Nature + Nurture

This project investigates the question “can buildings take a more active role combating climate change?”. Inspired by ancient techniques of evaporative cooling in the Middle East such as the zeer, almalqaf, and almashrabya, the design focuses on the responsiveness of the clay material by leveraging its properties to create a passive system that responds to environmental changes. The lattice geometry direct the water flow through the facade to activate evaporation once water collected in the central openings. The triangular opening acts as a vacuum sucking air into the interior of the building and as a pocket for placing algae to filter the air going through. The active thermodynamic and purification processes designed create an ecosystem through the architecture examining a way to design with nature.