Under the title "Climate Change: How Cities Can Become Cooler," a recent Tagesschau feature highlights the Schubart Gymnasium in Aalen, whose classroom building was developed by Transsolar and the wider design team and Liebel/Architekten as a climate-responsive net-zero energy building (minute 0:57).
The building combines several passive strategies to reduce summer overheating. In addition to maximizing daylight, controlled ventilation openings draw air through an underground earth duct system, supplying cooled air to the classrooms in summer and pre-warmed air in winter. The building's thermal mass absorbs heat during the day and releases it through natural night-time ventilation, helping to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures without conventional mechanical cooling.
Alongside its focus on thermal comfort, the school was designed as a net-zero energy building. Most of the energy required for operation is generated locally from renewable sources, including a photovoltaic array installed on the roof.
We are pleased to see the project featured as an example of climate-adapted building design and approaches to addressing increasing urban heat.