Sustainability is a very complex topic. One way to define it is as the set of interactions between a wide variety of variables that allows something to grow and flourish. What works for one particular item and location often will fail in another location and climate.
We try to design each project based on a regionally specific climatic, resource and materials analysis. (Defined as Bioregionally Appropriate Architecture)
Bioregionally Appropriate Architecture-Architectural design that takes into account:
Climatic Analysis-(macro climate and micro climate) evaluation of:
- Heating degree days
- Cooling degree days
- Wind patterns and speeds
- Topography
- Yearly/monthly rainfall amounts
- Sun angles
- Soils analysis
Materials Analysis-an evaluation of available materials based on:
- Cost
- Availability (both of the material and any specialized skills needed for installation)
- Indoor air quality (any outgassing)
- Waste stream/byproducts of manufacturing process
- Ecological footprint
- Appropriateness for the specific climate (i.e. straw bales are probably not recommended for a 2 story flat roofed building in the Mississippi Delta)
- All other factors being equal, preference is given to regionally or locally produced products so as to help the local or regional economy
Historically appropriate regional archetypes:
- Before air conditioning was available, each climatic region of our county had very specific and distinct housing styles that maximized the passive solar heating, cooling and natural ventilation of that particular climate. For instance, a New England farmhouse typically had narrow roof overhangs, and lots of south facing windows, while a frontier cabin in Texas would have 2 enclosed rooms separated by a wide porch with the entire structure covered by a common roof (known as a ‘dog trot’).
- We look at regional design styles for ideas to maximize passive solar heating and cooling concepts for each building. For example, in Central Texas we try to use wide overhangs and full-length south facing porches when possible. In Arizona or New Mexico, a combination of insulation and mass often performs well.
Ultimately, the definition of sustainability varies slightly for everyone. We try to analyze all of the information and options and give recommendations to our clients, so that the decisions are based on the best available data.
