// HACKER NEWS — CYBERSECURITY
An airport cooled by natural ventilation
At Roland Garros airport on Réunion island, the ceiling design funnels a light tropical breeze into the terminal
At the arrivals terminal at Roland Garros airport on Réunion island, visitors are greeted by floor-to-ceiling windows framing the lush green mountains of the French Indian Ocean territory.
What they may have also expected was the icy chill of air conditioning; this island just off Madagascar sits in the tropical zone to the south of the equator. But instead, the terminal is cooled by a light tropical breeze, the result of natural ventilation built into its unique design.
The genesis of the project was in 2016, as part of a wider effort by airport management to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. Marc Delanoë, who was then leading the airport’s environmental and energy team, was determined from the beginning that the new arrivals terminal, which was being built completely from scratch, would not use air conditioning.
“I took on the responsibility to prove to my management that not using air conditioning was feasible,” said Delanoë, now the airport’s sustainable development director. “So, from the start, we never thought of this building having air conditioning being an option. It was a risky bet, but the further we went with our studies, the more we realised that we were right.”
The roof of the terminal, which opened in 2024, curves upwards from each of the rectangular building’s long sides in gentle waves. But, instead of meeting in the middle, the roofs end abruptly to form a “canyon”. The creation of an area of low pressure funnels wind into the building through vents on each side that are adjusted depending on the weather conditions.
Ceiling fans with a 7.5-metre (24.6ft) diameter help to circulate the air. In the 30C (86F) humid heat of Réunion’s wet summers, which last from around November to April, the resulting breeze reduces the perceived temperature by four to five degrees, to almost the same level usually set for air conditioning.
Less air is allowed to flow in during the island’s dry winters, when the coastal daytime temperature falls to 25C and below. During a cyclone, the entire building is closed up.
The building’s lead architect, AIA Life Designers, said it wanted to challenge the assumption that adjusting temperature was the only way for humans to cope with heat.
“It is precisely this pitfall – understanding summer comfort solely through the lens of indoor temperature – that we want to dismantle, a pitfall that traps us in the logic of air conditioning as the only answer to comfort requirements,” said Éric Bussolino, the firm’s engineering and environment director.