This Airport Has No Air Conditioning — Just a Clever Roof
An airport cooled by natural ventilation
At Roland Garros airport on Réunion island, the arrivals terminal uses natural ventilation instead of air conditioning. Its roof curves upward from both sides but stops short of meeting, forming a canyon that creates low pressure and funnels tropical breezes through adjustable vents, with 7.5-metre ceiling fans circulating the air. Opened in 2024, the building cuts energy bills by €150,000 a year and emissions by a factor of eight.
I took on the responsibility to prove to my management that not using air conditioning was feasible. So, from the start, we never thought of this building having air conditioning being an option. It was a risky bet, but the further we went with our studies, the more we realised that we were right.
- plantain
Every time I have been in one of these "naturally ventilated" facilities designed to "not need AC" due to "passive cooling", they've been uncomfortably hot.
It just feels like industrial scale gas-lighting, and no one in charge can admit it doesn't work afterwards because too much was spent on it.
Is stacking solar on the roof and AC's inside really so uneconomical?
- athrun
Funny seeing an article about Reunion island on HN.
I’m very familiar with this airport, and from my perspective the engineers behind the project did a very good job designing a building that can take best advantage of its location. See, the airport is located alongside the coast, and the sea breeze there can be pretty powerful.
Note that this is a new building (dedicated to arrivals), and is adjacent to the original building, which is still in use for departures.
The old building is also mostly passively cooled, and the difference in perceived temperature between the two is striking. The old terminal behaves more like a concrete bunker and can get very stuffy.
In contrast, this new arrival hall feels a bit like you’re on the deck of a ship at sea.
I have plenty of other issues about other elements of the new building, but that part works pretty well!
- fouc
>“Our objective is to maintain an indoor air temperature identical to the outdoor temperature while generating an airflow of 1 metre per second to reduce the perceived temperature for passengers.”
so it's not "cooled" at all
- nitwit005
> Ceiling fans with a 7.5-metre (24.6ft) diameter help to circulate the air.
Giant fans are rather different than "natural ventilation" mentioned in the headline.
- comrade1234
The smell of jet fuel often (not always though) gives me a splitting headache.