A residential community in China's Shanxi province has been in the news recently for a cooling system that sprays mist from its rooftops to lower the surrounding surface temperatures. Here's a video in case you missed it.

As I understand it, this evaporative cooling technique can lower nearby surface temperatures by 5°C to 8°C within minutes, and it uses significantly less electricity than air conditioning.

This, by the way, is the same scientific principle behind how sweat cools human skin. We sweat, the sweat then evaporates, and in the process it helps to lower our body temperature.

But the obvious question here is: Doesn't this waste a bunch of water?

Generally, these systems tend to rely on (1) very fine mists of water (so as little water as is necessary) and (2) collected rainwater and/or recycled greywater. The general idea is to just lower surface temperatures so that less air conditioning is needed.

Next, it becomes a question of electricity saved vs. water consumed. A study done on a 5-storey apartment building in Osaka found that outdoor misting reduced the building's cooling loads by an average of 36%, and from a financial standpoint, the value of the electricity saved was greater than the cost of the water consumed.

Importantly, it also helped reduce the overall urban heat island effect in the area. The amount of waste heat trapped in the nearby city streets decreased by over 60%.

Hotter streets are a byproduct of air conditioning because the cooling process effectively sucks heat out of interior spaces and transfers it outside. Misting counteracts that and also reduces peak AC loads.

So, as wild as these sweating towers may appear online, there is some logic behind them.

Cover photo via this Twitter post

In recent years, a new housing typology has emerged in London that involves the practice of building penthouses on top of existing buildings. Here's a post I wrote back in 2021. This is not the simplest way to build new housing, but there are clear benefits. New housing does get created (however incremental it may be), existing buildings are preserved (which is positive from a sustainability perspective), and housing complexes with maintenance and repair needs have a new way to raise money.

Here's a penthouse example completed in 2023 that was designed by David Kohn Architects for Baylight Properties.

What I think I glean from the plans is that the building's existing elevator and exit stair were extended up into the new penthouse space, and a new internal stair was added within the penthouse. This would have required a great deal of coordination to minimize disruption to the existing building. Presumably, they built the new shaft extension, got everything ready, and then shut down the elevator for the shortest possible period of time to switch everything over. The existing building is only 4 floors, so it's not the end of the world.

As an aside, Baylight Properties has other rooftop projects underway, including the Sky Houses at Ransome's Dock. I also very much appreciate the ethos of the firm. On their website, they clearly state: "Our overwhelming interest has been to combine the harsh realities of business with all the benefits good architecture bring." It sounds a lot like how we think about our approach at Globizen. Maybe it's time we also start looking at some rooftops.

Project photograph by Will Pryce via David Kohn Architects

Plans from David Kohn Architects

Happy Canada Day! As a reminder, today marks the anniversary of Canadian Confederation, specifically the union of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick on July 1, 1867.

Summer is reaching its zenith with a high of 32 degrees expected here in Toronto today. I know that everyone thinks their city is the best when it's hot and sunny outside, but I do think there's something magical about Toronto in the summer. One thing I always look forward to is the feeling of riding a bicycle around the city on a hot and humid night.

On top of this summer euphoria, it was just announced that Kawhi Leonard will be returning to the Toronto Raptors, presumably because he wants to win another championship and he misses Toronto. So, I'm fairly certain that real estate in the city just appreciated 5% over the last 24 hours.

If you're looking for something city-building-related to dig into, here's an interesting report from CBRE on global data centre trends. It specifically looks at the 4 largest markets in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. (It's a reminder that Canada needs to step up!)

Latin America led year-over-year global growth (as of Q1 2026) with a 41.3% jump in inventory (primarily Mexico). Meanwhile, the world's largest data centre market (Northern Virginia) saw its vacancy rate drop to an all-time low of 0.3%.

Overall, power availability and grid infrastructure continue to constrain new supply, and that is expected to persist beyond 2030. The tech industry is not used to being fettered by physical constraints, but we're seeing that today with the practical end of "zero marginal cost."

Enjoy the day, everyone.

Cover photo by Mayur Arvind on Unsplash

Inventory chart from CBRE