They host residential units, a hotel and commercial spaces. The envelope is wrapped on a double skin that acts a as a winter garden on the typical floors and as a wind and rain protection on the intermediate spaces.

Climate

Ghent ́s climate is temperate oceanic, with a cold winter and mild summer. In winter, temperatures are low with an average of 5ºC in January. The sky is mainly overcast with a very low proportion of sunny days; radiation is rather low and mainly diffuse. On milder days, warmer afternoon temperatures can increase up to 13ºC whereas during the coldest days, temperatures remain below freezing and can reach -5ºC. During summer, the average temperature reaches only 19ºC in July with an average high of 23ºC, and moderate radiation. The sky is mainly overcast, though solar radiation can be high. During peak days, temperature can reach some 28ºC, but mornings remain below 20ºC. An ample diurnal amplitude points to the use of thermal mass as a cooling strategy, most effective when combined with natural ventilation at night. The latitude is 51° N: the highest sun has an altitude of 62º, whereas in winter the highest solar altitude remains around 16º. Wind speed is relatively high and constant through the year, with an average of 3.6 m/s. Prevailing winds throughout the year come mainly from south-west.

Galeries Lafayette Pau

Location: Pau, France

Client: Citynove

Architect: Bruther

Year: 2019

Size: 9800 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Commercial

Status: Unbuilt project

Project

Large commercial spaces today face the challenge of competing against e-shopping, as they could disappear unless they reconvert into more pleasant spaces and remarkable experiences. For the Galeries Lafayette in Pau, the biggest challenge was to bring light inside within a highly constrained site. The project opted to have a fully transmissive façade (where openings were not possible as it is a party wall) and a fully transmissive roof to bring natural light to all levels. This strategy also allowed to capture the south-west sun and to heat up the space naturally in winter and through mid-seasons. However, it posed a challenge in summer, especially during hot sunny days. In depth studies were carried out to fine-tune the technical specifications of the ETFE cushions and of the shading with its activation schedule in order to tame the heat.

see winter strategies

During winter, the large transmissive facade south-west exposed captures the sun rays to transform them into natural heat. The level height and the space between the slabs and the facade allow to distribute the heat across all the floors. The storage volume towards the north east limits heat losses in that orientation. Simulations show that the building captures more heat during winter than during summer.

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see summer strategies

During summer, technical shading devices are deployed in the roof in the exterior and in the facades in the interior, as in exterior it was not possible because it belongs to the neighbour's plot. These are composed of aluminium with a maximum solar reflectivity to prevent the solar heat from reaching the interior. All along the facade, a grill system was installed to introduce a source of natural ventilation oriented towards the prevailing winds and serving the entire building homogeneously, to ventilate at night and to prevent heat accumulation between the ETFE and the shading system. Roof openings enable the interior heat to be evacuated and to naturally ventilate. ETFE properties were adjusted by orientation to limit excessive heat in summer. Simulations show that the building captures more heat during winter than during summer.

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Architecture

"As opposed to the former building, the rehabilitation project is not a cul-de-sac, but a passage; the entrance and the exit are not necessarily the same. It invites to walk through it, to enter from one side and go out through the other one. More than an isolated place, enclosed in itself, the building of Galeries Lafayette becomes an open passage, covered, open towards the neighbourhood, participating in the urbanity. It is a place that is at the same time cut from the city and a part of it, a place that is bright and protected, a privileged place. Spaces are established as vaste plateaux, functional and efficient, upon which selling areas ans stands can be organised in all the necessary rationality required by a department store."
Bruther

Climate

Pau´s climate is temperate oceanic, affected by its proximity with the Pyrénées. During summer, the average high temperature reaches 25ºC, which is rather high. Sunlight is abundant, with a strong direct radiation and a maximum solar altitude of 70º. Extreme summer days have temperatures above 30ºC, up until 36ºC. The diurnal range is quite high, with an average of 10ºC, which calls for using thermal inertia and night ventilation to control overheating. During winter, temperatures are low, with an average of 7ºC in January. These can drop below 0ºC for several days. The sky is mostly covered (61% of time), but for 23% of the time, it remains sunny which can be translated into beneficial solar gains. Wind speed has an anual average of 2.4 m/s, and prevailing winds come from west, even if none of the directions are negligible.

159 Dwellings in Carabanchel

Location: Madrid, Spain

Client: EMVS - Empresa Municipal de Vivienda y Suelo

Architect: Javier García Germán - TOTEM arquitectos

Year: 2018

Size: 22675 m²

Type: New built

Program: Collective housing

Status: In construction

Project

In the hot, dry, sunny summers of Madrid, the major challenge is to lower indoor temperatures. As the wind speed is fairly high, cross ventilation becomes a crucial tool to tackle the heat. However, often the buildings of social housing require a strict control on budget and achieving exposure on two orientations per unit becomes too expensive.
In this case, the cross ventilation of all units was ensured using a system of nozzles (wind corridors) that allows air to flow through the building (1). The location of the nozzles was optimised to create the maximum airflow in all the corridors. The internal façade of each featured openings that enabled air to flow from the external façade, creating a system of cross ventilation within the building (2). Common spaces had to be closed, and are more exposed to the sun, which is why they have their own ventilation system that ensures ventilation even on days without wind. A system of solar chimneys was devised for each one of the spaces, using the windows as air inlet and the chimneys as extraction (3).

see principle of solar chimney

The sun heats up a black absorptive metal contained in a transparent envelope, the air heats up, rises and gets exhausted, which pulls out air naturally from the common spaces.

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Architecture

Buildings on the extension of Carabanchel, Madrid, are usually isolated constructions on private plots filled with greenery. However, this project proposes to invert this common practice, and build a public high quality space that enhances human interaction between neighbours and with their environment. Two buildings with broken geometries delimit three public spaces of varied characteristics, which serve as the pivot points for the social activity of the neighbourhood. These public spaces are laid out in different levels following the existing topography, to ensure accessibility from all the surrounding streets and give access to the four building entrances leading to the private units. In addition to external public areas, the project incorporates semi-interior spaces where neighbours can meet comfortably during winter.

Climate

Madrid’s climate is classified as Hot-summer Mediterranean climate [Csa] by Koppen Geiger. Winters are mild and relatively sunny, and temperatures seldom drop below freezing. Summers are hot and very sunny, with average temperatures of almost 30ºC during the day. Future climate will intensify the risk and duration of indoor overheating, as average summer temperatures are forecasted to increase by more than 5ºC. The sun plays a key role in the design of low energy housing in Madrid, both as an asset to heat up the units passively in winter and a threat that will make them overheat in summer. The abundant solar radiation during summer reaches all orientations between East to West which need to be protected, while during winter it does so on the facades facing southeast, south, and southwest, which benefit from passive solar heating. Prevailing winds blow from west southwest during 36% of the time, with an average speed of 2.3 m/s.

Ministry of Economy of the City of Buenos Aires

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Client: Ministry of Urban Development of the City of Buenos Aires

Architect: MDU / Martín Torrado

Year: 2018

Size: 40000 m²

Type: Renovation + extension

Program: Office

Status: In construction

Project

In the subtropical climate of Buenos Aires, the sun hits with particular strength during the summer months, which can add a large amount of heat to any interior space. In a dense office, interior heat is already high due to the density of people and appliances, and the main energy requirement is caused by air conditioning (in some buildings all year round), which is why the solar load needs to be avoided at all costs. A carefully sized balcony was added throughout the perimeter of the building to block the high solar angles in the floor below, and vertical protection was also added to block the lower angles early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The porosity was optimised by orientation to control the sun, glare and maintain adequate daylight levels. The presence of the balcony allows to better open the windows, foster natural ventilation as well as night cooling. The ceiling of all the levels is exposed so that the concrete of the structure provides enough thermal inertia to regulate indoor temperatures. All in all, the time that the building can function without the use of mechanical equipment was doubled whereas the energy required to cool it down was divided by 2.

see case before

Incident solar radiation used to be 2 to 3 times higher before the intervention, which led to large and severe periods of overheating.

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see principle of night ventilation

According to CIBSE
"Night ventilation takes advantage of the natural diurnal variations in temperature to promote ventilation cooling and evacuate indoor heat, and offers many advantages:
-Because of the lower night-time temperature, the inside–outside temperature differences will be greater, enhancing the cooling capacity of the outside air.
-By cooling the fabric of the building by night ventilation, there is a reduction in the mean radiant temperature of the space, which enhances the occupants’ perception of thermal comfort during the following day.
-By ventilating during unoccupied periods, the potential problems of draught and noise in the occupied space are avoided"

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Architecture

"The project for the building for the new Ministry of Economy and Finance is a part of the re-localisation program of public dependencies of the city, as today they work in different branches that are scattered and disconnected. The project consists in the refurbishment and extension of the former Caseros prison, which perimeter is listed. The new building of 42.000m2 is mainly dedicated to offices with a total capacity of 4700 workstations. The new building recuperates two spatial situations that are present in the former prison. On the one hand, it preserves the building footprint of the old interior ring, preserving the perimeter 3m circulation that used to work as ambulatory between the cells and that allows to separate the nineteenth-century building from the contemporary one. On the other hand, the new office building is also a ring 15m deep that enables to create an urban scale large internal vegetated courtyard, that recuperates the memory of the cloister typology."
MDU

Climate

The climate of Buenos Aires is Temperate, Humid Subtropical (Cfa) in the category of Koppen Geiger, with the well-defined four seasons. Summers are hot and rainy, with a very high proportion of direct solar radiation, which creates an important need for solar control. During a large portion of the summer temperature is nice, which would allow to function only with solar protection and natural ventilation. The daily range is around 6-8ºC, which points to the use of thermal inertia and night cooling to optimise the summer performance, especially in an office building. Winters are mild, with temperatures rarely falling below 5ºC. The mild temperatures, generous sun, and large internal heat gains can drastically reduce the need for heating, allowing for the buildings to work passively during a large part of the winter. The climate calls for special attention of bioclimatic strategies as even if it offers great potential due to the strength of the sun, this can become a major constraint during summer as buildings can overheat very rapidly, and during winter, buildings can be needing heating unnecessarily. In 2050, temperature is expected to increase by at least 2.3ºC in summer.

Housing in Paloma Viertel

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Client: Lacaton&Vassal

Architect: Lacaton&Vassal

Year: 2019

Size: 5044 m²

Type: New built

Program: Collective housing

Status: Studies in development

Project

In the cold winters of Hamburg, fresh air provision can become energy intensive, even for residential buildings. The standard projects of today use a double flux system, providing fresh air and extracting it through mechanical means. This is more energy intensive than natural means, but has the advantage of recirculating the air, which reduces the heating load. One of the main assets of Lacaton & Vassal´s winter gardens is that the outdoor incoming air is naturally pre-heated, as the winter garden functions as a buffer space. This eliminates the need for a double flux system as it does the same task although naturally, it frees up the space needed for the machinery and is also cheaper. However, the simplified calculation methods of the German regulations do not allow to easily valorise this passive feature. A detailed calculation of the buffer effect of the winter garden in each orientation and of the resulting heating load per apartment allowed to valorise its qualities.

Architecture

This building of collective housing is a part of a new block in Spielbudenplatz, Hamburg. The project integrates winter gardens in all orientations that are exposed.

Climate

Hamburg´s climate is temperate continental. In winter, temperatures are very low with an average of 2ºC in January. Solar radiation is rather low and mainly diffuse. During extreme days, temperature remains below 0 and can reach -10ºC . During summer, the average temperature reaches only 18ºC in July with an average high of 23ºC, and low solar radiation. Hamburg has a latitude of 54° N. In summer, the highest sun inclination reaches 60º, whereas in winter the sun only reaches around 13º altitude. Prevailing winds come from west and south-west during almost 25% of time with an average speed of some 4 m/s, which is fairly high.

House Cepé

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Client: Private

Architect: Adamo - Faiden

Year: 2019

Size: 346 m²

Type: New built

Program: Housing

Status: Built

Project

In the subtropical climate of Buenos Aires, the sun is particularly strong during the summer months, which can add a large amount of heat to any interior space. The winter garden at its core helps to deal with the cold of the winter but requires special attention for the summer. Shading adequately all glazed surfaces is crucial to deal with solar heat and reduce to the bare minimum the need for air conditioning. In this case, it was controlled through the adequate positioning of vegetation, adding horizontal shading in the winter garden, and adding vertical outdoor blinds that would also serve for the winter. The strategy also incorporated the adequate amount and positioning of openings to encourage natural ventilation in all spaces. Overall, the project adjustments helped to reduce space cooling by 4/5, while keeping the heating load very low. The client reported not needing the heating in winter, even during the coldest days and that the good management of the breeze allows to delay significantly turning on the AC.

Architecture

House Cepé is located in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, in a recently developed neighbourhood. It faces a large body of water, and is organised around a winter garden.

Climate

The climate of Buenos Aires is Temperate, Humid Subtropical (Cfa) in the category of Koppen Geiger, with the well-defined four seasons. Summers are hot and rainy, with a very high proportion of direct solar radiation, which creates an important need for solar control. During a large portion of the summer temperature is nice, which would allow to function only with solar protection and natural ventilation. The daily range is around 6-8ºC, which points to the use of thermal inertia and night cooling to optimise the summer performance. Winters are mild, with temperatures rarely falling below 5ºC. The mild temperatures and generous sun can drastically reduce the need for heating, allowing for the buildings to work passively during a large part of the winter. The climate calls for special attention of bioclimatic strategies as even if it offers great potential due to the strength of the sun, this can become a major constraint during summer as buildings can overheat very rapidly, and during winter, buildings can be needing heating unnecessarily. In 2050, temperature is expected to increase by at least 2.3ºC in summer.

Halles bioclimatiques

Location: Bordeaux, France

Client: OFFICE KGDVS

Architect: OFFICE KGDVS

Year: 2018

Size: 13000 m²

Type: New built

Program: Industrial

Status: Studies in development

Project

In sunny Bordeaux, having intermediate spaces can be very pleasant for the mid-season and winter. These in-betweens can serve many purposes, notably as chill-out zones that are not exposed to the outdoor climate vagaries. Solar exposure would increase their temperature compared to the outdoors one, which would transform this intermediate space in a “nicer” outdoor, both for staying and for the parent building. However, these types of interactions are undervalued in the traditional and simplified ways of calculating thermodynamics, which often results in engineering recommendations that are not suited to the project´s vision. Precise calculations can bring to light the benefits of these spaces and result in more coherent architectural projects. Overall, these considerations together with a precise definition of window sizing, glazing properties and shading brought more light inside, more solar heat in winter, less in summer, and it helped to reduce global energy consumption.

see previous state

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Architecture

"Les Halles Généreuses is the winning proposal for a durable and large-scale industrial complex in Blanquefort near Bordeaux (FR), organised by FAB (La Fabrique de Bordeaux Métropole). The 20 000 m² project, features a set of multipurpose and flexible production halls, joined in an elongated elliptical floor plan, and crossed by green transversal axes. The building will be the first stage of a sustainable industrial site ‘Ecoparc’. The building measures the scale of an industrial complex in relation to its surrounding landscape. The proportions of the building become territorial. The volume is composed of a series of warehouses separated by shared functional zones, making for a compact but porous building. The rounded perimeter facilitates access and by simple subdivisions creates a clear and easy use. The inner streets serve as common areas where various activities can be organised: parking areas, daily deliveries, a clear business address, etc. A light pergola structure transforms this industrial zone into a qualitative indoor space that also regulates the neighbouring office spaces by climatically regulated roofs and cross ventilation."
OFFICE KGDVS

Climate

Bordeaux´s climate is temperate oceanic, but remains very close to the humid-subtropical area. In summer, average high temperatures reach 26ºC, which is rather hot. Sun is strong, with a strong direct component with a maximum altitude of 68º. On extreme days (around 16 a year), temperatures rise above 30ºC and even above 35ºC (half of the days). The daily range is high, around 10ºC, which calls for the use of thermal inertia in order to control the heat. During winter, temperatures are very low, with an average of 7ºC in February. During the coldest periods (around 6 times a year, between 3 and 6 days each), temperature reaches -4ºC, and even -8ºC. The sky is mostly covered (60% of time), but during 25% it is sunny, which can be translated into considerable solar heat gains. The wind speed has an annual average of 3.3 m/s and prevailing winds come from West, even if the others are not negligible.

Palenque Cultural Tambillo

Location: Tambillo, Ecuador

Client: Architecture in Development

Architect: CaaPora

Year: 2017

Size: 625 m²

Type: New built

Program: Cultural

Status: Studies in development

Project

The constant heat of the tropics calls for open buildings, effective solar protection and air flow. To cool down occupants, strategies should aim to maintain the temperature indoors below that of outdoors, and for air to flow at body height. Also, with only the sight of the sky, glare can become intolerable, which is crucial to maintain adequate visual conditions in classrooms. In this case, the objective was to provide the adequate angles, width and length of the horizontal and vertical planes in order to protect the interior from direct sun, the sight of the sky and to foster natural ventilation. PET (Physiologically Equivalent Temperature) is an indicator of felt temperature. In this case, the main building was made open and with a thatched roof to insulate from the heat and to bring down the felt temperature below that of the air. The classrooms with more enclosed walls and a metallic roof (although doubled with a ventilated gap) have a PET higher than the air temperature.

Architecture

Palenque Cultural Tambillo is a cultural center dedicated to the continuing artistic traditions of the Afroecuadorean town of Tambillo. The project is composed of a main volume housing the dance hall and three secondary buildings, two of them multi use classrooms and one instrument workshop

Climate

Tambillo is located in the equator. Its climate is classified as Tropical rainforest climate [Af] by Koppen Geiger. Temperatures are very stable throughout the year, with daily highs around 29ºC and lows of 21ºC. The rainy season occurs from June to October, with slightly lower temperatures. The sun is quite vertical most of the day throughout the year. Lowest midday inclination angles occur during June and December, reaching 66º, which is comparable to the highest summer solar angle of Paris. The sun comes half of the year from the north, and half of the year from the south. Any sun ray reaching indoors or the built-up of occupants heat will raise internal temperatures beyond comfortable levels very fast. The design of effective shading and natural ventilation strategies is essential to evacuate any indoor heat and maintain comfortable conditions indoors. Prevailing wind blows from south orientations during most of the year. Wind velocities are constant in the range of 3.2 m/s.

Crystal Palace

Location: Seoul, South Corea

Client: Seoul Metropolitan Government

Architect: OFFICE KGDVS

Year: 2017

Size: 16628 m²

Type: New built

Program: Mixed use

Status: Competition

Project

Seoul´s climate is quite extreme, with very cold winters (avg of -2ºC in January) and hot summers (avg high of 29ºC in August). The feeling of hot is intensified due to the very high humidity levels. In order to tame such conditions, the building needs to be resilient: the four parts of the programme come together under a roof that is operable. This generates a compact building during winter with an enclosed temperate courtyard, and a porous building during summer, with shallow plans easy to ventilate. The courtyard functions as a semi-outdoor space buffering outdoor extreme conditions. The main heat sources, solar and internal heat gains (occupancy, lights and equipment) and its combination are fundamental to minimise energy consumption. In this case, the strategy consisted in matching the distribution of the diverse programme with an adequate solar exposure. During winter, 50% of sunny days allow to benefit from solar gains. To tackle the cold, the project encloses itself to become more compact while generating thermal buffers. These unheated intermediate spaces collect solar gains and wasted heat from surrounding spaces, reaching a higher temperature than the outdoor one. During summer, natural ventilation can effectively displace heat and cool down occupants. Buffer spaces open up to maximise heat loss and provide shading while ensuring effective natural ventilation. The courtyard becomes an open space, semi-shaded, semi protected from the rain.

See thermal buffers

These buffer spaces reduce the heat lost from the heated spaces, as the latter is now adjacent to a space that is milder than the outside.

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See summer natural ventilation

The shape of the plan helps the air to contract and accelerates it to get higher wind speeds due to Venturi effect. At pedestrian level, breeze enters the courtyard lowering the felt temperature an average of 2 C. A fair air movement is achieved in the entire courtyard through the optimised orientation and tilt of the ETFE panels.

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Architecture

“In a world where time and space seem to consist of continuous alternations between the interior and the exterior, at a time when the difference between virtual and actual space is blurred, places that actually surprise us and excel the ordinary are rare. For the Urban Regeneration Project Site we propose to find the civic inside the buildings as a symbol of their intention to maximise: maximal park, maximal garden, maximal block, maximal exchange. The project combines the four main parts of the regeneration and 50 plus program, it’s temporary housing, the NPO offices, the ateliers and the ‘school’ as four independent sides surrounding a temperate garden. These buildings are elegantly juxtaposed in order to create a dense urban plan with a court where exchange – between inside and outside, and between the functional parts individually – is encouraged.”
OFFICE KGDVS

Climate

Seoul has a humid subtropical/continental climate. It is very cold in winter as the average of January is of -2.4ºC, and very hot in summer, with an average high of 29ºC in august. Whereas Seoul´s winters are sunny, its summers are mostly cloudy and diffuse solar radiation is predominant the entire year. The summer months coincide with the rainy season, which is why direct solar radiation is minimum and the sky is mostly covered. Prevailing winds come the entire year from East. The main issue to be tackled of the subtropical humid climate is precisely humidity, which in summer is very high. It intensifies the feeling of hot in summer and the feeling of cold in winter.

Carriego Library

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Client: Ministry of Urban Development of the City of Buenos Aires

Architect: MDU / Martín Torrado

Year: 2017

Size: 135 m²

Type: Renovation

Program: Cultural

Status: Unbuilt project

Project

A desirable environmental quality for a reading room of a library could be to have generous, natural and diffuse light that does not produce glare. Buenos Aires has a particularly strong sun, especially during the summer, which can not only induce visual discomfort to the users, but also add excessive heat indoors and in this case, it can also rapidly deteriorate the old books. The large window facing north exposed the stored books and reading table to the direct sun for at least 8 hours a day during summer and the mid-season, which induced all the above-mentioned problems. The simple modification of the glazing properties for a frosted and less transmissive glass provided the space with diffuse light, eliminated the degradation issue and reduced the heat gained inside the room. A slight modification in window opening allowed to cross-ventilate more effectively.

See prior state

The solar radiation entering the room was excessive, adding around 3 times more heat and 5 times more light intensity which degradates faster sensitive objects like the old books.

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Architecture

“The project consists of the refurbishment of the Carriego Library, the residence of the young poet Evaristo Carriego (1883 – 1912). Located in the historic neighbourhood of Palermo, the project aims to regain the identity of the historic period buildings, rescuing the patio as a structuring argument of the traditional chorizo house, through the incorporation of a seven meter high central area which serves as both a reading spot and a multipurpose space. The original library, until the moment of its partial demolition, had a surface area of 95 m2. The project proposes to preserve the areas of the house that have not yet been demolished: the front room and the hall itself, which maintains the original wall and floor finishings. The central area acquires the characteristics of a multipurpose covered patio –with double height– intended for the different promoted activities and that at the same time is the central reading room, with an equipped library for this purpose. An upper clerestory will guarantee natural lighting.”
MDU

Climate

The climate of Buenos Aires is Temperate, Humid Subtropical (Cfa) in the Koppen Geiger category. Summers are hot and rainy, with a very high proportion of direct radiation, which, added to the high temperatures, generates a great need for solar control. During a large part of the summer the temperature is pleasant, which allows buildings to work passively with an adequate natural ventilation strategy and effective solar protection. Winters are mild as temperatures rarely drop below 5ºC, and solar radiation is significant, even during the coldest months. These conditions allow not to require heating on sunny winter days. The climate calls for special attention to bioclimatic strategies: even though it offers good potential due to the very strong sun, in summer buildings can overheat very easily; and in winter, the need for heating can be unnecessarily high. In 2050, it is estimated that the temperature will increase by 2.3 ºC in summer.

Research and Publications

Order by:

It´s nice today

Context: Ruby Press

Location: English

Institution: ETH Zurich

Year: 2024

Author: Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal, Rafael Alonso Candau, Florencia Collo, Olivier Dambron

Type: Book

ISBN: 978-3-944074-37-5

Urban thermal comfort: a driver for wellbeing in the city

Location: English

Institution: Salus

Year: 2021

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau, Florencia Collo, Olivier Dambron

Type: Article in a digital journal

A contemporary review of Grupo Austral's housing typologies for Argentina's countryside

Location: English

Institution: Architectural Science Review

Year: 2020

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Article in a journal

ISBN: 10.1080/00038628.2020.1779023

Sustainability through passive design in A new indigenous university in the rainforest in Colombia

Institution: Studio Anne Lacaton, Lacaton & Vassal, ETH Zurich D-ARCH

Year: 2020

Author: Olivier Dambron

Type: Chapter in book

ISBN: 978-3-033-08251-9

The pleasures of summer and winter in Qualities of inhabiting

Context: Studio Anne Lacaton, Lacaton & Vassal

Location: English

Institution: ETH Zurich D-ARCH

Year: 2019

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Contribution in book

ISBN: 9-783033-078901

Whole-life Carbon in Office Building Design: Lessons from Built Precedents and Design Application

Location: English

Institution: PLEA 2018 Hong Kong

Year: 2018

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau, Simos Yannas

Type: Conference proceedings

ISBN: 978-962-8272-35-8

Wladimiro Acosta, pioneer of bioclimatic architecture

Location: Spanish

Institution: PLOT nº42

Year: 2018

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Article in a specialised magazine

ISBN: 2250-8554

Environmental diagnosis of the City of Buenos Aires, sustainable solutions

Location: Spanish

Institution: PLOT, Special edition nº10

Year: 2018

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Article in specialised magazine

ISBN: 1853-1997

Validation of Wladimiro Acosta´s Helios System

Location: English

Institution: PLEA 2017 Edinburgh

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Conference proceedings

ISBN: 978-0-9928957-5-4

Influence of design in CO2 emissions of office buildings: 5 pioneering case studies in UK and Swiss

Location: Spanish

Institution: Congreso Edificios Energía Casi Nula IV.

Year: 2017

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau

Type: Conference proceedings

ISBN: 978-1973163398

Academic Participations

Order by:

Wladimiro Acosta and Grupo Austral, towards an environmental architecture

Context: Cátedra Dieguez

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Institution: FADU

Year: 2021

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Lecture

MA "Environmental Architecture"

Location: London, UK

Institution: Royal College of Arts

Year: 2017 - present

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Head of technical staff

Buenos Aires: the climate and the city

Location: Valencia, Spain

Institution: CEU Cardenal Herrera

Year: 2021

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Lecture

Lessons from vernacular Architecture at studio A.Verschuere

Location: Lausanne, Swiss

Institution: EPFL

Year: 2020

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Lecture

Urban thermal comfort: a driver for wellbeing in the city

Location: London, UK

Institution: 4th Healthy City Design International Congress

Year: 2020

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau

Type: Conference

Guest critic at Intermediate & Final Critic at Studio Anne Lacaton

Location: Zurich, Swiss

Institution: ETH Zurich

Year: 2020

Author: Olivier Dambron

Type: Guest critic

Environmental design for bamboo tropical architecture at Studio Anne Lacaton

Location: Zurich, Swiss

Institution: ETH Zurich

Year: 2020

Author: Olivier Dambron

Type: Seminar

Guest critic at MA "Environmental Architecture"

Location: London, UK

Institution: Royal College of Arts

Year: 2017 - present

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Guest critic

Ladybug Tools and Environmental Design

Location: Copenhagen, Danmark

Institution: Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts

Year: 2019

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Workshop

Guest critic at Studio Anne Lacaton

Location: Zurich, Swiss

Institution: ETH Zurich

Year: 2019

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Guest critic

Atmos Lab today, at postgraduate SED

Location: London, UK

Institution: Architectural Association

Year: 2019

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Seminar

Guest critic at Sustainable Environmental Design

Location: London, UK

Institution: Architectural Association

Year: 2018

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau

Type: Guest critic

Whole-life Carbon in Office Building Design

Location: Hong Kong

Institution: PLEA, Passive Low Energy Architecture

Year: 2018

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau

Type: Conference

Contemporary review of Regional Plan for Argentina’s countryside by Grupo Austral

Location: Hong Kong

Institution: PLEA, Passive Low Energy Architecture

Year: 2018

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Conference

Daylighting and Solar Control

Location: Bandung, Indonesia

Institution: Institut Teknologi of Bandung

Year: 2018

Author: Olivier Dambron

Type: Workshop

Bioclimatic Architecture

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Institution: Taller Soler, FADU, UBA

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Seminar

New tools for environmental design in Theory of Architecture

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Institution: FADU, UBA

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Lecture

Comportamiento ambiental de la unidad doméstica

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Institution: Universidad de Belgrano

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Lecture

Validating the lessons from vernacular Spanish houses to sustainable architecture

Location: Frankfurt, Germany

Institution: International Forum on Traditional Architecture

Year: 2017

Author: Rafael Alonso Candau

Type: Conference

Contemporary Validation of Wladimiro Acosta´s Helios System

Location: Edinburgh, UK

Institution: PLEA (Passive Low Energy Architecture)

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Conference

Solar Urbanism and Building Design in Buenos Aires

Location: Edinburgh, UK

Institution: PLEA, Passive Low Energy Architecture

Year: 2017

Author: Florencia Collo

Type: Conference

Exhibitions

Order by:

Reading the invisible

Context: BAP! Visible Invisible

Location: Versailles, France

Institution: Biennale d´Architecture et de Paysage - ENSAV

Year: 2022

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Exhibition

ISBN: 979-10-415-0602-6

Exhibition info

The Nef of Versailles is 60m long and 8.50m deep, and is oriented south-west. The 4m tall windows bring bright daylight and sun in the afternoon. The building is built with stone and brick that provide the necessary thermal inertia to naturally stabilise temperatures.
The project exhibits the natural physical quantities inside the Nef and their variation through space and time: the thermal sensations (°C), the light (lux) and the solar radiation (kWh/m²). These are calculated based on the statistical weather data recorded from the nearest weather station, averaged hourly over the period 2009-2019.
The climate of Paris has four distinct seasons, and varying sky conditions across the year, which are represented in the installation. The average high temperature during the hottest month is 24.8°C, whereas the average low of the coldest month is 3.4°C. The annual average is 12.8°C.

Climatic Systems

Context: Cover me softly

Location: Timisoara, Romania

Institution: Beta - Timisoara Architecture Biennial

Year: 2024

Author: Atmos Lab

Type: Exhibition

Exhibition info

Vernacular and traditional architecture used to be the result of a collection of solutions that dealt, among others, with the climate of the place to create comfortable indoor conditions. The repetition was the mere result of the most adapted solution for a certain place. Today, this practice is rare, but when with dealing means of economy and climate-adapted solutions, it seems essential to bring to light a more contemporary approach to the same problems. This exhibition proposes to explore and contrast the systems developed by Wladimiro Acosta for the subtropical climate of Buenos Aires – the Helios System- and winter gardens developed by Lacaton & Vassal to deal with the tmeperate-oceanic climate of France.

DIAGRAMS

Context: Exhibited pieces in: Diagrams: A Project by AMO/OMA

Location: Venice, Italy

Institution: Fondazione Prada

Year: 2025

Author: AMO / OMA

Type: Contribution

Exhibition info

"The strength of the diagram is in its apparent neutrality. Often stripped of ornament, scale, and context, diagrams imply knowledge without the burden of explanation. Their authority comes from arrangement rather than argument. Whereas retoric convinces through emphasis and sequence, diagrams do so through structure and proximity. Diagrams rely on abstraction and seek to transcend historical conventions in pursuit of universal legibility.

Diagrams are not a modern invention, and their earliest manifestations are still part of how we organize and interpret the world today. They are the precursors of anatomical drawings, astronomical charts, and even maps. Many diagrams do not convey what is already understood but rather communicate presumptions. They illustrate ideas that have yet to be verified-territories before they are explored, bodies before they are dissected, and stars before they are observed. As the volume of information we interact with becomes inhuman in its scale, we depend more than ever on diagrams as tools to visualize the categories, hierarchies, and dependencies of the data that surrounds us.

For architects, diagrams distill intentions, relationships, and constraints into an image that gives an aura of objectivity to the inherently subjective nature of design. Our office has long relied on diagrams as mechanisms to expose the logic embedded in a program, to test scenarios, and—at times-to directly generate form.

This exhibition is not a history of diagrams. Nor is it a showcase of AMO/OMA's own diagram production. It is an archive of spatial thinking and organization. The content is presented according to nine topics that have long shaped human life, but that now rear up again and again with renewed intensity: the built environment, health, inequality, migration, environment, resources, war, truth, and value.

Contemporary conditions and historical precedents are placed side by side. Each topic is explored through a specific sub-category, in which the urgency takes on a more acute form, and through the work of a pioneer in diagram design. The result is an open field of activity and operation, in which many things are proven to be possible."

AMO/OMA

DIAGRAMS Shanghai

Context: Second edition of "DIAGRAMS: a project by AMO/OMA"

Location: Shanghai, China

Institution: Fondazione Prada

Year: 2025

Author: AMO/OMA

Type: Contribution

Exhibition info

"The second chapter of the exhibition at Prada Rong Zhai gathers more than 150 items—including documents, printed publications, digital images, and videos—sourced from the 12th century to the present day and drawn from various geographical and cultural contexts. Materials are displayed according to a thematic principle that reflects some main contemporary world urgencies and demonstrates the diagram’s transversal and diachronic nature."

"The exhibition design, developed by AMO/OMA, unfolds across two levels of Prada Rong Zhai, throughout rooms that were once the theatre of private life, studio, conversation, and social gatherings of its owners. According to the principle of “now urgencies,” the show is structured into five thematic sections: Built Environment, Body, Resources, Truth, and Value. Within each section, diagrams appear in a wide range of formats and media—drawings, books, prints, and digital contents—to highlight the evolution of data communication and reflect how these instruments have adapted over time to different contexts, technologies, and audiences."

"A diagram can be roughly described as an instrument for envisioning information to reason about, communicate, and document, so that it
appears as a neutral and objective representation. The exhibition explores the diagram as an agent of meaning-making that actively shapes and influences human thought and life, and that can clarify or distort information depending on the data it presents. Today, more than ever, looking retrospectively at the role of diagrams over time helps us question their sources, authorship, and purpose, and critically reconstruct their context."

AMO/OMA

Inhabiting a climate: the Helios System of Wladimiro Acosta

Context: Curation of the out of the box of Acosta's archive

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Institution: Universidad Torcuato Di Tella

Year: 2026

Author: Florencia Collo, Mariano Pensado

Type: Curation

Exhibition info

Wladimiro Acosta's thinking and work were pioneering in approaching architecture and climate with scientific rigour. Working from the observation of weather, of physical phenomena and of local ways of dwelling, Acosta developed an architecture adapted to its place. His research, which combines science, technique and design, retains a remarkable relevance today for its clarity and its common sense, offering a solid and timeless basis for designing in the face of the current climate crisis, bringing logic, good sense, the pleasure of inhabiting and a sense of belonging to place.

The Wladimiro Acosta fonds has formed part of the Di Tella Architecture Archive since the loan agreement concluded with Fundación IDA in early 2025, and is presented here in an exhibition devoted entirely to that body of documents. The exhibition brings together fragments of his work around climate, organised in six parts: Library, Evolution, Theory, The Helios System, Adaptation and Densification. Original drawings and books from his library are presented, making it possible to grasp the rigour, depth and coherence of his research. Although much of his output was disseminated in books and magazines, the original drawings and his library had remained unpublished.

The curatorial approach seeks to show how his thinking about climate is reflected in the architecture, incorporated as project data. The original drawings are accompanied by quotations from his books and by notes that guide the reading. At a moment when the response to reducing energy consumption tends to translate into ever more hermetic buildings that paradoxically end up serving energy use, Acosta's thinking reminds us that architecture gives its own answer when it adapts to its environment, makes use of natural resources and values the pleasure of inhabiting.

Research and curation: Florencia Collo
Exhibition design: Mariano Pensado
Graphic design: Andrés Sobrino

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