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An informal meetup of building pros has turned into a full-blown obsession over sharing what they’ve learned: how to build a comfortable, energy-efficient home on a budget.
The first building scientists were presumably our hominid ancestors who figured out that a cave would keep them dry in the rain and cool in the heat. A million or so years later, we started building houses, and that’s when the fun really began. If nothing else, houses represented a way to pass on accumulated wisdom about living in various climates.
For the next 15,000 years, we became more settled, and our houses got more sophisticated. We got better at keeping the weather out, letting sunlight in, and making our houses last longer. They became not just shelters but homes.
The first Pretty Good House, as it’s known, was an experiment by builder Dan Kolbert and Kaplan Thompson Architects in balancing architectural intent with energy efficiency. Subsequent designs have become more and more focused on the latter.
Courtesy of The Taunton Press
As electricity became widely available, we took a quantum leap forward in what we expected from houses. We could see at any hour of the day or night, without having to light a candle. We could heat our homes without having to start a fire. The idea that we could control the inside of the house independently from the conditions outside became commonplace.
As our societies became less agrarian, and we spent more and more time indoors, ensuring that our houses kept us healthy became more and more urgent. In the past hundred years, a flood of new information and ideas has transformed our understanding of homes. Indoor air quality, separate from the outdoor air quality, is predicated on our increasing technological ability to monitor and improve the conditions of our homes.
In the Pacific Northwest, a Pretty Good House might have deep roof overhangs to protect the house from long periods of rain, generously sized windows, and covered outdoor spaces. Roof slopes don’t need to be steep because there is little snow to deal with. Although exterior materials should be rot-proof, select use of natural wood is appropriate as a nod to traditional local and indigenous architecture, as in this house in British Columbia, Canada, designed by Malcolm Taylor Design.
Courtesy of The Taunton Press
Homes in desert climates have different requirements than those in wet areas. Temperature changes between day and night can be extreme, so thermally massive walls help keep the interior comfortable without wasting energy. Little rain means roof overhangs aren’t critically important, and what rain does fall is precious and might be captured for later use. Windows are modestly sized to keep heat out but big enough to allow for views of the unique landscape.
Courtesy of The Taunton Press
See the full story on Dwell.com: We’ve Gotten a Lot Better at Building Good Houses
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By: Pretty Good House
Title: We’ve Gotten a Lot Better at Building Good Houses
Sourced From: www.dwell.com/article/pretty-good-house-book-energy-efficient-home-building-655a8d47
Published Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:24:49 GMT
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