August 29, 2025

On New York’s Governors Island, Unveiling a New Paradigm for Cooling

By Matt Shaw

Group of people standing outdoors next to wood pavilion

The KlimaKover team includes architects and researchers from Penn, Henning Larsen, AIL Research, SKANSKA, and others. “This pavilion demonstrates a scalable cooling shelter,” says Penn's Dorit Aviv, “which can educate people—especially policymakers—about the future of urban cooling.” Pictured, left to right: Hanzhong Luo, Wayne Chang, Zhan Shi, and Dorit Aviv (Penn), Kritika Kharbanda (Henning Larsen), Eric Teitelbaum (AIL Research), Bethany Rack and Matt Krenek (SKANSKA).

View Slideshow

A standing woman is visible behind wood-framed panel outdoors

View of sky with shade from fabric panels on roof of wooden pavilion

Wood pavilion with fabric panels next to brick building

Air conditioning (A/C) is responsible for around 9 percent of all energy usage globally, and emits about 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide yearly, according to the International Energy Agency. What might a “cooler” alternative look like—one that keeps us comfortable in an eco-friendlier way?

A team of designers, engineers, and researchers from Penn have been working in collaboration with Henning Larsen to adopt a radiant cooling system (membrane-assisted radiant cooling technology) to an architectural-scale application that uses far less energy than traditional A/C. Consisting of solar-powered panels assembled on site, the system is designed to be modular and scalable for sites ranging from emergency shelters and public spaces, to restaurants, athletic venues and farms.

As global temperatures rise, and cities look to mitigate urban heat islands, the promise of radiant cooling as an alternative to A/C has taken on new urgency. Higher outdoor temperatures can prevent people from gathering outside their homes in third spaces, or “urban living rooms.”

That’s where the KilmaKover Pavilion comes in. The research behind this project was conducted by the Thermal Architecture Lab, led by Dorit Aviv, assistant professor of architecture at the Weitzman School of Design, who has teamed up with Henning Larsen, the international design studio, and with Eric Teitelbaum at AIL Research. The project was awarded a grant from the Ramboll Foundation thanks to a research collaboration established by Kritika Kharbanda, head of sustainability at Henning Larsen, and Bill Braham, the Andrew Gordon Professor of Architecture at Weitzman and director of the Center for Environmental Building Design. KlimaKover, a publicly-accessible prototype of the system was installed on New York’s Governors Island, a popular recreation spot just south of Lower Manhattan in New York Harbor, last week.

View of person being cooled by panel seen through infrared camera — The KlimaKover panels provide cooling for people standing in proximity to them. The temperature contrast between the cold panels and the warm skin can be seen using infrared thermography. (Photo Hanzhong Luo)

While radiant cooling is not as well-known as radiant heating, it relies on a similar concept. Insulated panels hold an array of small tubes that circulate chilled water. The goal is to create zones where people feel cool as the panels draw heat away from their bodies. Because it doesn’t require dehumidification, it doesn’t cause condensation and uses 70 percent less energy than traditional A/C. The KlimaKover pavilion uses no outside water and can be fully solar-powered, making it even more earth-friendly.

The architecture of the pavilion echoes the sustainable ambitions of the cooling technology. The pavilion’s open-air design allows for natural ventilation, which in tandem with shade, lowers outdoor heat stress significantly. By eliminating the need for enclosure, construction and operational building costs are dramatically reduced. Henning Larsen specified Cambium Smart Wood—a low embodied carbon lumber made from upcycled offcuts affected by disease, decay, disaster, and development. The team chose wood for the pavilion because it could be easily assembled and disassembled. Designed using a repeatable 4’x4’ module, the wood structure can be scaled to fit a variety of uses.

Multiple partners teamed up with Henning Larsen and Penn to see the project materialized, including Jason Glenn of Fast+Epp, who led the structural design; SKANSKA USA, who have managed the entire construction process; SITU Studio, who have prefabricated the wooden structure and built it on site.

Teitelbaum and Aviv have been working on the development of the radiant cooling technology since 2018 at Princeton’s CHAOS Lab, led by Associate Professor Forrest Meggers, in collaboration with an international team of researchers from the US, Canada, and Singapore. The novelty of the system lies in its use of an infrared transparent membrane that protects the cold panels from condensation, allowing for open-air outdoor cooling in humid environments. Teitelbaum is currently launching a company, Clearly Cool, which will bring several versions to market. The current design of the membrane-assisted radiant cooling technology, as featured in KlimaKover uses translucent panels, which provide cooling and natural light at the same time. “We want to demonstrate to people that you don’t need A/C to be comfortable,” Teitelbaum says. “I'm excited to see how visitors are engaged with and perceive the pavilion.”

Two women inside pavilion gesture towards reflective and translucent panels — Reflective panels are interspersed with translucent panels to protect people from the hot environment and mirror back the cooling effect of the active radiant panels. (Photo Chris Perez)

KlimaKover is just one of the projects that have social and environmental impact supported by the Governors Island Trust. “This pavilion demonstrates a scalable cooling shelter,” Aviv says, “which can educate people—especially policymakers—about the future of urban cooling.”

Wayne Chang (MSD-EBD’25), who earned his Master of Science in Environmental Building Design last spring, worked with Aviv as a graduate research assistant on design studies for the pavilion. Using a custom simulation to calculate the mean radiant temperature (MRT) and solar radiation, they developed design options that strategically interspersed the extended shading canopy and radiant cooling panels with reflective surfaces to protect people from the heat and create a variety of thermal experiences within the shelter.

Chang says the experience was transformative. “Throughout my time as a student, I often questioned whether my design work was truly effective,” Chang says. “It makes me gain a lot of confidence and excitement to see the design translated into real-world applications that benefit both people and the environment.”

Kharbanda echoed Chang’s sentiments. “Projects trying to change the separation of academia and industry are increasingly rare,” she says. “It is great that so many different organizations have come together for this.”

The KlimaKover Pavilion is open to public on Governors Island through October 2025. The site is a 10-minute walk from the ferry terminal, heading northwest.

Project Credits

Funding: Ramboll Foundation
Research and Development: University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design.
Design Architect and Sustainability Consultant: Henning Larsen
Radiant Cooling System Development: AIL Research
Structural Design: Fast+Epp
Construction: SKANSKA, SITU
Site Partner: Trust for Governors Island
Wood Manufacturer: Cambium
Shade Manufacturer: Mecho, Springs Window Fashions
Solar Panels: Ontility
Permitting: KM Associates of New York, Inc.
Special Inspection: Tectonic Engineering

Get the latest Weitzman news in your Inbox

On New York’s Governors Island, Unveiling a New Paradigm for Cooling

More News