Light and air
Wind tower
housing school public building visitor center
A tower rising above the roof with openings at the top to catch the breeze and bring it inside, or to draw out hot air.
What it solves
It ventilates and cools without energy, using the wind that blows above the roofs. In the humid tropics its value lies in moving air rather than cooling it with water.
Today
Place it according to the prevailing winds of the site and with outlets that allow air to pass. Protect the openings against rain, birds and insects.
Common mistake
Building it as an ornament without studying the local wind or the air outlets, so that it moves nothing.
Tomorrow
With hotter summers the wind tower returns as a way to ventilate without air conditioning. Digital wind models make it possible to fine-tune its shape before building.
Fact Drops of 8 to 12 °C indoors compared with the outside air have been reported in traditional wind towers.
Where it comes from
- 1Ancient Egypt Egypt, Early Dynastic period
A house model found at Abu Rawash shows windcatchers (malqaf) on the roof. - 2Persia Iran, with Yazd as an example, since the Achaemenid era
The four- or eight-sided badgir, combined with courtyards, thick earth walls and underground channels (qanat), creates a pleasant microclimate.
Masters
- Hassan Fathy New Baris, Kharga Oasis, Egypt, 1967
He takes the malqaf, the traditional Egyptian wind tower, and improves it with baffles and secondary towers to cool the village market. He shows how an ancient technique can lower the temperature without energy. - Diébédo Francis Kéré Lycée Schorge, Koudougou, Burkina Faso, 2016
He raises ventilation towers over the classrooms that catch the breeze and bring it inside while hot air leaves through the raised roof. He proves that a school in a very hot climate can stay cool with simple means.
See also
Also in Light and air
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.