How the 2226 building stays at 22–26°C without air conditioning

This building seems to have found a way to keep indoor temperatures comfortable without relying on air conditioning systems. How does it work?

The heatwave–air conditioning loop

We are all feeling it right now: heatwaves are getting more intense, and there is little to suggest this will improve in the coming years unless we tackle climate disruption at its source. In response, air conditioning is increasingly becoming the default way to cope with extreme heat-handy in the moment, but it also makes the underlying problem of pollution worse.

Put simply, it is hot because we pollute, and we pollute because it is hot. One building appears to have found an answer to our growing dependence on energy-hungry cooling and heating.

2226

[Dietmar Eberle’s 2226 concept]

This very real, non-experimental building has been nicknamed “2226”. It appeared in Austria around ten years ago, designed by architect Dietmar Eberle, who has since set up his offices in the building itself. The name reflects the guiding idea: keeping the indoor temperature between 22 and 26°C.

The aim is straightforward but ambitious-to do without heating or air conditioning systems, all year round, regardless of what is happening outside.

An achievement built on smart construction

Los Angeles, Andalusia and Quimper may seem to have nothing in common, yet they have all recognised the value of painting roofs white, which naturally lowers indoor temperatures in summer. The 2226 building applies the same principle in its own way, with a pale façade and only a small amount of glazing.

Thick walls and night-time ventilation

Sensors in the building also automate ventilation shutters during summer nights. The coolness is held in place by 70 cm-thick walls with exceptionally effective insulation. In winter, those brick walls keep hold of residual heat produced by computers, as well as the body heat of the people inside.

In the end, the approach is about as simple as it gets-yet it still offers clear avenues for designing buildings that use far less energy.