Fast Company: How an ancient design technique could help us survive extreme heat, no AC needed

In Phoenix, the architecture firm Studio Ma has specialized in designing elements into their buildings that passively keep them cool, using shading, overhangs, and cantilevers to shield them from the heat of the desert. Using thermal-imaging software, the firm has analyzed surfaces in Phoenix and found that existing buildings with heavier materials like stone and masonry on their exterior surfaces hold much more heat than buildings with lighter exteriors, such as wood. By using lighter, better insulated materials on the outside of buildings and limiting the heat that falls on them, buildings can have much more manageable internal temperatures, according to Christopher Alt, the firm’s co-founder.

“Some people call it ‘outsulation’ because the insulation is on the outside, but it’s very dependent on the climate you’re in,” says Alt. “As people in Oregon are experiencing 115 degrees, their solutions probably look different than ours, but the same kind of thinking applies.”

They put these ideas into practice in a new 16-floor residence hall in Phoenix for Arizona State University. The firm used daylight and energy analysis tools to optimize the orientation of the windows, and added small facets to the facade to allow part of it to shade itself. This allows enough daylight to come in for the building to reduce its lighting needs while also minimizing how much the sun heats up the building. Christiana Moss, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner, says that especially for large buildings, architects will need to pay more attention to the heat entering buildings through their windows. “At this point, it’s almost glaringly irresponsible to not consider your glazing ratios and reduce the glass on your facades,” she says.

Read the full story from Fast Company here.