India's stepwells reach groundwater with monumental staircases — and stay cool many degrees below the surface.
Vāv/bāolī stepwells (e.g. Rani ki Vav, 11th c.) descend many storeys to the water table, doubling as cool gathering places.
— Stepwells, e.g. Rani ki Vav (11th c.; UNESCO)
Water harvesting and passive (no-energy) cooling.
A genuine, defensible parallel.
Stepwells solved a hard problem — reaching a fluctuating water table through the year — with descending flights of steps, while their deep, shaded geometry keeps the lower levels markedly cooler than the surface, making them social and ritual spaces in hot climates. The finest, like Gujarat's Rani ki Vav, are also extraordinary sculpture.
This is documented engineering and architecture, no hedging needed. It's a genuine model of climate-responsive, community water infrastructure — exactly the kind of passive-cooling, water-harvesting design modern architects now study for sustainability.