If the broad sides of your house face east and west, your energy bill is double than it should be. Last Wednesday, my mentor Mr. Abell and I had lunch at ASU with retired mechanical engineer Dave Scheatzle (pronounced like that place with the funny name and the serious sandwich). Over empanadas and soup, we were debating the effectiveness of passive and active solar energy, earth integration, cardinal directions and seasonal solar angles on buildings. Since the final product of my project will be "the most ecologically friendly, appropriate to desert conditions, aesthetically pleasing and financially attainable house for Tucson" (hopefully), this talk was a mammoth step towards that.
One focus in sustainable architecture is this: pay attention to the surroundings. Nothing matters more for human comfort here than temperature control. One natural way is a herald to the solstices: build or buy a house in Tucson with the broad sides facing NW and SE on a 28 degree lateral slant. The sunrise and set "move" positions due to the earth's natural rotation and revolution around the sun. Around this angle then, like Phoenix's Wyndham Hotel, the house receives the best of the winter morning and the minimum of the summer afternoon. It's cheap. It's simple. But of course... if you want to go expensive and complicated (ahem engineers) you can try this. Go natural or go mechanical. Build kangaroo robots while you're at it.
With the discussed ecological concepts, I started my design process this week. What I drew again from Vitruvius was that architecture is a polygamous marriage between structure, aesthetics, and finance. For my project, I am putting emphasis on the sustainability and attainability, which stresses my ability to put in some dreamability. Forget the waterfall off the roof. The living room petting zoo? Return the animals. I sigh out loud as I write this.
Despite these setbacks, I have set up a program, which means the plan for what the house will be and what the client wants. I am planning for low energy materials and low energy Right now, I am drawing bubble diagrams. It is part of vernacular building, meaning it shows logical relationships of how rooms are placed together e.g. the bedroom is far from the kitchen to minimize noise.
I know it doesn't look much, but I did over 10 of these, because one, I was trying to do a this "solar feng shui" and two, I am regrettably becoming more of a perfectionist. It's like a cross between Bob the Builder and Martha Stewart. I will soon draw some floor plans with measurements and sections, which are 2D vertical slices that often reveal the interior of a building. In preparation, I've been measuring wall spans and rooms around my house for perspective. I can't find a ruler, so I've been using a 6-in one with a Jesus fish and a cross.
I like spending my time this way.
Until the walls come down,
Nicole
P.S. I thought I posted this last Saturday night...huh.
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