· About Airflow and Shade·

Airflow and Shade is a project created by Geoff McCabe, who lives in Montezuma, Costa Rica, to disseminate information about green/sustainable building in the tropics. This website is a collection of Geoff’s accumulated knowledge in the subject, and will be continually updated and improved.

Green Building was once seen as the future of building. Now, it’s simply the only way to build, and previous methods should be considered archaic. A house built without consideration of these techniques is a mistake as an investment and to the health of the owner and community. Building a house with the old methods is like continuing to put leaded gas in your car, once you realize that unleaded gas is better and doesn’t cost much more. Many of the most important techniques, specifically the use of airflow, and shade, have been used by millenia by smart builders who understand the climate that they’re building in, and these simple techniques are not costly or difficult. To use a popular catch-phrase of the sustainability movement, they are simply “Green by Design.”

Geoff tolerates criticism and is grateful for any offers of help to this website. He invites experts in each particular subject to take over writing and editing particular subjects on the website. The topic of green building is full of contradictions and trade-offs, and there’s much to debate and much more to learn. Many dedicated souls throughout Costa Rica are currently working on their green projects, for the most part unconnected with each other, so Geoff hopes that this website will connect as many people as possible who are part of this great movement.