To bridge academic exploration with real-world applications, the project culminates in the construction of a full-scale environmental test-house in Michoacán, Mexico, currently underway. This structure combines passive building technologies with contemporary methods that offer alternatives to traditional air conditioning. Post-construction, the test-house will serve as a living laboratory, utilizing thermal instrumentation, interviews, and observational studies to measure and analyze conditions such as temperature, humidity, and user experiences.
At the heart of the test-house lies a centralized "thermal mass" element that merges the utility core and central hearth into a cruciform design. This thermal mass subdivides the cubic volume into four quadrants, each capable of hosting unique thermal and environmental conditions. Additional active heating and cooling strategies are deployed throughout the house to explore hybrid approaches to interior comfort.
The project challenges traditional methodologies in building science, which often rely on "steady state" analysis to study isolated building components under fixed conditions. By constructing and operating a full-scale structure in a dynamic external environment, the test-house enables the study of time-dependent factors, including diurnal and annual cycles, as well as the synthesis of hybrid passive conditioning methods. The project highlights the complexities of hybridity, emphasizing the need for built environments that account for dynamic, heterogeneous interior conditions, and allowing for iterative modifications through demolition and addition over time.