MIT Startup Introduces Thermally Active Bench for Outdoor Comfort and Urban Heat Utilization

FDT Bureau

Harness the Heat, a start-up originating from MIT and founded in 2021, introduces a groundbreaking thermally active bench designed to enhance outdoor comfort by cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. The latest prototype, unveiled at the MIT Museum’s After Dark Series: Heat, underwent extensive material experimentation, ultimately featuring a closed water loop and a timber superstructure embedded with strategically placed concrete pebbles. Know more about it on FURNITURE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (FDT).

Visitors to the exhibition experienced relief from the summer heat, with the Harness the Heat bench offering targeted cooling zones amidst Boston’s sweltering 33°C temperatures. In winter, the bench efficiently utilizes wasted heat to provide warmth to city residents. Harness the Heat’s overarching mission extends beyond bench design, aiming to identify, capture and passively utilize heat in urban environments to create more pleasant and livable outdoor spaces.

Their dedication to innovation is evident in their approach, which prioritizes experimentation with wasted heat and intelligent material selection. With support from the MIT Museum and the MIT Urban Risk Lab, the team developed a closed-loop system capable of converting wasted heat into targeted cooling zones, maintaining temperatures as low as 17.6°C for extended periods while ensuring the prototype remains lightweight and portable for easy transport around MIT’s campus.

The initiative was inspired by observations made during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the inefficiency of outdoor heating solutions and the abundance of wasted urban heat sources in cities like New York and Boston. The ultimate goal is to strategically intervene in sidewalks and public spaces, making waiting for a bus in scorching heat or dining outdoors in winter a more enjoyable experience for residents facing increasingly extreme climates.

Image credit: Angela Loescher-Montal, Ous Abou Ras, Jules Kleitman and Latifa Alkhayat