ABSTRACT
The history of environmental engineering shows that humans have been growing increasingly demanding in terms of what we regard as a comfortable temperature band in our buildings. Soar has shown that the internal temperatures are near as stable as previously thought and that the main source of thermal stabilisation is the ground, rather than induced flow ventilation or evaporative cooling. His studies have suggested that termite mounds exploit the wind in much more complex ways than simple stack effect or wind-induced ventilation. The team designed the building to include a thermal labyrinth which, in layman’s terms, is a basement with a network of masonry walls to create a very large area of thermal mass. This mass can be ventilated at night when temperatures are lower to create a store of ‘coolth’ that can be drawn from during the day by circulating air into the growing area.
