海角视频

Zunya resort

Costa Rica

海角视频 brought scientific precision to the heart of a nature-led vision, enabling the Zunya resort to deliver luxury comfort without compromising its low-carbon ideals.

On Costa Rica鈥檚 lush Pacific coast, ecotourism project Zunya set out to create a resort that would immerse guests in nature with open, naturally ventilated bungalows and small villages of rooms, with minimal mechanical intervention, flexible enclosures for night-time insect protection and an architecture that blends into the forest canopy.

海角视频 was appointed to prove that this experience could be delivered comfortably for discerning international guests through physics鈥憀ed passive analysis rather than energy鈥慼ungry air conditioning.

Working as an integrated team with the client and architect from early design, we combined bioclimatic thinking with advanced simulation to test how the buildings would perform within the microclimate of a tropical coastal jungle. Two complementary study streams focused on the individual bungalows and on the clustered 鈥渧illages鈥�, using dynamic thermal modelling and computational fluid dynamics to identify peak conditions and computational fluid dynamics to evaluate airflow, shading and evaporative effects in and around the spaces.

The outcome is a low-tech architectural solution with a high-tech analysis and effective passive cooling solution. Architecture relies on shade, openness and contact with nature. Behind it sits rigorous evidence that guides orientation, openings, air movement and judicious use of evaporative cooling, giving the client confidence that comfort targets can be met without resorting to conventional air conditioning.

Challenge

Designing for comfort in a rainforest climate is a delicate balance. The site experiences high temperatures and sustained humidity, with daily cycles that can be counterintuitive. While evenings bring more moisture in the air, midday can present a useful dip in relative humidity. Any strategy had to work with these natural rhythms rather than fight them, and it had to do so with predominantly passive means.

The client鈥檚 ambition was for open pavilions that feel part of the landscape. That meant prioritising natural ventilation, capitalising on prevailing winds and using the deep shade of mature trees and generous overhangs to temper solar gains. At the same time, the scheme needed flexible layers at night to manage insects and security without sealing the spaces and trapping heat.

Humidity presents a particular design test. Standard adaptive thermal comfort methods used for semi鈥憃utdoor spaces rely on outdoor temperature and do not explicitly account for relative humidity, yet guest perception in a luxury setting is sensitive to the interaction of humidity and air speed. We therefore complemented adaptive comfort assessment with checks against predicted guest experiences at higher humidity, ensuring that air movement strategies would offset any sticky conditions at peak times.

A further challenge was to demonstrate that evaporative cooling could still offer meaningful benefit in a tropical context. The prevailing assumption is that misting works only in arid climates. The team needed to quantify how much cooling is achievable in Costa Rica and identify when during the day it would be most effective, while avoiding unnecessary water use.

Solution

Our approach started with climate鈥憆esponsive massing and orientation. Using parametric analysis, we tested alignments and openings to catch prevailing breezes through the bungalows and village clusters. We then modelled multiple facade configurations, including variations of louvred doors that can open fully by day and partially at night, to maintain crossflow while giving occupants control and protection after dusk.

We coupled dynamic thermal modelling with detailed CFD (computational fluid dynamics) at two representative moments. Mid鈥慳fternoon scenarios captured the hot, drier period when evaporative strategies are most effective, and early evening scenarios captured the cooler but more humid period as the day transitions. These simulations allowed us to visualise airflow paths, temperature fields and the interaction between shade, air speed and moisture.

Air movement is the foundation of comfort in this setting. The studies showed that local air speeds around sleeping and lounging areas are critical, so we recommended discreet ceiling or pedestal fans to provide approximately 3m/s air velocity where people are seated or reclined. In combination with louvred openings, this materially increased the proportion of time within the comfort band. In one representative case with louvred doors largely open by day and partially open at night, the modelled rooms achieved around 92% of hours in the acceptable range once fans were included.

We then addressed the role of evaporative cooling. CFD runs incorporated water鈥憄article misting to test both placement and timing. The findings confirmed that misting provides a clear benefit whenever relative humidity sits below about 70%, particularly around midday. Locating fine mist as close as possible to occupants delivers the greatest cooling per litre, while landscape water features can gently pre鈥慶ondition air moving across terraces and under eaves. These insights guided both the siting of mist lines and the control philosophy, so the system runs when it genuinely helps.

In practical terms, the combination of shading, air movement and targeted misting reduced peak thermal sensation to around 30C in the hottest modelled conditions, transforming the experience of semi鈥憃utdoor spaces at the time of day when guests are most likely to feel heat stress. The CFD also showed how fans effectively mix the slightly cooled air from evaporative zones into adjacent rooms, evening out temperatures without enclosing the architecture.

The team also explored supplementary measures for robustness. A cool鈥憇urface radiant element, included as an option in the models, provided an additional cooling effect of roughly 1.5C at peaks, offering a safety margin without compromising the open character of the design. While the resort鈥檚 ethos is to avoid conventional air conditioning, this modelling allowed the client to weigh small, targeted interventions that protect comfort in exceptional conditions.

Crucially, our analysis moved beyond rules of thumb. We verified which hours of the year present a genuine coincidence of higher humidity with higher resultant temperatures, and found that these overlaps are limited. That evidence supports a strategy that relies primarily on air movement and shade, with controls that deploy misting only when the climate will reward it.

Underpinning all of this is a low鈥憈ech/high鈥憈ech design ethos. The architecture remains simple and tactile, but it is shaped by rigorous physics. Our CFD approach allowed us to see, almost in slow motion, how droplets absorb heat and how canopies and overhangs steer breezes through interior volumes. Confidence in the results is strengthened by our experience calibrating similar simulations against thermal imagery on comparable work, which closely matched predicted effects

The physics analysis, including the iterative CFD simulations, demonstrates that the integration of passive strategies effectively improves thermal comfort. The particle tracking, solar radiation modelling, and airflow results illustrate the progression from the baseline condition to the enhanced design. As shown in the figure above, these measures reduce the predicted thermal sensation from approximately 40掳C to below 31掳C, achieving moderate heat鈥憇tress conditions and delivering comfortable pedestrian spaces. Image: 海角视频.

Value

Zunya鈥檚 promise to guests is a seamless connection with nature. Our role was to make that promise dependable, so a premium, eco鈥慶onscious resort could operate without air conditioning and still meet the expectations of visitors who are used to mechanically cooled environments. By proving performance through analysis, we reduced the risk of comfort complaints and the reputational and cost impacts that can lead operators to retrofit AC a few years after opening.

The work delivered value in four key ways. First, it translated a bioclimatic vision into specific, actionable design moves. Orientation, opening strategies, canopy geometry and the positioning of fans and mist lines were all set by evidence, allowing the team to protect the architectural intent while making it work for the climate.

Second, it reframed perceptions about evaporative cooling in the tropics. We demonstrated that, while absolute gains are smaller than in arid regions, there are daily windows when fine mist can deliver a meaningful 4C to 5C apparent cooling, especially when combined with air speed. This is precisely when guests are most appreciative, turning the hottest hours into comfortable time.

Third, it supported water鈥憌ise operations. By tying misting to the relative humidity profile and by placing delivery as close as possible to occupants, the resort uses water only when it returns comfort value. The same simulations helped prioritise landscape features that contribute to cooling without resorting to high鈥慹nergy systems.

Finally, it provided certainty. Zunya is intentionally low tech in its materiality and expression. What sets it apart is the high鈥憈ech rigour behind the scenes. Our combined DTM (dynamic thermal modelling) and CFD workflow gave the client and design team confidence to commit to a naturally ventilated, open resort that feels effortless to enjoy. In doing so, it aligned guest experience with the project鈥檚 sustainability objectives and protected long鈥憈erm operational resilience.

Zunya shows how careful modelling can unlock comfort in climates that are too often written off as needing air conditioning. It is a reminder that evidence鈥慴ased design enables simpler, more human spaces. With analysis integrated from the outset, the resort retains its light touch on the land while delivering the quality that a high鈥慹nd destination must achieve.