funnel
year : 2024
location : new england
Köppen climate classification : Dfa
Funnel is a dynamic air chamber. Converting the air movement scheme into the structural design, whole house transforms into a habitable duct, where air is circulated through a buoyancy-driven ventilation method, reducing or eliminating the need for a conventional mechanical air system. The house section juxtaposes two funnel shapes: an inner funnel with a wider base for vertical air movement and an outer funnel with a wider top where air is cooled at its perimeter. This configuration creates a donut-shaped plan with increasing floor depth at higher levels. This layout is advantageous for the site, where solar insolation and wind speed increase simultaneously with elevation, as obstructions to incoming environmental resources decrese.
During the summer, passive cooling through natural ventilation provides comfort to occupants. The increased total vertical height achieved by the high roof stack with a wide cross-section area maximizes the buoyancy-driven stack effect. In milder heating seasons, the radiant floor in the lower level heats the air, causing it to rise. The heated air ascends through the inner funnel, where notches guide the heated air into rooms at each level via operable panels located near the ceiling. The air that enters each room subsequently cools along the outer funnel and returns to the inner funnel through operable panels near the floor. Cooled air descends to the lower level, and repeats the heating cycle. In extreme cold conditions, all internal operable panels, including screens within the inner funnel, is closed to prevent drafts and air stratification.
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