Peru Architecture has a Hole

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Peru Architecture has a Hole
I woke this morning with the sun shining into my room here in the Pretty House Hostel here in Lima, Peru. I looked out the window and thought to myself,
“that is a lot of sun for just looking at the wall.”

A rectangular shaft runs from maybe the fifth floor to the ground floor and allows air and sunlight to enter my room. What a good idea, I have seen this before, however today it hit me, this is nice.

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Lima, Peru
Maria Jesus Area of Lima
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Travel Journal --- Request a Travel Tips
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I live in the tall Hotel; truly a place my mother would love if she spoke Spanish it is called the Pretty House Hostel.

I went up on the flat roof to look down the rectangular shaft, there are two of them. One is next to my bed and another is in the restroom. It actually provides ventilation and sunlight in my room.

I am looking down this rectangular shaft, one of the windows down there is to my room. I think on the bottom there is a door that enters into this small area.

What is this architectural feature called?

Architecture

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Reader Submitted Comments | Deleted Comments (0)

ash said on Monday January 12th, 2009 12:34:00 AM

There's been a fashion in recent years for 'sun tunnels' (also called sun pipe, solartube, sky tube, sky tunnel) in Britain. It's a similar concept, but smaller. In this case, a tube with a shiney inner surface runs from the roof of the house to the ceiling of the room or closet, and has a clear cover in the roof to allow light to enter and bounce down into the room below. Here is an example. These allow natural light to enter, and often concentrate it by use of mirrors and reflectors (Britain is not that sunny!). They do not, as far as I know, allow ventilation like this shaft does.

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Monday January 12th, 2009 06:55:00 AM

Sun Tunnels, thanks Ash, this is good name, and I appreciate the link. Many Latino type buildings have a sun tunnel, I normally just thought of them as wire management tunnels that were needed because the building are make of concrete. The sun coming in the window really made me think of the sun, I had the window open for ventilation. Concrete rooms need good ventilation or their is moisture.

goingeverywhereslow said on Monday January 12th, 2009 12:33:00 PM

Andy,Some refer to it as a light chase or ventilation chase.Having a bird-screen at the top might be an improvement.Eric

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Monday January 12th, 2009 12:35:00 PM

Yes birds and mosquitoes screens would be an improvement.

Anonymous said on Monday January 12th, 2009 01:33:00 PM

It is called an "air-way/tunnel/conduit" in Greece, they are quite common. They can make quite a difference in the summer. Architects, at least the smart ones, take the climate into account when designing a building.

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Monday January 12th, 2009 01:39:00 PM

Air Conditioning is the answer to bad architects.AC is a solution to a list of Hotel Problems: 1. Keeping the bugs and mosquitoes out of the room, because you do not have to open windows.2. Damp rooms3. Fans that are loud, the new type of AC is quiet.4. Having to rent a room on the bottom of a building to be cool.5. You do not need a mosquito net.6. Privacy because you close the windows and doors.7. Quiet because the windows are closed.From my Blog post in Burkina Faso. http://www.hobotraveler.com/2007/09/burkina-faso-hotel-air-conditioning.html