Air Conditioning: a ‘Means’ or an ‘End’?

Objective:

To question air conditioning as the default mode and necessary for achieving thermal comfort. 

Outcome:

Students will develop perspectives around space design, being more than fitting air conditioners to achieve thermal comfort and that it is just another means, which is detrimental to the environment as well. Students will realize the importance of other cooling  methods which can be incorporated while designing.  

Requirements:

None

Prerequisites:

None

Procedure:

Step 1: Initiate the discussion in the class with the following question to students:

1. Is Air conditioning a ‘means’ or an ‘end’? 
2. If it’s only a ‘means’, then what is the ‘end’ goal?
3. How thermal comfort can be achieved differently without Air conditioners? What are the Alternative methods?

Step 2: Depending on the responses, students can organize themselves around two groups of ‘means’ and ‘end’. 

Step 3: Students present and share their pros and cons in the discussion

References:

To read more on alternatives to air conditioning, refer Fairconditioning’s Sustainable Cooling Technologies’ presentation:

http://www.fairconditioning.org/resources/#126-module-ppts-1478947081