Today’s Solutions: May 10, 2026

Dutch architect Ben Bronsema has developed what sounds like any office worker’s worst nightmare: a large building with no electric air conditioning system. But nobody needs to worry. It’s only because this building itself acts an air conditioner. Without the need for electric fans, this building uses wind turbines on its roof to bring air into a chute while being sprayed by steams of water to cool it down. The building then can distribute the cooled air to the rooms and uses a solar chimney to lift away any unwanted heated air out of the building again. The result is an endless loop of cooled running air, and it can even store heat in the exhausted air to provide warmth in the winter. The system would improve air quality within the building and could help do away with the costly energy-sapping air conditioning systems used in nearly all buildings.

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