How Termites Taught a Building to Keep Cool (Eastgate Centre)

Our first Feral roving correspondent went inside Eastgate to find out how its termite-inspired cooling actually works, what the building feels like today, and whether the story we’ve been telling for 30 years still holds up.

The Idea

Eastgate was designed to use far less mechanical heating and cooling than a conventional office building, drawing inspiration from how termite mounds manage airflow and temperature.

But the interesting part is that the biology story changed. The original explanation focused heavily on internal convection inside termite mounds. Later research showed the system is more complicated, with external wind, porous mound walls and thermal mass all playing important roles.

That makes Eastgate more interesting, not less. The building still works. What changed was our understanding of the organism that inspired it. And underneath both sits a useful design question: what’s already here that I could use instead of fight?

Biology: Termite mounds manage gas exchange and internal conditions through a combination of porous structure, external airflow and thermal effects rather than a simple chimney-like convection system.

Principle: Work with existing flows, materials and environmental conditions rather than relying entirely on added mechanical force.

Application: Eastgate uses passive and low-energy design strategies, including thermal mass, night cooling and controlled airflow, to reduce dependence on conventional air-conditioning.

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