Residencia Buenos Aires /2022

My Master’s in Architecture thesis was focused on passive cooling systems. The translated title of the thesis is: “Buenos Aires: Passive cooling methods in contemporary tropical domestic architecture and their possible applications in Puerto Rico” (Buenos Aires for its literal translation pleasant winds, not the city). For this thesis, I reviewed some of the literature on different passive cooling methods and analyzed built examples of contemporary tropical residential architecture, including the use of wind tunnel simulations. The project that resulted from this study was the Residencia Buenos Aires, a student residency for the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. The project used most of the passive cooling methods studied (air wells, brise-soleil, green roofs, tall windows, etc.). This helps to reduce the project's dependency on mechanical cooling systems, which then reduces its impact on the environment. Passive cooling methods also allow the project to better take advantage of the breezy tropical climate, all the while helping to ease the university's lack of student housing.