Franciska Meijers

Tradition meets invention: terra-cotta climate control

Department: Man and Public space

Cool Shelter

Franciska Meijers’ research into sustainable climate control led her to a Chinese tradition of lining walls with terra-cotta jugs, filled with water, to keep a room cool. She has incorporated this principle in the wall itself, creating three layers with separate functions, to generate cooler air and keep it in place. The scale-like structure of the outer layer increases the capacity for absorbing and retaining water. The glaze helps keep out the heat. The middle layer soaks up the cool, moist air and passes it to the patterned, glazed inner wall which radiates cool air.