It occurs to me, having spent three winters in Moscow, that the bell-curve roofs in Quebec also deal better with the spring thaw of any accumulated snow/ice on the roof as it would slow the fall of such material from the roof. Moscow winters regularly included reports of fatalities caused by snow and ice falling from roofs or upper stories.
Pure insanity is the only thing I can think of to describe our current municipal codes and regulations. Nothing of the old style 2 x 4 frame house with asphalt shingles should be allowed to be built anywhere at any time. At least not with the same materials. Every roof should either be Green (plants) or Solar panel covered, every frame should be built with lumber pressed from organically grown industrial hemp fiber, or blocks, made from the same. Oh building styles and methods should be implementing around a passive solar and rainwater catchment design. Gray water treatment of all expelled liquids other than sewage, which should be composted and thoroughly metabolized by the proper fungi, removing pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and even radioactive contaminants………and, well, you know. 🤷♂️
I graduated architecture about 20 years ago, an I´ve worked almost exclusively as a designer for all that time. I do love the modern aesthetic that you show on all these images, and have designed a lot of houses that more or less follow these precepts. One thing that definately shifted my thinking was building my own house. Lots of lessons learned. One important silly simple one is that flat roofs sooner or later leak. Nowadays, I do tend more to very simple rooflines, all sloped, and if I ever do another house for myself, it´ll probably be a simple rectangle with a shed roof.
Early in my career i designed a small cabin (about 45sqm), at the edge of a river, peched on a steep cliff, that has elevations that are about 70% glass, and a humongous fireplace. I remember that early in the pre construction process, the builder had to cut cost because it was coming over budget. Guess where the cost cutting focused on.... Glass spec. It is a very pretty cabin, but thankfully have never spent the night there.
I've always loved the look of houses with a lot of glass. Alas, as you point out, it's not a good idea.
Have you heard about the wood fiber insulation now being manufactured in Maine by Timber HP? Seems like an ideal material, carbon sequestering. Uses up leftovers from forest products industry that would otherwise be burned or would rot. Why use cellulose anymore?
yes I love the idea of wood fibre insulation, it was so expensive to bring over from Europe. I read a book on wood recently (the proofs, not yet released) that suggested planting fast-growing trees like willow specifically for turning into fibre for insulation, storing massive amounts of carbon in the process. I think it is a great idea.
we had similar inspirations Lloyd! I too grew up reading my mom's house plan magazines and also was inspired to be an architect. Never made the grade though and ended up becoming a home builder instead. Always rely on my old architectural training when trying to figure out a detail/design problem.
Also great visual on the naked guy losing body heat to the cold window!
We once got a flyer from a local distributor of Chinese Steel framing & the headline on the cover screamed:
WHY STEAL HOUSE?
It occurs to me, having spent three winters in Moscow, that the bell-curve roofs in Quebec also deal better with the spring thaw of any accumulated snow/ice on the roof as it would slow the fall of such material from the roof. Moscow winters regularly included reports of fatalities caused by snow and ice falling from roofs or upper stories.
🤣😂🤣👏👏👏💪
Pure insanity is the only thing I can think of to describe our current municipal codes and regulations. Nothing of the old style 2 x 4 frame house with asphalt shingles should be allowed to be built anywhere at any time. At least not with the same materials. Every roof should either be Green (plants) or Solar panel covered, every frame should be built with lumber pressed from organically grown industrial hemp fiber, or blocks, made from the same. Oh building styles and methods should be implementing around a passive solar and rainwater catchment design. Gray water treatment of all expelled liquids other than sewage, which should be composted and thoroughly metabolized by the proper fungi, removing pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and even radioactive contaminants………and, well, you know. 🤷♂️
I graduated architecture about 20 years ago, an I´ve worked almost exclusively as a designer for all that time. I do love the modern aesthetic that you show on all these images, and have designed a lot of houses that more or less follow these precepts. One thing that definately shifted my thinking was building my own house. Lots of lessons learned. One important silly simple one is that flat roofs sooner or later leak. Nowadays, I do tend more to very simple rooflines, all sloped, and if I ever do another house for myself, it´ll probably be a simple rectangle with a shed roof.
Early in my career i designed a small cabin (about 45sqm), at the edge of a river, peched on a steep cliff, that has elevations that are about 70% glass, and a humongous fireplace. I remember that early in the pre construction process, the builder had to cut cost because it was coming over budget. Guess where the cost cutting focused on.... Glass spec. It is a very pretty cabin, but thankfully have never spent the night there.
I've always loved the look of houses with a lot of glass. Alas, as you point out, it's not a good idea.
Have you heard about the wood fiber insulation now being manufactured in Maine by Timber HP? Seems like an ideal material, carbon sequestering. Uses up leftovers from forest products industry that would otherwise be burned or would rot. Why use cellulose anymore?
yes I love the idea of wood fibre insulation, it was so expensive to bring over from Europe. I read a book on wood recently (the proofs, not yet released) that suggested planting fast-growing trees like willow specifically for turning into fibre for insulation, storing massive amounts of carbon in the process. I think it is a great idea.
we had similar inspirations Lloyd! I too grew up reading my mom's house plan magazines and also was inspired to be an architect. Never made the grade though and ended up becoming a home builder instead. Always rely on my old architectural training when trying to figure out a detail/design problem.
Also great visual on the naked guy losing body heat to the cold window!