Towers of Winds: Experimental Urban Cooling, Atmospheric Infrastructure and Socio-Ecological Design

The Royal College of Art (RCA), London, is seeking opportunities to join Horizon Europe / New European Bauhaus research consortia through Towers of Winds, an established interdisciplinary architectural research and experimental design programme based in Athens.

The project investigates responses to urban heat and air pollution through an approach that is simultaneously technical, architectural, ecological, aesthetic and political. Combining experimental design, environmental science, structural engineering, material research, environmental sensing and participatory action research, Towers of Winds explores not only how urban atmospheres might be modified, but how they are sensed, experienced, understood and collectively governed. A central concern is how environmental infrastructures might become platforms for citizen science, ecological communication and public engagement with climate adaptation, environmental justice and the urban commons.

The research is led by Dr Jon Goodbun, RCA (Environmental Architecture and Urban Design) and founder of Rheomode, an environmental architecture and design research practice based in Athens. The interdisciplinary team includes Aran Chadwick, Partner at Atelier One, contributing structural engineering and innovative lightweight construction expertise; Professor Rosa Schiano-Phan and Juan Vallejo of the University of Westminster, contributing expertise in environmental architecture, passive downdraft evaporative cooling and building performance; and Flora McLean of the RCA (Fashion), contributing experimental textiles expertise.

The programme operates across three interconnected scales.

At the building scale, we investigate approaches to environmentally adapting existing Athenian polykatoikia apartment buildings, exploring passive cooling, ventilation and relationships between buildings and surrounding urban microclimates.

At the neighbourhood scale, we develop modular, potentially mobile evaporative cooling towers, typically 5–7 metres high, as adaptable interventions in public space. Since 2024, we have constructed and tested an iterative series of full-scale prototypes in multiple public locations in Athens since 2024, most recently during the Transeuropa Festival in October 2026. Experiments explore passive downdraft cooling, bamboo structures, textiles, porous ceramics, environmental sensing and public participation. Initial tests have recorded localised air-temperature reductions of approximately 10°C under hot summer conditions, with more systematic scientific evaluation planned.

These installations are also conceived as public experiments and sites of collective learning. Through workshops, participatory experiments and environmental sensing, we investigate how people perceive atmospheric conditions, how environmental data can become publicly meaningful, and how alternative forms of sensing and counter-sensing might contribute to ecological communication and democratic engagement with urban environmental questions.

At the urban atmospheric scale, we are investigating a more ambitious proposition for 25–30 metre towers capable of generating substantial passive downdrafts and potentially influencing urban microclimates over larger areas. Preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research suggests possibilities for significant airflow and cooling at street level. We seek to develop these propositions through atmospheric modelling, environmental monitoring and ultimately full-scale experimentation, including investigating whether drawing air from above heavily polluted street-level layers might contribute to improving local air quality.

Towers of Winds offers an established experimental research platform, with multiple built prototypes, environmental monitoring, public demonstrations and collaborations across architectural research, engineering and design practice. The research was presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, accompanied by documentary films, and builds upon published research concerning urban heat, pollution and socio-ecological planning in Athens.

The team can contribute architectural and environmental design research, structural engineering, experimental construction, passive cooling expertise, material innovation, environmental sensing, participatory methodologies, citizen science and critical socio-ecological perspectives. We are particularly interested in connecting scientific modelling and technical experimentation with aesthetic experience, environmental justice and collective approaches to climate adaptation.

We welcome approaches from emerging or established European consortia seeking an interdisciplinary research partner with demonstrated experimental capabilities, an active Athens research setting and a distinctive combination of technical, socio-ecological and participatory expertise.