Designing climate control systems to cool homes in Paris's attic apartments.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Attic apartments in Paris are cramped, face only one direction, and are poorly insulated. Their residents are the first to suffer from urban heat island effects. Proposing solutions that improve the quality of life in these apartments is a social and public health emergency.
The project will develop cooling systems tailored to the characteristics and constraints of these homes. To adapt the existing housing stock to heat waves as quickly as possible, these systems must be passive, inexpensive, and ready for immediate implementation.
This project is organized in three phases. First, a typological and climatic analysis of these homes under the rooftops of Paris. Second, designing one or more passive cooling systems for each housing type. These systems must be inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to install, and capable of being combined as needed. Third, measuring the effects of the systems under real-world conditions in order to share the results with city stakeholders and residents.
Attic apartments in Paris are cramped, face only one direction, and are poorly insulated. Their residents are the first to suffer from urban heat island effects. Proposing solutions that improve the quality of life in these apartments is a social and public health emergency.
The project will develop cooling systems tailored to the characteristics and constraints of these homes. To adapt the existing housing stock to heat waves as quickly as possible, these systems must be passive, inexpensive, and ready for immediate implementation.
This project is organized in three phases. First, a typological and climatic analysis of these homes under the rooftops of Paris. Second, designing one or more passive cooling systems for each housing type. These systems must be inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to install, and capable of being combined as needed. Third, measuring the effects of the systems under real-world conditions in order to share the results with city stakeholders and residents.
THE TEAM
JMBAD is an architecture firm based in Paris, founded in 2025 by Joseph Melka and Balthazar Auguste-Dormeuil. The firm works on projects ranging from buildings to furniture, exhibitions, and objects. The act of making plays a central role in the design process: drawing, crafting, testing, starting over—never doing the same thing twice.
JMBAD collaborates with cultural institutions, municipalities, and private clients. The firm has recently developed projects for the Concéntrico festival in Logroño (Spain), the BETA Architecture Biennial in Timișoara (Romania), and the Villa Noailles in Toulon (France).
JMBAD is an architecture firm based in Paris, founded in 2025 by Joseph Melka and Balthazar Auguste-Dormeuil. The firm works on projects ranging from buildings to furniture, exhibitions, and objects. The act of making plays a central role in the design process: drawing, crafting, testing, starting over—never doing the same thing twice.
JMBAD collaborates with cultural institutions, municipalities, and private clients. The firm has recently developed projects for the Concéntrico festival in Logroño (Spain), the BETA Architecture Biennial in Timișoara (Romania), and the Villa Noailles in Toulon (France).
