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KlimaKover by Henning Larsen Is a Public Cooling Shelter

ByMyProperty Life

Air conditioning accounts for 9% of electricity used on earth and 3.2% of all greenhouse gasses. Even if some countries like Germany shuns its use, air conditioning releases close to one billion tons of CO2 each year.

As summers get longer and hotter; heatwaves become more commonplace; and tropical climates expand further north and south, the demand for climate control is set to grow significantly. This catch-22 dilemma seems insurmountable but new, more sustainable solutions are being developed as direly needed alternatives.

People gather outdoors near a brick building, viewing an exhibit titled

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Take KlimaKover, a new public shelter concept dreamt up by Danish-American architecture firm Henning Larsen that uses 10 times less power than conventional systems and doesn’t come with a hefty financial burden.

A small open-air wooden pavilion with white panels and chairs stands in a park, with several people gathered around and a cyclist passing by in the background.

Developed with the University of Pennsylvania and AIL Research, the modular structure harnessed radiant cooling technology and was engineered to be scalable. Deployed in any number of public spaces – especially those located in dense urban cores where extreme heat tends to concentrate – KilmaKover is also a more democratic solution available to those who might not otherwise be able to afford a personal device.

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A group of people gather outdoors around a modern wooden pavilion with large glass panels and white rectangular features on a grassy area near trees and buildings.

A wooden pavilion structure with large white fabric panels extends outward, surrounded by green trees and set against a cloudy sky.

Close-up view of a wooden frame structure with white fabric panels and metal cables, set outdoors among green trees.

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Produced for just US $75, each easily fitted-out panel dispenses radiant cooling and heating, when necessary. The 4 by 4-foot elements are held in place by frames made out of silky cedar wood upcycled from waste streams. The system runs on solar power.

Four people stand and converse near a wooden and glass outdoor structure, with trees and a parked vehicle visible in the background.

Two children sit closely together on a concrete bench under a wooden structure, with a diagram and brick building visible in the background.

For KlimaKover, its developers drew from the centuries-old methods of combining air and water in various forms of controlled configuration. In this case, chilled water is channeled through microtubes, pulling heat off of the body of a person in immediate proximity. There’s no residual condensation and the system can operate in especially humid weather. Fabric shading also reduces heat exposure while maintaining open-air conditions, ensuring natural breezes can flow evenly to enhance the cooling effect.

Close-up view of a wooden structure with metal cables and white canopy panels, set outdoors near leafy trees.

A wooden-framed outdoor structure with transparent and reflective metal panels, set on concrete bases, stands on grass near a paved area.

Two women stand inside a wooden and translucent panel structure, one observing while the other gestures and explains.

“Research from our partners at the University of Pennsylvania shows that the panels start to cool your body within 5-7 minutes, when the effect becomes apparent, and by 20 minutes the cooling sensation is pronounced,” says Kritika Kharbanda, Head of Sustainability, Henning Larsen.

A person wearing a plaid shirt points at a wire mesh and wooden frame structure with translucent panels.

View looking up through a structure made of wood beams, translucent fabric panels, and reflective surfaces, with partial tree branches visible above.

View looking up at a wooden pergola structure with white fabric panels stretched across the top, supported by metal cables.

A first prototype was installed on Governor’s Island and was operational through November. “[This] pavilion is just a first step,” says Jakob Stromann-Andersen, Henning Larsen’s Director of Innovation and Sustainability. “We can imagine KlimaKover shading schoolyards, bus stops, street vendors, or construction sites, showing how low-energy cooling can scale across cities.”

A person uses a thermal camera to capture the heat signature of a woman standing with arms outstretched inside a wooden and plastic structure outdoors.

Close-up of a wooden outdoor structure with white fabric panels, set against trees and a cloudy sky.

A wooden architectural model featuring a grid of interconnected frames on top and reflective panels on vertical supports, displayed on a light wooden base.

Diagram of a modular building system showing solar panels, reflective sails, cooling water loop, wood structure, concrete foundation, and various size configurations with labeled components.

Technical architectural section drawing of a building facade showing structural elements, mechanical systems, labels, and silhouettes of people walking.

For more information on KlimaKover by Henning Larsen, please visit henninglarsen.com.

Photography by Erick Reifer Marchak, Chris Perez, and Kabir Sahni.

Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer specializing in collectible and sustainable design. With a particular focus on topics that exemplify the best in craft-led experimentation, he’s committed to supporting talents that push the envelope in various disciplines.

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