‘We wanted to prove we didn’t need air conditioning’: the airport cooled by natural ventilation — SkimNews
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- Roland Garros airport on Réunion island opened a new arrivals terminal in 2024 cooled entirely by natural ventilation — no air conditioning — conceived in 2016 as part of a push to cut carbon emissions.
- AIA Life Designers, the lead architect, designed a curved "canyon" roof that creates low pressure to funnel wind through adjustable vents, paired with 7.5-metre-diameter ceiling fans that circulate the air.
- In Réunion's 30°C humid wet season, the system reduces perceived temperature by four to five degrees while keeping indoor air temperature equal to outdoor and generating a 1m/s airflow.
- The €75m terminal saves the airport €150,000 a year in energy bills — roughly 60% energy savings and an eightfold reduction in carbon emissions versus an air-conditioned equivalent, according to AIA.
- Marc Delanoë, the airport's sustainable development director, said the approach cannot transfer to polluted mainland European cities, where opening vents would concentrate pollutants indoors.
Why it matters: The terminal offers a proven tropical-climate template that saves 60% energy and slashes carbon emissions eightfold — but its own director flags a hard limit: in polluted continental cities, natural ventilation just draws dirty air inside. As Europe faces worsening heatwaves and rising AC demand, the model is portable in clean-air settings but not a universal fix.
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