Post by account_disabled on Feb 19, 2024 3:42:47 GMT -5
With high temperatures comes the need to cool indoor environments without using electricity, an expensive and sometimes unaffordable resource. An example, and inspiration, of how this is possible is the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School , a school located in the northern Indian city of Jaisalmer. Without the use of air conditioning, with natural ventilation and the traditional architecture of the region, the internal area of the school can be up to ºC lower than the outside temperature.
Known for its variety of yellow sandstone buildings, Jaisalmer has earned the nickname " The Golden City ." Another known characteristic of the place is the high temperatures, which can reach almost ºC in the middle of summer.
In this scenario we find buildings built to adapt Phone Number List to the heat, which served as a reference for the New York architect Diana Kellogg, responsible for the Rajkumari Ratnavati girls' school project.
The school is for girls and women in a region where the female literacy rate is the lowest in India. The school was built by CITTA, an American non-profit organization that provides economic and educational support to women in remote and underserved communities.
The environmentally friendly sandstone school was awarded “ Building of the Year ” in by Architectural Digest India. Opened in , it already has girls enrolled and is the first phase of a three-part architectural project, which will also include a women's cooperative center and an exhibition space.
Natural cooling
Designing a comfortable learning space in the Thar Desert, where climate change is making periods of drought longer and more intense, was a great challenge:
There are methods for cooling spaces that have been used for centuries. What I did was put them together into a combination that worked
Among the traditional techniques incorporated into the project is the coating of the interior walls with lime plaster , a porous and naturally cooling material. Inspired by other buildings in the region, Diana also installed a jali wall, a sandstone grid that allows the wind to accelerate in a phenomenon called the venturi effect, cooling the courtyard space and also providing shade from the sun.
High ceilings and windows release rising heat into classrooms, while a canopy of photovoltaic solar panels provides shade and power.
The structure, which tilts in relation to the prevailing winds, has an elliptical shape, chosen for its ability to capture and circulate fresh air, but also for its symbolic connotations of femininity, consistent with the purpose of the building.
Known for its variety of yellow sandstone buildings, Jaisalmer has earned the nickname " The Golden City ." Another known characteristic of the place is the high temperatures, which can reach almost ºC in the middle of summer.
In this scenario we find buildings built to adapt Phone Number List to the heat, which served as a reference for the New York architect Diana Kellogg, responsible for the Rajkumari Ratnavati girls' school project.
The school is for girls and women in a region where the female literacy rate is the lowest in India. The school was built by CITTA, an American non-profit organization that provides economic and educational support to women in remote and underserved communities.
The environmentally friendly sandstone school was awarded “ Building of the Year ” in by Architectural Digest India. Opened in , it already has girls enrolled and is the first phase of a three-part architectural project, which will also include a women's cooperative center and an exhibition space.
Natural cooling
Designing a comfortable learning space in the Thar Desert, where climate change is making periods of drought longer and more intense, was a great challenge:
There are methods for cooling spaces that have been used for centuries. What I did was put them together into a combination that worked
Among the traditional techniques incorporated into the project is the coating of the interior walls with lime plaster , a porous and naturally cooling material. Inspired by other buildings in the region, Diana also installed a jali wall, a sandstone grid that allows the wind to accelerate in a phenomenon called the venturi effect, cooling the courtyard space and also providing shade from the sun.
High ceilings and windows release rising heat into classrooms, while a canopy of photovoltaic solar panels provides shade and power.
The structure, which tilts in relation to the prevailing winds, has an elliptical shape, chosen for its ability to capture and circulate fresh air, but also for its symbolic connotations of femininity, consistent with the purpose of the building.