London, United Kingdom (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL)
#00064
Implementer
Dilara Temel & Lachlan Fahy (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL)
Timeline
Since Jan 1, 2022
Location
Description
TerraCool is a ceramic evaporative cooling (CEC) system developed at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) around 2022. It uses hollow terracotta modules with a geometry optimised for a high surface-area-to-internal-volume ratio (drawing on minimal-surface forms), so that water seeping through the porous ceramic evaporates as air passes, cooling it. The design is explicitly parametric, modular, and open-source, with stackable components adaptable to different configurations — usable indoors as a ventilation element and outdoors as a cooling screen for façades, courtyards, schools, and other heat-exposed public spaces. As of 2023 it remains a design- and exhibition-stage project with no published multi-season field-performance dataset or durability record.
Lessons learned
- An explicitly open-source, parametric module design lowers the barrier to local adaptation and manufacture — a different distribution model from a single productised vendor.
- Designed for dual indoor/outdoor use (ventilation element and cooling screen), widening where a single module family can be applied.
- No field-performance numbers or durability record have been published; replicators should budget for prototype testing before deployment.
Sources
2Documented Jun 13, 2026