MATCHING ARCHITECTURE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
(Posted 2010-02-10 11:00:25 by ArchPaladin)

I read an interesting article [
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010967.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+worldchanging_fulltext+%28WorldChanging.com+Full+Text%29
] [worldchanging.com] yesterday which basically stated that it would be
good to redesign one's idea of architecture so that the devices and
contraptions we use to create a livable environment indoors become a part
of the building's inherent design, rather than a manual and artificial
addition afterward.

So, for example, the idea would be to replace overhead lighting with other
means of passively bringing natural light into a room, such as skylights,
light tubes, and the like.  Think similarly for heating (eg. trombe walls),
air conditioning, and so on.

I think it's a really cool idea, and would certainly be useful to reduce
utility bills.  I'm not quite sure how well it would work in this area of
the world though, considering how cold it gets here.  I think you'd have to
build portions of the house into hills and earth mounds to even start
reaching an acceptable level of heat.

Not that I have anything wrong with living in a house for hobbits, mind
you.

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