A new paradigm for cooling on New York’s Governors Island
The KlimaKover team includes architects, researchers, and builders from Penn, Henning Larsen, AIL Research, SKANSKA who are addressing urban cooling by adapting a radiant cooling system to an architectural-scale application that uses far less energy than traditional AC.
2 min. read
Air conditioning (AC) is responsible for around 9% of all energy usage globally, and emits about 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide yearly. A team of designers, engineers, and researchers from Penn have been working in collaboration with Henning Larsen to adopt a radiant cooling system (membrane-assisted radiant cooling technology) to an architectural-scale application that uses far less energy than traditional AC. Consisting of solar-powered panels assembled on site, the system is designed to be modular and scalable for sites ranging from emergency shelters and public spaces, to restaurants, athletic venues, and farms.
The research behind this project was conducted by the Thermal Architecture Lab, led by Dorit Aviv, an assistant professor of architecture at the Weitzman School of Design, who has teamed up with Henning Larsen, the international design studio, and with Eric Teitelbaum at AIL Research. The project was awarded a grant from the Ramboll Foundation thanks to a research collaboration established by Kritika Kharbanda, head of sustainability at Henning Larsen, and Bill Braham, the Andrew Gordon Professor of Architecture at Weitzman and director of the Center for Environmental Building Design. KlimaKover, a publicly accessible prototype of the system was installed on New York’s Governors Island, a popular recreation spot just south of Lower Manhattan in New York Harbor, in August.
While radiant cooling is not as well-known as radiant heating, it relies on a similar concept. Insulated panels hold an array of small tubes that circulate chilled water. The goal is to create zones where people feel cool as the panels draw heat away from their bodies. Because it doesn’t require dehumidification, it doesn’t cause condensation and uses 70 percent less energy than traditional AC. The KlimaKover pavilion uses no outside water and can be fully solar-powered, making it even more earth-friendly.
KlimaKover is just one of the projects that have social and environmental impact supported by the Governors Island Trust. “This pavilion demonstrates a scalable cooling shelter,” Aviv says, “which can educate people—especially policymakers—about the future of urban cooling.”
This story is by Matt Shaw. Read more at Weitzman News.
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