Bioclimatic Studio, Summer 2021

Open-Architecture, Open-Schools

The 2021 bioclimatic studio reimagines school design in different climatic zones, in relation to education, health, energy and the environment.  

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, school buildings were shut down because of the risk of indoor transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In educational facilities equipped with mechanical systems that remained open, indoor ventilation was significantly increased to combat transmission, resulting in energy consumption spikes. Having witnessed this global environmental health crisis, we have an obligation and an opportunity to rethink school design to provide healthy and enjoyable learning environments that are also energy-responsible.

Open-air schools have a long history related to pandemics, with examples from past pandemics in the beginning of the 20th century. However, in climatic zones where the exterior conditions are far from the human comfort zone, how do we provide enough fresh air without expending huge amounts of energy?

The studio explores the potential to create climate-responsive, naturally ventilated schools in three different climatic zones: temperate (cold winters and hot summers), hot-humid and hot-dry. The overarching design objective is to provide inspiring learning environments for young students. Bioclimatic design strategies will be used to reduce the energy load on the building’s mechanical system while optimizing natural ventilation, allowing more learning activities to happen in the open-air while protecting the body from heat stress in extreme climatic conditions.

The instruction of the studio was conducted in close collaboration with Jihun Kim, who was the instructor for the advanced performance workshop course in the same program. Addiionnaly, Kian Wee Chen, Akira D. Rodriguez, Marta Gutman, Daniel Barber, Salmaan Craig, and Adam Rysanek, all participated in the studio through lectures and workshops.

Studio Critic: Dorit Aviv

Consultant: Dr. Jihun Kim

Teaching Assistant: Suryakiran Jathan Prabhakaran

Students: Jiayu Dong, Kyunghyun Kim, Chenyang Li, Allen Suwardi, Jun Xiao, Qi Yan

University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design, Master of Science in Design - Environmental Building Design (MSD-EBD) program.