With a changing climate, the problem of urban heat is becoming increasingly important to address. Although air conditioning is widely regarded as a solution, this cooling method requires a significant amount of energy, which unfortunately can be unaffordable for low-income households. It results in these households experiencing heat vulnerability, which is worsened when living in a neighbourhood without a sufficient social infrastructure.

Therefore, the project’s architectural intervention improves heat resilience in a vulnerable neighbourhood through the principle of thermal commoning: the collective sharing of cool spaces. The project is located in the low-income neighbourhood of Pradolongo, Madrid. After studying the neighbourhood’s characteristics, an architectural intervention is proposed with the intent to improve its heat resilience in both a physical and social dimension.

It minimizes dependence on air conditioning by applying passive cooling strategies: patios, thermal mass and adaptive sun shading. Simultaneously, it strengthens the neighbourhood's (existing) social infrastructure by making the patios shared spaces, and using the neighbourhood's typical amenities as ‘gateways’ to these cooler spaces. Despite the building’s required thermal performance, openness is maintained as much as possible by designing balconies as both shading elements and social facilitators. The project demonstrates how passive climate design and an aligned social infrastructure create a redefined heat resilience: one that is common. ... Read more