Desert Breath

Project Frame and Climatic Mandate: As climate change accelerates the desertification of Southern Europe, Mediterranean metropolises face extreme bioclimatic pressures. Regional environmental data tracks an alarming surge in surface air temperature anomalies, signaling a permanent ecological shift from semiarid states toward true aridity. Local climate mapping reveals that the historic Eixample district has evolved into one of Barcelona's most critical urban heat traps. High density, extensive asphalt, and a lack of green space push micro-climatic temperatures within the neighborhood's deep interior courtyards into critical zones. Bioclimatic analysis under the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) proves these spaces routinely exceed maximum heat stress thresholds, placing intense physiological strain on citizens. Under these hostile conditions, conventional HVAC grids face failure.

Situated on Carrer de Calàbria, Click to open side panel for more information, the project retrofits an underused, three-story office building erected in 1950, tucked deep within a sealed interior courtyard block (manzana). Originally designed by Ildefons Cerdà in 1859 to maximize fresh air circulation, these courtyards have been choked by a century of post-industrial infill. The horizontal deep-plan layout of this mid-century structure acts as a thermodynamic barrier, trapping stagnant air. By selecting this vulnerable site, the intervention serves as a direct architectural laboratory, importing the forgotten passive logic of arid-zone vernacular architecture to transform a critical urban heat node into a grid-independent, breathing sanctuary.

The architectural strategy systematically retrofits the 1950 concrete frame across three distinct surgical phases. First, the existing central glass atrium is deconstructed, opening the courtyard and eliminating the internal greenhouse effect. Second, a heavy volumetric carving removes approximately 1700sqm of the original structural waffle slab, flooding the dark interior with daylight and establishing vertical voids for airflow. Third, a high-performance network of four solar chimneys is integrated onto the rooftop. Utilizing specialized finned aluminum cladding to harvest solar radiation, these shafts drive a continuous, buoyancy-driven stack effect. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations under peak summer conditions (July 14th, 13:00) validate this geometry, proving the chimneys act as powerful passive extraction engines that draw warm, stagnant air out of the deep floor plates, continuously pulling fresh air through the lower levels.

Text von Parisa Khosravi.