Passive geothermal cooling systems? Que? What? In Tulum Mexico on the beach of Tulum? Your kidding me. No, actually we are not. And get this, the original villa was built over 40 years ago with this cooling system in the original architecture. Super cool, you betcha. No pun indented.
Sustainable development was the only option 40 years ago in Tulum
Now this is cool, not just temperature cool, but sustainably cool. SO over 40 years ago when the original owner of Casa de las Olas build the villa, a cooling system was built into the villa to ensure that people staying in the villa would stay cool during the summer months. The owner who was obviously versed in simple designs for beach houses knew what he was doing.
Passive geothermal cooling systems work off of cool air systems, hence passive added to the term. Throughout the building, there are PVC pipes going from the front of the villa that take in cool air from the ocean. This air then goes through the pipes, which are all embedded in the concrete foundation and walls and lead up to the roof where the air then filters out the top. This action of filtering cool air through the concrete ensures that the concrete does not heat up, ensuring a cooler environment where people are sleeping, sitting and reading.
Passive Geothermal cooling systems are just the beginning of sustainable building at this Tulum beach villa
Add palm trees for shade, lots of growth around the palm trees and the villa and you have a cool place to hang out when you are tired (can this be) of the beach, the sand and the sun. Air conditioning is not required due to the foresight of the builder. Understanding the elements of sustainable arquitecural practices back then, before people were concerned about environmentally building practices on a large scale, the owner wanted to make sure that his beach villa, holiday home, would be cool in the summer months.
The grey water systems feed the plants, the on site well brings in fresh water, the curvatures of the roof promote more air flow and solar panels generate all the electricity that anyone needs. Batta Boom, batta bang, sustainability lives as it should on a beach front villa in the Mayan Riviera.
It is impressive. Passive geothermal cooling as you will find out or have already found out, works on the beach in Tulum. While everyone else is running to the beach in the middle of a summer night, sleeping under the stars due to air flow being trapped, guests at Casa de las Olas are sleeping soundly, enjoying a cool summer evening, listening to the waves and wind. Life as it should be.
Looking for a sustainable hotel or villa for your next vacation? Casa de las Olas is a vacation villa and holiday home that takes sustainability seriously. Seriously enough to educate all of their staff in sustainability practices, educate their guests before they arrive the benefits of eco-suntan lotion, natural mosquito spray and the art of sustainable vacations. Check it out and see if this private villa on the beaches of Tulum in the Mayan Riviera is a vacation that works for you!
