KlimaKover is back to keep New Yorkers cool this summer
After KlimaKover’s debut on Governors Island last year, the radiant cooling pavilion developed with our partners at the University of Pennsylvania has been named a winner of the Trust for Governors Island's 2026 Climate Solutions Challenge: Adaptation.
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Lois Suh
Senior Associate, Senior Project Lead, AIA LEED AP BD+C
Kritika Kharbanda
Head of Sustainability, LEED AP BD+C
Following a rigorous application and selection process, our team was awarded an $18,000 grant from the Trust for Governors Island to advance the initiative. The grant will fund the re-assembly of KlimaKover this summer on Governors Island, with a focus on the peak months between July and September.
Heatwaves are no longer rare and traditional air-conditioning is expensive, energy-intensive, and largely unavailable in public spaces. As our warming planet pushes cities toward extreme temperatures for nearly half the year, the health risks are falling hardest on those least able to escape them including outdoor workers, older people, people with disabilities, children, and those without stable housing. By 2050, approximately 970 cities worldwide are projected to experience average summer highs of 35°C (95°F).
KlimaKover aims to tackle this issue as a modular system that can be scaled. Constructed from 4’x8’ panels, it delivers radiant cooling and heating without condensation, can operate entirely on solar power, and does not require a connection to an external water supply.
Governors Island draws a large and diverse audience during the summer months — exactly the population KlimaKover is designed to serve. The peak heat season also means peak data collection, giving our team and partners at the University of Pennsylvania's Thermal Architecture Lab the conditions needed to generate meaningful research.
This re-installation will focus on three priorities: testing the shelter's autonomous operation through a new photovoltaic installation, measuring technology performance during peak summer heat while conducting on-site interviews, and identifying a long-term scaling partner.
With demonstrated performance data, we can explore what a broader rollout could look like across other cities, other climates, and other contexts. Large-scale events, including major international gatherings, represent exactly the kind of opportunity the project is building toward.
"This is an exciting moment for the project. Returning to Governors Island this summer gives us the chance to collect data and demonstrate what KlimaKover can do under real conditions. It brings us one step closer to making cooled public spaces inclusive and accessible in an age where extreme heat disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations."
Kritika Kharbanda
Head of Sustainability
Huge thanks again to our partners: the University of Pennsylvania's Thermal Architecture Lab, the Trust for Governors Island, AIL Research, Inc., and all contributors who have supported the project's development.
