99% Invisible Thermal Delight
Jan 17, 2018
Gail Brager, an Architecture professor at UC Berkeley and expert in thermal comfort, discusses the revolutionary impact of air conditioning since its inception in 1902. The conversation highlights how air conditioning transformed movie theaters, boosting summer attendance and the blockbuster phenomenon. Brager explores its evolution from luxury to necessity in American homes, shaping architecture and lifestyle. She also advocates for modernizing thermal comfort by merging traditional cooling techniques with contemporary designs, emphasizing the importance of personalized temperature solutions.
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Birth of Air Conditioning
- Willis Carrier invented air conditioning while solving a humidity problem for a printing company.
- The side effect of removing moisture from the air also cooled it, making the room more pleasant.
AC Created Summer Blockbusters
- Air conditioning transformed movie theaters into attractive summer destinations.
- This change gave birth to the modern summer blockbuster tradition.
AC Changed US Demographics and Politics
- Air conditioning enabled population growth in harsh climates like the Sun Belt.
- This migration helped create a new political coalition important to Reagan's 1980 election.
