Where the meltemi goes

From June to September the meltemi blows from the north over the Aegean, most afternoons, strongest around four o'clock. On the north coast of Crete it is the most reliable cooling system there is, and it is free.

For it to work, a house needs openings on both sides of every room: a way in on the north and a way out on the south. The ones on the north can be small and high, where they do not let in much sun; the ones on the south can be large, as long as they are shaded.

At Kalami, every room has small windows high on the north wall and doors onto the courtyard to the south. The plan above shows the wind crossing the house. On the hottest afternoon of the first summer, with every door open, the living room stayed at twenty-six degrees while it was thirty-four outside.

The mistake we see most often is the opposite: big views to the north, where the sea is, and nothing on the south. The wind comes in and has nowhere to go.