Ancient Air Conditioning

Well before electric air conditioning existed, some ancient builders had clever building designs that kept the interior of a building some 20 degrees cooler than the exterior—in a hot climate like India.

Architect Manit Rastogi examined the stepwell structures developed in India over 1,500 years ago to provide protection from the desert heat. He used several ideas from the ancient buildings to design the the Pearl Academy of Fashion in Jaipur, Rajasthan. In the hot weather, the building remains 20 degrees cooler inside than out—by drawing on Rajasthan's ancient architecture.

Read more about this and see more beautiful images of Rastogi's fascinating design.

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