passive building design

The application of passive downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC) to non-domestic buildings. Office building prototype design in Catania, Italy.

Submitted by on Sat, 07/06/2013 - 16:32

This paper describes the Architectural Design Studies undertaken by Mario Cucinella Architects as part of a three year JOULE research project into the application of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) in non-domestic buildings. The objective of the research was to develop a viable passive alternative to air-conditioning through architectural design, experimentation and performance assessment.