With a gleaming copper roof and white sides, a cupola points into the sky. Giving a building a majestic appearance, cupolas are now considered pieces of décor, but at one point, these small, tower-shaped structures were a practical architectural addition. But their practicality is coming back again, only in a different form. Relegated to attractive home décor for most of the 20th century, cupolas are now being added to various green homes for cooling.

Each month, you see how high your heating bill is, and environmentally-friendly architecture aims to reduce this. Not only for expenses for also for reducing your carbon footprint, environmentally-friendly architecture incorporates aspects of nature to cool or heat a building. This is where cupolas come in. A home may be designed with two vented cupolas, which allow air to enter the building, circulate throughout, and cool off the structure in warmer weather. This way, no air conditioning or central heating unit consumes a large quantity of power. Read the rest of this entry