Long before the advent of air-conditioning, lo-tech means of cooling buildings were well established. Now, architects worldwide are rediscovering the sustainable benefits of natural temperature control through clever design
SOM pursued a different strategy in the conception of a university building completed in 2013 for The New School in the New York district of Greenwich Village. The 16-story structure functions as a campus for eight faculties, some of which are distributed in the immediate vicinity. Along with various instructional spaces, it comprises a library and a residence hall. To reduce warming and decrease heat loss, the architects limited the proportion of exterior glazing in the building to 35 per cent. The interior nonetheless receives ample daylight due to the optimised orientation of the window surfaces, which alternate with sheet copper cladding to order the facade.