Back to the Future of Skyscraper Design: IELTS Reading Passage (Cambridge 14, Test 2)

In the context of global climate change, the excessive electricity consumption of skyscrapers for air conditioning has become a daunting challenge. The reading passage Back to the Future of Skyscraper Design invites us to explore intelligent yet long-forgotten architectural designs from the 19th and early 20th centuries—a period when natural ventilation was a top priority. Through the research of Professor Alan Short at the University of Cambridge, learners will practice skills in Matching Information and Summary Completion—question types that require the ability to scan for keywords and develop a deep understanding of how scientific perspectives have shifted over time. This material has been compiled by the ECE Language Center to help you achieve a breakthrough in your IELTS Reading band score.

Reading Passage

A. The Recovery of Natural Environments in Architecture by Professor Alan Short is the culmination of 30 years of research and award-winning green building design by Short and his colleagues in Architecture, Engineering, Applied Maths, and Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. “The crisis in building design is already here,” said Short. “Policy makers think you can solve energy and building problems with gadgets. You can’t. As global temperatures continue to rise, we are going to continue to squander more and more energy on keeping our buildings mechanically cool until we have run out of capacity.”

B. Short is calling for a sweeping reinvention of how skyscrapers and major public buildings are designed—to end the reliance on sealed buildings which exist solely via the “life support” system of vast air conditioning units. Instead, he shows it is entirely possible to accommodate natural ventilation and cooling in large buildings by looking into the past, before the widespread introduction of air conditioning systems, which were “relentlessly and aggressively marketed” by their inventors.

C. Short points out that to make most contemporary buildings habitable, they have to be sealed and air conditioned. The energy use and carbon emissions this generates is spectacular and largely unnecessary. Buildings in the West account for 40-50% of electricity usage, generating substantial carbon emissions, and the rest of the world is catching up at a frightening rate. Short regards glass, steel and air-conditioned skyscrapers as symbols of status, rather than practical ways of meeting our requirements.

D. Short’s book highlights a developing and sophisticated art and science of ventilating buildings through the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the design of ingeniously ventilated hospitals. Of particular interest were those built to the designs of John Shaw Billings, including the first Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US city of Baltimore (1873-1889). “We spent three years digitally modelling Billings’ final designs,” says Short. “We put pathogens in the airstreams, modelled for someone with tuberculosis (TB) coughing in the wards and we found the ventilation systems in the room would have kept other patients safe from harm.”

E. We discovered that 19th-century hospital wards could generate up to 24 air changes an hour—that’s similar to the performance of a modern-day, computer-controlled operating theatre. We believe you could build wards based on these principles now. Single rooms are not appropriate for all patients. Communal wards appropriate for certain patients—older people with dementia, for example—would work just as well in today’s hospitals, at a fraction of the energy cost.” Professor Short contends the mindset and skill-sets behind these designs have been completely lost, lamenting the disappearance of expertly designed theatres, opera houses, and other buildings where up to half the volume of the building was given over to ensuring everyone got fresh air.

F. Much of the ingenuity present in 19th-century hospital and building design was driven by a panicked public clamouring for buildings that could protect against what was thought to be the lethal threat of miasmas—toxic air that spread disease. Miasmas were feared as the principal agents of disease and epidemics for centuries, and were used to explain the spread of infection from the Middle Ages right through to the cholera outbreaks in London and Paris during the 1850s. Foul air, rather than germs, was believed to be the main driver of “hospital fever,” leading to disease and frequent death. The prosperous steered clear of hospitals. While miasma theory has been long since disproved, Short has for the last 30 years advocated a return to some of the building design principles produced in its wake.

G. Today, huge amounts of a building’s space and construction cost are given over to air conditioning. “But I have designed and built a series of buildings over the past three decades which have tried to reinvent some of these ideas and then measure what happens. “To go forward into our new low-energy, low-carbon future, we would be well advised to look back at design before our high-energy, high-carbon present appeared. What is surprising is what a rich legacy we have abandoned.”

H. Successful examples of Short’s approach include the Queen’s Building at De Montfort University in Leicester. Containing as many as 2,000 staff and students, the entire building is naturally ventilated, passively cooled and naturally lit, including the two largest auditoriums, each seating more than 150 people. The award-winning building uses a fraction of the electricity of comparable buildings in the UK. Short contends that glass skyscrapers in London and around the world will become a liability over the next 20 or 30 years if climate modelling predictions and energy price rises come to pass as expected.

I. He is convinced that sufficiently cooled skyscrapers using the natural environment can be produced in almost any climate. He and his team have worked on hybrid buildings in the harsh climates of Beijing and Chicago—built with natural ventilation assisted by back-up air conditioning—which, surprisingly perhaps, can be switched off more than half the time on milder days and during the spring and autumn. “My book is a recipe book which looks at the past, how we got to where we are now, and how we might reimagine the cities, offices and homes of the future. Maybe it’s time we changed our outlook.”

Questions

Questions 14-18 Reading Passage 2 has nine sections, A-I. Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14. Why some people avoided hospitals in the 19th century _______________

15. A suggestion that the popularity of tall buildings is linked to prestige _______________

16. A comparison between the circulation of air in a 19th-century building and modern standards _______________

17. How Short tested the circulation of air in a 19th-century building _______________

18. An implication that advertising led to the large increase in the use of air conditioning _______________

Questions 19-26 Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 19-26 on your answer sheet.

Ventilation in 19th-century Hospital Wards

Professor Alan Short examined the work of John Shaw Billings, who influenced the architectural 19. _______________ of hospitals to ensure they had good ventilation. He calculated that 20. _______________ in the air coming from patients suffering from 21. _______________ would not have harmed other patients. He also found that the air in 22. _______________ in hospitals could change as often as in a modern operating theatre. He suggests that energy use could be reduced by locating more patients in 23. _______________ areas.

A major reason for improving ventilation in 19th-century hospitals was the demand from the 24. _______________ for protection against bad air, known as 25. _______________. These were blamed for the spread of disease for hundreds of years, including epidemics of 26. _______________ in London and Paris in the middle of the 19th century.

Full Reading Translation

[Section A] Professor Alan Short’s book, “The Recovery of Natural Environments in Architecture,” is the culmination of 30 years of research and award-winning green building design. Short states that the crisis in building design is already here. Policy makers think they can solve energy problems with gadgets, but that is not the case. As global temperatures rise, we will continue to waste energy on mechanical cooling until we run out of capacity.

[Section B] Short calls for a comprehensive reinvention of how skyscrapers and large public buildings are designed—to end the reliance on sealed buildings that only exist thanks to the “life support” system of massive air conditioning units. Instead, he shows that it is entirely possible to integrate natural ventilation and cooling by looking to the past, before air conditioning was aggressively marketed.

[Section C] Short points out that for modern buildings to be habitable, they must be sealed and air-conditioned. This energy usage is unnecessary. Buildings in the West account for 40-50% of electricity consumption. Short views glass and steel air-conditioned skyscrapers as symbols of status rather than practical solutions.

[Section D] The book highlights the sophisticated 19th-century art of ventilation, including the hospital designs of John Shaw Billings. Short’s team spent three years digitally modelling Billings’ designs. They introduced pathogens into the airflow, simulating a tuberculosis patient coughing in the ward, and found that the ventilation system kept other patients safe.

[Section E] We discovered that 19th-century wards could generate up to 24 air changes per hour—equivalent to the performance of a modern operating theatre. Short believes we could build wards based on these principles today. Communal wards suitable for certain patients would work just as well with extremely low energy costs.

[Section F] The ingenuity of 19th-century design was driven by public panic, wanting protection against “miasmas”—air thought to spread disease. People once believed foul air, not germs, was the primary cause of disease, leading the wealthy to avoid hospitals. Although the miasma theory has been disproved, Short advocates returning to the design principles born from that era.

[Section G] Today, vast amounts of space and construction costs are dedicated to air conditioning. To move toward a low-energy, low-carbon future, we should look back at designs from before our current high-energy era.

[Section H] A successful example is the Queen’s Building at De Montfort University. The entire building is naturally ventilated, cooled, and lit, using a fraction of the electricity of comparable buildings. Glass skyscrapers will become a liability in the next 20-30 years as energy prices rise.

[Section I] Short believes naturally cooled skyscrapers can be built in almost any climate. His team has worked in Beijing and Chicago on hybrid buildings where air conditioning can be turned off more than half the time on mild days. It is time we changed our perspective.

Academic Vocabulary Summary

• Culmination (n): The highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time.

• Squander (v): To waste (something, especially money or time) in a reckless and foolish manner.

• Sealed buildings (n): Buildings that are airtight and rely on mechanical systems for ventilation.

• Relentlessly (adv): In an unceasingly intense or harsh way.

• Pathogens (n): A bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.

• Tuberculosis (n): An infectious bacterial disease characterized by the growth of nodules in the tissues, especially the lungs.

• Communal (adj): Shared by all members of a community; for common use.

• Miasmas (n): An oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere or vapor (historically believed to cause disease).

• Cholera (n): An infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine.

• Liability (n): A person or thing whose presence or behavior is likely to cause embarrassment or put one at a disadvantage.

Answers and Detailed Explanations

Questions 14 – 18

This question type requires you to find the “section containing information.” The key is paraphrasing.

Question 14: Why some people avoided hospitals in the 19th century.

• Answer: F
• Analysis: In Section F, the author mentions that “The prosperous steered clear of hospitals.” The reason is found in the preceding lines: people believed in the “miasma” theory and “hospital fever” caused by foul air, leading to high mortality rates.
• Keyword mapping: Avoided = steered clear of.

Question 15: A suggestion that the popularity of tall buildings is linked to prestige.

• Answer: C
• Analysis: At the end of Section C, Alan Short states: “Short regards glass, steel and air-conditioned skyscrapers as symbols of status, rather than practical ways of meeting our requirements.”
• Keyword mapping: Prestige = symbols of status.

Question 16: A comparison between the circulation of air in a 19th-century building and modern standards.

• Answer: E
• Analysis: Section E provides a specific figure: “19th-century hospital wards could generate up to 24 air changes an hour – that’s similar to the performance of a modern-day, computer-controlled operating theatre.”
• Keyword mapping: Comparison = similar to; modern standards = modern-day, computer-controlled operating theatre.

Question 17: How Short tested the circulation of air in a 19th-century building.

• Answer: D
• Analysis: Section D describes the experimental process: “We spent three years digitally modelling Billings’ final designs… We put pathogens in the airstreams, modelled for someone with tuberculosis (TB) coughing in the wards…” This is how he tested air circulation.
• Keyword mapping: Tested = digitally modelling, put pathogens in, modelled… coughing.

Question 18: An implication that advertising led to the large increase in the use of air conditioning.

• Answer: B
• Analysis: Section B explains that air conditioning became popular because systems were “relentlessly and aggressively marketed by their inventors.”
• Keyword mapping: Advertising = marketed.

Questions 19 – 26

To excel in this section, you need to identify the part of speech (adjective, noun, number, etc.) and the context of the sentence.

• Question 19: …influenced the architectural [designs] of hospitals…

Explanation: Section D states: “Of particular interest were those built to the designs of John Shaw Billings.” The phrase “architectural designs” fits perfectly in terms of grammar and meaning.

• Question 20 & 21: …calculated that [pathogens] in the air coming from patients suffering from [tuberculosis] would not have harmed other patients.

Explanation: Section D outlines the process: “We put pathogens in the airstreams, modelled for someone with tuberculosis (TB) coughing… would have kept other patients safe from harm.”

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