At this point in the late summer, at the forefront of most people’s minds in North Texas is the excruciating heat.  It’s the hottest time of the year and so we are preoccupied with getting away from it or at least respond to it in both straight-forwardly natural and technically innovative ways. Our esteemed group of guest editors were charged with reflecting on the various ways in which heat causes each of us to respond, adapt and create new ways of being and experiencing the environment.

For many of us, merely thinking of the heat causes us to look for ways to get wet.  It’s our most straight-forward response, as it was for Ryan Jensen, AIA when thinking about the hot summers during his youth and wondering which of his neighbors had a pool.  He looks at all the ways we can submerge ourselves in cool water in the Dallas area as well as equalizing access to this precious resource.

From a more standard architectural perspective, David Stewart, LEED AP, BD+C, looks at the variety of ways that cultures abroad mitigate the heat through design rather than ignoring traditional wisdom and crank up the air conditioning.  Elements like arcades, loggias, overhangs and canopy systems can bring new life to the bleak and barren exterior spaces that all too often characterize the built environment of Texas cities.   With an eye towards sustainable technologies of the future, Ellen Mitchell, AIA goes into detail by drawing from her own experience in incorporating a heat pump for her home.  Her feature includes plenty of resources about these systems and offers wise advice to anyone ready to embark on their heat pump journey.

Heat is the result of energy being released and signifies the transformation of raw materials or ingredients into something more refined and useful.  The crucible is where this change happens and serves as a metaphor for how this intense energy is necessary for a real, permanent change to occur. Jon Rollins, AIA, explores this idea of the crucible in the way we educate all students. Should it resemble the way designers are trained by a series of trials by fire that take place in the studio?  Instead of rote memorization, it might benefit young people more to be comfortable with experimentation, to learn as much from failure than from successes. The trauma of the immigrant experience is also a form of crucible, as Aarohi Palankar, AIA explains.  She introduces us to two extraordinary women who channeled their own experience as newcomers to the Dallas area to forge nonprofits that empower the marginalized, tell their stories, and launch the trajectories for future community leaders.

We invite you to get out of the heat, find someplace cool and comfortable, and enjoy these features to reflect further on the most fundamental fact of nature.

Julien Meyrat, AIA

Columns Magazine, Editor-In-Chief