Cool house design: No air conditioning needed in hot Israeli summers

Kibbutz Ginosar is located on the north western side of the Kinneret, a few kilometers away from Tiberias. It is known that this is one of the hottest areas in and this week, even before the month of March ended, temperatures of over 33 degrees were already measured there. So how come in the new house of the Bnei Israel family, designed by the architect Eyal Yossinger, the air conditioners were not turned on at all in this heat?

The family of four lived in the old shack until a few years ago. Her house, in its pastoral place, overlooks the Harbel cliff and got the angle of the roof from the shape of the mountain.

The family wanted to rebuild their house and turned to the office of Eyal Yossinger Architects, when the interior design was entrusted to Peleg Birvana. The house was designed to suit the family and its needs, explains Yossinger: "The directions of the house and its wings were carefully planned in accordance with the principles of climate planning so that the house will be pleasant and comfortable all year round. Prevention of overheating, passive cooling through fresh air flow and heating in winter by sunlight. The house was built of hemp block, windows insulated and an insulated roof. In the lot we kept old fruit trees grown by the family."

The house of the Bnei Israel family contains four second rooms, a bathroom, a family and study area in the gallery and a TV corner. The entrance hall is a kind of inner courtyard, which allows windows to be opened towards a soft return light without heat. A detailed ventilation scheme was designed for the house, which in addition to cooling in the summer also cleans The place is infested with poisons, molds and viruses.

The built area of the house is 187 square meters, the size of the balconies is 50 square meters and the size of the yard is 237 square meters. The house has two shades, one for winter and one for summer, which in addition to external roofing also serve as part of the house's climate system.

According to the architect Eyal Yossinger, due to the smart construction of the house, the conservative estimates indicate a total of about 40% in electricity cost savings, but in practice it is even expected to be greater.