If you think that the “air conditioners” are a modern invention, you are wrong! There were already 3300 years ago, moreover totally ecological.
We are talking about the “Bâdgir” or “Windcatcher”, Torre Vecchipavento made of straw, clay, wood or bricks, capable of capturing the wind to refresh the buildings without the need for electricity or energy. Bâdgir derives from the Persian “Bâd”, which means “wind”, and “gir”, which means “capturing”.
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The origins
It is not clear who invented the wind towers first. The first tracks date back, according to different sources, at the time of the Persian Empire, between the 6th and 4th centuries, but other theories place its origins in the North African deserts, in particular in Egypt.
Today one of the most extraordinary examples of Windcatcher is located in Iran, in the city of Yazd, where the highest Badgir in the world stands out, built around 1750: 33 meters high and still fully functional. Although the 38 ° C can be touched outside, inside you breathe a fresh and stable air, without the use of any modern technology. A true masterpiece of bio -architecture ante litteram.
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Formed by a fireplace vertical tower, often surmounted by a dome or a cap, the structure uses a very simple but super effective system.
During the day, theHot air of the internal environments, lighter, is pushed up and comes out of the tower. This Natural aspiration attracts new air from the outside, which enters the ducts and circulates in the internal spaces.
At night, when the exterior cools down, the flow is reversed: the tower captures the fresh air from the outside and conveys it inwards, refreshing the rooms.
In some more sophisticated variants, the air is also passed above water tanks, to obtain an even more intense cooling through theevaporation.
The structure of the towers, built with natural materials e Very thick walls, it contributes to isolating from the external heat and maintaining stable internal temperatures even with extreme heat peaks.
The design of the Windcatcher changed according to the climate and geographical position. In the areas where the wind blew from one direction, the towers were unidirectional.
In other areas, Badgir were built in a bidirectional or even multidirectional version, with different openings oriented to capture the air from multiple fronts.
Some towers were also connected to underground ducts, taking advantage of the ground temperature to pre-water the air before putting it into the buildings. A passive cooling system in all respects, completely free of engines or power supply.
And just today, in full climatic crisis and with energy bills to the stars, architects and engineers are rediscovering these ancient systems to rethink the urban living. There are already projects inspired by Windcatcher but integrated with solar panels, intelligent sensors and low -consumption fans, bringing traditional architecture into the future.
In short, a truly avant -garde natural ventilation system, cheaper and absolutely ecological, to which many architects are still inspired to conceive modern revisits automated with the use of panels controlled by sensors or sun energy fans.
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Sources: Archdaily
