| In Chinese there is a term, Feng kou 风口, which means wind opening. It refers to spots where there is a combination of dense shade, sunny open spaces and a narrow opening between them. The pressure of the hot and cool gases creates a breeze that is very welcome on a summer day. The architect of Yu Yuan understood the principle. In corridors like these, the dense shade cools the air relative to the sunny lane. The warm air coming in presses down on the cool air in the corridor and moves it out. As the warm air rises it is pushed out of the pretty latticed vents let into the eaves and a nice breeze results. The tall ceilings give plenty of space for the hot air to rise above the heads of those below. The side rooms will benefit as the cool air is pressed down and out by the hot air. |
