Systems of Comfort

James McLennan

Supervisor: Andre Bonnice and Jean-Marie Spencer

Systems of comfort are controlled by the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating alongside the consultants and engineers that follow. The mechanical engineer has become the quartermaster of architecture.

This project suggests that architects must take control by redefining the system of comfort, challenging the way spaces have been created to service the mechanical. It is okay to be uncomfortable. When it is hot, do light work. Discomfort is not a bad thing if it’s designed, managed and desirable.

What if HVAC systems are removed and replaced with a thermal buffer; an additive and evasive structure that sits alongside the existing. The system is an assembly of high and low-tech conditions operational by the individual whilst connecting to the central ecology. The thermal buffer changes the way we value space, creating a condition that provides less yield, but also provides less impact.

The site is located on a small section of the Hoddle Grid that is a microcosm of the city encompassing Melbourne and its current conditions: a set of aging modernist buildings. It’s an idea for a new city typology that is not limited to the site.

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