Partial cooling in a naturally ventilated building in the tropics.

The objective of this project was to provide cool working conditions for a small number of Customs Department staff in a turn-of-the-century heritage building in Town ville at 19° S latitude. A ducted air conditioning system was initially proposed but rejected as it would have been incongruent with the Victorian elegance of the space, as well as its high cost. As the working area in the three storey high space was surrounded by ornate timber counter and partitions, a scheme was developed using fan coil direct expansion units. These were located behind the counter to the public space.