An old-new design approach proposes reducing reliance on air-conditioning technologies through smart use of the environment. Is this what will lead the construction industry in an era of global warming?
Amnon Director, Zveta - Science and Environment News Agency
The Israeli summer of 2025 was one The hottest In IsraelIt's hard to believe, and perhaps even impossible, to imagine life without air conditioning. When the sun is blazing outside and temperatures climb above 35 degrees, the question of how to protect yourself from the heat becomes a major conversation. Most of us hide behind closed windows, trying to preserve some semblance of coolness inside the concrete box and, of course, turning on the air conditioner. But it was hot here in the past (even very hot) and yet people lived here, without Technology של Insulation thermal Progressive And without air conditioning systems. How did they do it? And how is it that today, with all the knowledge and tools at our disposal, our buildings seem to be fighting the climate instead of using it?
Control the weather
For several decades, since the technological breakthrough in the field, we have been captivated by the concept of control: over the temperature and climatic comfort in the buildings where we live and work. The expectation is that at the push of a button we can cool, heat, ventilate and ensure that we are always comfortable. This desire to control environmental conditions has become not only the norm but also a marketing concept. For example, in a campaign for the Israeli air conditioning company "Tadiran" from recent years, American actor Morgan Freeman starred in the role of "God" with the slogan: "Tadiran - we control the weather."
But what began as a promising idea of advanced comfort has, over time, become an almost automatic perception that it is possible and even advisable to completely control our living conditions. The more accessible and available technology has become, the stronger the feeling that this is the only right way. However, today, more and more experts are beginning to question this approach. The argument is that the desire to constantly control the intra-structural climate is problematic from an environmental and planning perspective. "When we are captivated by technological solutions, we often miss the simpler and more logical solutions," explains Dr. Jonathan Netanian, head of the Environmental Performance Research Laboratory in Architecture at the Technion. "Often, the use of technology not only does not improve the function of the structure, but also makes it more expensive and significantly increases the carbon footprint. "Acclimatization of buildings, meaning investing energy in heating, cooling, and ventilation by operating mechanical systems, is an excellent example of a kind of snowball of fairly fixed technological solutions in the design process - which actually make us miss the simple starting point, which in this case is our climatic comfort - which is a dynamic matter," explains Netanian.
One of the most relevant and inspiring buildings implementing passive design and advanced approaches in contemporary construction is the School of Planning and Environment at NUS in Singapore. Photo: Joshua Rommel Hayag Vargas, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
The answer in ancient Iran
In the distant past, buildings in various parts of the world were designed to provide thermal comfort, that is, an ideal and balanced temperature inside the building, even in extreme external climate conditions, all without the use of advanced technology. This design method is known in professional jargon as "passive climate design." This is an approach based on adapting architecture to the environment, for example by properly utilizing the wind and sunlight and using smart construction methods and isolated, local materials. "The principles of passive design are based on a deep understanding of climate conditions and precise adaptation of the design to the needs and patterns of action of the building's users. The goal is to bridge the gap between them through architecture and the available tools in order to build a thermally comfortable building. The solutions are achieved passively, that is, without the use of mechanical force, and by relying solely on the forces of nature," emphasizes Netanian.
One of the oldest and most fascinating examples of this approach comes from Iran. In the ancient city of Yazd, located in a hot desert region, mosques were built as early as the 14th century. structural stone Unique Equipped ב״בַּEdְגִYar״ (Badgir), a kind of traditional wind tower that creates natural ventilation and passive cooling for buildings. These buildings manage to ventilate and cool the interior space without the use of electricity, but only thanks to simple physical principles and intelligent design. The towers rise to great heights, capturing cool winds at altitude and directing them into the building, while the warm air is pushed out, which can lower the temperature inside the building by 10 degrees Celsius. Sometimes the air also passes over underground water reservoirs, which helps lower the temperature even further. On windless days, another natural mechanism is activated – a solar chimney – which creates a suction of air using solar energy and causes the temperature to drop between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius.
"The world understands the problems inherent in the approach of placing user comfort absolutely in the hands of building systems technologies, and there is a great desire to learn from vernacular construction methods (traditional construction methods, ed.)," claims Netanian, and clarifies: "The intention is not necessarily to build 'hobbit houses,' but rather to combine advanced technology such as simulations, advanced materials, and sensing and control tools to adapt the structure to the simple principles of passive design: understanding the climate, microclimate, and user needs, in a more dynamic and correct manner. Integrating such ideas into the design process - already in its early stages - allows for a better environmental starting point and significantly reduces the need for a multitude of complex, carbon-intensive electromechanical systems."
According to him, one of the reasons why this approach is not yet widely implemented is the conservatism prevalent in the construction industry, coupled with the great availability of existing technological systems. "This creates a 'rebound' effect; the more technological solutions there are, the more we tend to solve any problem with them, even when it is not necessarily the right or environmental solution. Today, especially as the design process becomes more complex, passive principles are often neglected and the application of passive building principles, if at all, relies mainly on the intuition of the planners and less on quantitative information. Thus, the field of climatic comfort is effectively solved by air conditioning engineers," he says.
Life after the contractor
The research of Netanian and his lab team at the Technion aims to change this by developing methodologies and tools for integrating data. functioning environmental In stages The first של The planning. One of the research directions in the laboratory focuses on the study of existing buildings and the assessment of the energy performance of the building after occupancy. "In the research arena, there is a shift from thinking of buildings as a shell to focusing on the human factor and the daily comfort experience of users. Contemporary climatic comfort studies are moving from general and global models (in which a single solution is proposed for the entire building) to more dynamic and local models (in which a solution is proposed for each apartment or each space in the building). By implementing different strategies – from the simple principle of individual thermostat control, through hybrid and integrated systems such as natural ventilation and mechanical systems, to the use of sensors, artificial intelligence and smart control systems – it is possible to design living and working environments that respond in real time and locally to the changing needs of the building's users. "The result is a personalized thermal environment that, on the one hand, significantly saves energy and, on the other, increases the feeling of comfort and satisfaction. For us, this is a real revolution in the way we design buildings and manage the conditions within them," he says.
One of the relevant and inspiring structures for the implementation of passive design approaches and advanced approaches in contemporary construction is the School of Planning and Environment building in NUS In Singapore. This is a unique structure that combines a variety of open and closed spaces, using a combination of active, passive and hybrid cooling systems, all adapted to the local climate and the uses of the building. After construction is completed, the building continues to function as a kind of "living laboratory": the data collected in real time allows for the generation of applied insights to improve future planning. "The building in Singapore produces insights that can hint at a new approach to planning, in which passive principles are combined with a dynamic comfort concept to create a structure that is also very efficient from an environmental perspective, but beyond that, it significantly enhances the sense of comfort of its users," explains Netanian.
As temperatures rise and environmental awareness grows, it seems that the answer to questions about the future lies in the lessons of the past. Passive climate planning is not just nostalgia or a design trend, but a real opportunity to think differently about the space in which we live: one that does not oppose the environment but works in harmony with it. Combining ancient wisdom with advanced technology may be the key to smarter, more economical and, above all, more humane construction. Because ultimately, thermal comfort is not just a matter of temperature, but of worldview.
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