SUSTAINABLE Endless Summer Breeze The University of California, Santa Barbara’s Henley Hall Institute for Energy Efficiency takes a user-centered approach to natural ventilation. COURTESY BRUCE DAMONTE
By Russell Fortmeyer
Climate is often the first box you need to tick when naturally ventilating a building— either the hours of occupancy align with good weather conditions or they don’t. “If you can’t make natural ventilation work in central Santa Barbara County, where can you?” asks Jordan Sager, the University of California, Santa Barbara’s campus energy manager. Situated directly on the Pacific Ocean, the university has climate on its side. Cool, breezy summers, manageable humidity, and mild winters help explain why the campus boasts several academic and residential buildings with passive ventilation for cooling, often coupled with radiant heating systems. This was the approach UCSB tasked KieranTimberlake with for Henley Hall, a new 49,900-square-foot academic laboratory building opened in August 2020 to house the school’s Institute for Energy Efficiency. A combination research and teaching lab, with supporting lecture spaces and offices, the LEED Platinum structure sits on the north edge of campus, along with a series of other science and engineering facilities. 44
METROPOLIS