Brooklyn-based studio Modu has employed a series of techniques that lower ambient air temperature in order to help cool the interior and exterior of this Houston building.
Modu inserted pocket gardens, vertical fins, trellises and fluted concrete walls along the length of the exterior in order to create "outdoor comfort" and reduce Houston heat.
Modu has created a "self-cooling" exterior for an office building in Houston
The Promenade building is a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 square metre) centre which will host wellness and health clients throughout several offices.
Each tenant will be provided with both an interior and exterior space.
The studio employed several techniques to cool the ambient air around the building "Houston is a very hot climate with a lot of rain," Modu founding director Phu Hoang told Dezeen. "So what we were trying to do is to think about how you can design for that climate and specifically, an idea of designing to lower the heat of the air that's around the building."
"In hot climates like that, if you can lower the air temperature, then it would require less air conditioning because the air around the building is cooler."
Pocket gardens create shade and outdoor space for tenants
Modu used a series of cooling techniques in order to achieve this effect. This included adding a fluted concrete exterior in accordance with the building's sun exposure.
"The self-cooling concrete walls are cast with patt...