Natural ventilation in the famu school of architecture building: intent meets reality

摘要

The Florida A&M University School of Architecture building has been celebrated in the architectural press as an exemplar of the fruits of energy-efficiency in design. Reports suggest that a key element of the design intent that led to the building's trademark form was a concern for natural ventilation. The building is quite distinctive and stands out in a positive way among the more conventional buildings on the Florida A&M campus. In practice, however, the natural ventilation system is not now used and was never really "successful" in the eyes of the building's users.