Passive, Energy-Free Cooling with Porous Ceramics — Seeking Partners for Climate-Resilient Design & Architecture (New European Bauhaus)

Cooling already consumes over 10% of global electricity, and demand is rising fastest in the regions least able to afford it. Our Lab at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning) is developing a nature-inspired alternative: porous ceramic systems that draw, transport, and evaporate water passively — with no pumps, no compressors, and minimal or no external energy — to cool the spaces around them.

Our approach translates the principles of plant transpiration (xylem-driven capillary transport) into architectural-scale ceramic elements, produced through a proprietary digital fabrication platform for customized ceramic extrusion. The work builds on peer-reviewed research presented at the ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication and on a decade of experience designing and deploying functional ceramic structures in demanding real-world environments, including marine restoration and coastal engineering projects.

The research program spans material development, controlled climatic testing, and full-scale outdoor validation in arid conditions, in collaboration with thermofluidic, porous-media, and environmental research partners.

Why this fits the New European Bauhaus: the project unites sustainability (zero-energy climate adaptation, reduced carbon emissions), aesthetics (ceramics as an expressive, craft-rooted architectural medium), and inclusion (low-tech, low-cost cooling accessible to communities most exposed to extreme heat — drawing on vernacular evaporative cooling traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East).

We are seeking cooperation with:

• Architecture and urban design practices or research groups interested in passive cooling façades, shading structures, and public-space interventions

• Materials science and ceramics research institutes

• Municipalities, living labs, and demonstration sites in heat-stressed European regions

• Experts in building physics, climate adaptation policy, and life-cycle assessment

• Industry partners in ceramics, construction products, or building envelopes

We bring design-research leadership, a unique ceramic fabrication infrastructure, validated preliminary results, and established collaborations with thermofluidic and environmental testing laboratories. We are open to joining consortia as a partner or co-developing a proposal under Horizon Europe calls aligned with the New European Bauhaus, climate-neutral cities, and sustainable built environment topics.

Contact: Dr. Ofer Berman, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.