Breathing New Life

Thermal chimneys and an underground rainwater tank revolutionize this 1981 laboratory building. Fresh air is cooled by manifolds in the underground tank and induced through the building´s louvered glazed partitions by thermal chimneys. The original concrete structure was stripped back to expose thermal mass for improved cooling and heating performance. Rainwater recycling, natural daylighting, photo-voltaics, low energy lights, and ceiling-mounted hydronic heating panels coordinate for frugal energy usage with high levels of comfort.