Industrial designer and illustrator Yael Issacharov has designed an air conditioning system whose terracotta tile structure is inspired by desert environments. Titled ‘Nave,’ the system takes references from the traditional Palestinian technique of hanging terracotta water containers from ceilings to provide drinking water and space cooling.

The Nave system offers three variations: wall tiles, partitions, and a totem vertical cooling body. Each element is constructed of hollowed ceramic bodies made from local terracotta casted from plastic molds, while flexible joints are made from injection-molded recycled rubber.

The terracotta tile system is combined with water flow to cool indoor spaces. The electricity-free method sees water flow through the internal hollow structure of the terracotta walls, absorbing heat from the surrounding air to cool the room. In everyday use, the system uses an automatic irrigation system to keep the surrounding space at a constant temperature, with users given the option to pause, shut down, or reprogram the temperature and humidity settings.

In designing the form of the terracotta system, Issacharov developed two patterns combining aesthetic with functionality. The first ‘cooling ribs’ pattern takes inspiration from the patterns often seen in conventional heating and cooling products, while a ‘weaved’ pattern is inspired by traditional weaved partitions that facilitate internal airflow in desert environments.

“The major technical/research challenge in the development of Nave was transforming an uncontrollable cooling principle (a combination of water and terracotta, both natural materials) to a controlled cooling system,” Issacharov explained. “This was crucial. The system has to be extremely comfortable in order to be appealing as a cooling solution, and has to be very accurate in the amounts of water coming in the system, to not be wasteful and not cause damage.”

After beginning work on Nave in October 2019, Issacharov received a Bronze A’ Design Award in 2022 for the project.