Home, Cool Home

This week's newspaper column. Read it in the Hattiesburg American.

This past Saturday marked the four year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the recovery is ongoing.

Inland a bit, damage to buildings and infrastructure was limited to consequences resulting from the business end of fallen trees and lack of electricity. Still, almost everyone who went through the experience had an unpleasant run-in with the modern state of homebuilding in America.

Two days after the storm, my Mother’s next-door neighbor commented “Yesterday was the worst day of my life!” as she packed up her car in preparation for driving north to stay with relatives while things were sorted out. “My house was so hot I couldn’t stand it.”

Curiously, in her estimation, the day after the storm was worse than the storm itself. Why? Because her house, as designed, was uninhabitable without the benefit of electric air conditioning. In a hot and sometimes muggy climate, her home was constructed with low ceilings, and the windows - placed for “look” instead of sized and located for comfortable ventilation - were painted shut.

All across the hurricane-affected area people evacuated their homes and set up living spaces under porch overhangs, if indeed the home had a covered porch. Hurricane parties ensued as melting freezers emptied and barbecue grills took flame.

Upon subsequent observation, the houses least affected by Katrina’s electricity-less aftermath were older homes. Turns out, as far as environmental compatibility goes, the older the home, the more human comfort it offered.

A century ago, before electricity was common and without the luxury of 24/7 air conditioning, even the most uneducated builder knew how to construct a home that worked in tandem with the environment. The high ceilings, ample windows, transoms, breezeways, and porches were not accidental. Those elements, common to all older homes in the south, were not add-ons for the sake of curb appeal; they acted in concert to cool the home efficiently, inexpensively, and most of all, naturally.

Here’s how it works.

Hot air rises leaving cooler air below, so tall ceilings allow for the hot air to collect above human living space. Operable transoms allow that hot air to migrate out of interior spaces and escape from ceiling and attic vents thereby pulling cooler air in from under shaded porches.

Breezes also help cut the body’s perception of heat. The passive airflow rendered by convection was important in the design of every older home, and breezeways channeled cool winds from tree-shaded yards throughout the home.

Those principles are just as valid today as they were a hundred years ago. Armed with information on how our physical universe works, we can employ environmentally compatible methods in the design of new homes and the renovation of existing structures.

Just because homes have not been designed to work with the environment over the past few decades does not mean they cannot be; it just takes a willingness to do so.

The Modern Dogtrot

Before the air conditioner came into common use less than four generations ago - that's the home where your great-grand parents grew up - buildings were designed to condition themselves. The American Dogtrot is a prime example.

(The photos are of a typical 150 year old dogtrot.)

Raised off the ground with a central open breezeway, the dogtrot house cooled itself naturally by encouraging air movement around, through, and underneath the structure.

Centuries ago, every professional builder knew how to construct a home that worked with the environment - they had no choice. Today, technology makes it possible to equip houses with mechanical air conditioning and heating, running 24/7, 365 days a year. But just because we can run air conditioners continually, should we?

The dramatic rise in energy prices over the past decade has given us cause to reconsider this relatively recent silver bullet approach. Ignoring Mother Nature is getting harder and harder to do "on the cheap." Why not design first for environmental compatibility and utilize mechanical heating and cooling as a back up system?

A home designed with natural heating and cooling systems integrated into the layout costs less to operate year-round without necessarily costing more to build, and as a bonus, natural ventilation leads to better indoor air quality for healthier living. With conscious and creative architecture, the same building materials can be combined in a different way to produce an environmentally compatible result.

Here's my take this age-old environmental prototype - the Modern Dogtrot.

Michelle Kaufmann's Glidehouse

Michelle Kaufmann is changing the way people think about "pre-fab" homes.

This Oakland, California based Architect is designing factory-built homes that don't look, operate, or feel like the ubiquitous single- or double-wide house trailer. Kaufmann's fresh designs make a strong case for contemporary American architecture.

Her Glidehouse features natural lighting, natural ventilation and non-toxic materials - basic principles of passive green design.

Each home is designed to easily incorporate solar, wind, and geothermal energy systems as well.

And you’ll find no superfluous Greek or Colonial ornamentation on these gems.

Since Kaufmann introduced the Glidehouse a few years ago, she has developed a series of modern, pre-fab home designs of various character and size, all in a contemporary aesthetic.

Units are built in assembly-line fashion in a factory and shipped to a pre-prepared site proving that the mass-production model works for high design.

Prices are about the same or maybe a little more than site-built homes (depending on location), but considering that energy costs over time will be lower, and the quality of the product, its worth considering.

Americans have been starved for options when it comes to the “beautiful pre-fab home” – Michelle Kaufmann just served up a tasty treat!

Her website:

http://www.mkd-arc.com/