Cooling Without Air Conditioning: Passive Design Lessons from Traditional Islamic Architecture

Name: Cooling Without Air Conditioning: Passive Design Lessons from Traditional Islamic Architecture
Start: 2026-10-21T17:30:00+00:00
Location: British Library

British Library

96 Euston Road

Wed 21 Oct · 18:30 · Free

London

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About this event

How did buildings stay cool before air conditioning?This talk explores passive cooling strategies embedded in traditional Islamic architecture and asks what they can teach us about designing more comfortable and energy-efficient buildings today. Drawing on Rofayda's PhD research and archival work at the Library, this presentation explores architectural features such as the Mashrabiya, shading, ventilation, geometry, materials, evaporative cooling and how these traditional principles can be reinterpreted through contemporary research and design.The talk will highlight how traditional architecture represents not simply a historical aesthetic, but a body of environmental knowledge developed in response to climate, materials, craft and human comfort.This event is part of Green Libraries Week.

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