UNGREEN | Trombe Wall

This article is part of Ungreen, a series curated by Hidden Architecture where we attempt to create a resistance against some of the dogmas assimilated within contemporary discourse that sustainable architecture has to be “green”. We want to recover the ancestral knowledge that was shared among generations throughout history of humanity and defines how urban settlements have adapted to its weather conditions.This knowledge, inherent to vernacular architecture has been often used by modern or contemporary architectural practices to create new techniques or construction systems. Este artículo es parte de Ungreen, una serie comisariada por Hidden Architecture donde tratamos de crear una resistencia contra algunos de los dogmas asimilados en el discurso actual que claman que la arquitectura sostenible tiene que ser verde. Queremos recuperar el conocimiento ancestral que ha sido heredado a través de generaciones a lo largo de la historia de la humanidad y que define como los asentamientos urbanos se han ido adaptando a sus condiciones climáticas. Este conocimiento, manifestado en la arquitectura vernácula se ha filtrado en ocasiones a prácticas arquitectónicas modernas o contemporáneas, evolucionado hacia nuevas técnicas o sistemas constructivos The Trombe Wall is a passive solar gain construction system made by the following layers: a thick wall that can store heat, an air chamber, a glass and a system of openings to control the entrance and exit of air between the interior space, the chamber and the exterior. The purpose of the Trombe wall is to maintain an internal thermal control in winter and summer without using a mechanical system and having a significant energy saving. The Trombe wall has to face the sun: south in the Northern Hemisphere and north in the Southern Hemisphere.