I am pleased to share my contribution to the upcoming exhibition Air Conditioned – Architecture between Comfort and Climate Change, opening at the Architekturmuseum der TUM in the Pinakothek der Moderne.
The exhibition investigates how the pursuit of interior comfort has shaped architectural practice, building technologies, and cultural expectations, while also contributing to growing environmental pressures. In a warming world, the question of comfort can no longer be addressed only as a technical issue: it also concerns bodies, habits, cultural assumptions, social inequalities, and the ecological consequences of indoor climate control.
Within the exhibition, I am involved as part of the concept and research team, together with Cara Hähl-Pfeifer, Bilge Kobas, and Sebastian Clark Koth. I am also the editor of the accompanying publication, alongside Cara Hähl-Pfeifer, Christian Hepf, and Andres Lepik.
The catalogue, published by Park Books, will explore key themes of the exhibition in depth through essays and images, expanding on the histories, contradictions, and possible futures of air conditioning, thermal comfort, and climate-responsive architecture.
Air Conditioned – Architecture between Comfort and Climate Change
Opening: November 18, 2026, 7 pm
Duration: November 19, 2026 – May 23, 2027
Architekturmuseum der TUM, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
A/C City – Remote control. ⓒ Wolfgang Lehrner, 2024.
“Plenty of electricity can make your home of the future a house of marvels!” America´s Independent Electric Light and Power Companies, advertisment, LIFE, September 10, 1956.
Air conditioning units mounted on facades in Singapore´s Chinatown. Dietmar Rabich, 2019. Creative Commons License.
A block of ice serves as a temporary place to cool off during a summer heatwave in Tokyo, Japan. ⓒ Christian Hepf, 2024.