The “Cooling Column” prototype was conceived and developed in collaboration with Paris-based architect Victor Maréchal (MANERA) as part of the “Rice Global Summer Workshop 2025.” This project stems from MANERA's extensive research on the historical use of clay across various scales, from domestic applications to territorial integration.

Located in the courtyard of the Rice Global Paris Center, students from both the Architecture and Engineering departments at Rice University worked together to repurpose ceramic components traditionally used in water pipe construction into an innovative outdoor cooling column. This endeavor was part of the summer course titled Architectural Structures: Art, Form, Resiliency, and Sustainability, which emphasized both creative design and practical problem-solving.

The course aimed to familiarize students from both disciplines with foundational principles of architectural and structural design, promoting a holistic and collaborative approach rather than a transactional one. Thus, the “Cooling Column” emerged as a synthesis of the principles and philosophy of the design studio course “Building Ecologies,” led by Juan José Castellón. This course fosters new paradigms in collaborative and interdisciplinary education by integrating engineering with architecture.

Precedent Work

Thermal Analysis

Proposal

Video Summary