I was chatting to a deputy mayor of Marseille last week about climate adaptation. Overheating is the big issue there. They are trying to build out two cooling networks while discouraging air conditioners that increase heat in the city. His one big complaint was that they had stopped building in the Marseille style - that is three windows in front, three in the back giving onto a courtyard. Apparently the courtyard drives a small 'cyclone' of air which draws the air through the house from the front windows to the back windows. The cyclone also means you don't need to face the predominant southerly winds to benefit from the cooling. In short, windows with a purpose!
I took advantage of the Greener Home Grant to redo my windows. I had tremendous heat gain in four large thermal pane windows throughout my 1944 house. I resized all to give less sun gain, more cross ventilation, more privacy but better views, and more symmetry. Bedroom window was sized down. Kitchen windows were sized down, increased in number and made counter height. Living/dining rooms had 8x6 picture windows split into two 2x6, and the fireplace windows were increased to the same size, as was the bedroom one. This resulted in pleasing symmetry from both inside and outside, multiple compliments since completion of exterior, better function and thermal regulation. I'm very happy.
Is choosing ethics over aesthetics a false dichotomy? We’ve gotten to the point where we’ve determined we don’t have to choose between sustainability and aesthetics. Isn't this similar?
Our house is in Maine and is ten years old. While not PH certified, it was designed using Passive House concepts, with PH level airtightness, PH certified windows and a lot of insulation. Heat load calculation led to using two minisplit heat pumps for heating/AC. House is always comfortable.
Our views are to the south, down a steep incline to a field below. We have high ceilings in the living area, about 4 meters, looking at the view. A wall of windows about 3.5 x 3.5 meters brings in lots of sun which is especially nice in winter. Two windows are openable, four are fixed. All our windows are tilt/turn, triple pane. A one meter overhang keeps summer sun from overheating. We've never experienced too much heat from the sun. A/C is only used a half dozen days a summer.
On the north side, kitchen has a 1x2 meter window grouping, openable. Small pantry has no windows. Master bath has two small windows , about .5 x 1 meter, guest bath has one identical window. Mechanical/laundry room on north side has no windows. Main entry on north side has a door, mostly glass.
Two bedrooms are on south side with two big openable windows on south wall, 2 x 1.3 meters each. Single similar windows on east wall for one bedroom and west wall.on the other.
If building again, we might eliminate a few windows, but overall they work pretty well. Might reduce the living room ceiling height and shorten the wall of windows. Could shrink the bedroom windows and/or just have one on south walls instead of two. Now, I'd give a lot more though to upfront carbon, whereas our design focus then was much more on operating efficiency.
I haven't calculated the window/wall ratio, but since most of the glazing is on the south toward our nice views, it's probably lower than typical.
The house has about 160 square meters of conditioned space.
Mondrian is quoted as saying "Symmetry is death" although it may have been someone else.
Properly sized south overhangs can eliminate most summer overheating except for the offset of seasons caused by the thermal mass of the earth. In the north we usually want heat gain in March but not in September which both have the same sun angles.
I have Trombe walls in my house that delay the solar gain until night time when it is usually needed. A combination of windows for light and ventilation and Trombe walls can maximize the value of solar heat and with proper overhangs can minimize overheating.
Glazing continues to improve and selective coatings can minimize heat gain from east and west windows and the use of vacuum sealing can now make the windows perform quite well.
Glad to see you talking about the psychological value of both daylight and views of nature.
I have had clients that are reluctant to go on vacation due to the daylight and views and have others say that they "love their Trombe walls". With double stud walls and air sealing we can afford to not live in a "beer cooler" with LEDs.
Hey Lloyd, I know this is off-topic, but check it out; better yet, start flying Delta (or offsetting yourself!) They are putting real money into it.
"Delta will spend $1 billion over the next 10 years to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and invest in ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Starting next month, the airline will work toward canceling out emissions from its flights and ground operations."
I appreciate the mention of veering away from exterior symmetry of windows just for the sake of symmetry and instead embracing the importance of the need of light and view! This is one of our biggest challenges oftentimes when collaborating with architects is this fixation of symmetry that we find disregards practicality or functionality.
I was chatting to a deputy mayor of Marseille last week about climate adaptation. Overheating is the big issue there. They are trying to build out two cooling networks while discouraging air conditioners that increase heat in the city. His one big complaint was that they had stopped building in the Marseille style - that is three windows in front, three in the back giving onto a courtyard. Apparently the courtyard drives a small 'cyclone' of air which draws the air through the house from the front windows to the back windows. The cyclone also means you don't need to face the predominant southerly winds to benefit from the cooling. In short, windows with a purpose!
I took advantage of the Greener Home Grant to redo my windows. I had tremendous heat gain in four large thermal pane windows throughout my 1944 house. I resized all to give less sun gain, more cross ventilation, more privacy but better views, and more symmetry. Bedroom window was sized down. Kitchen windows were sized down, increased in number and made counter height. Living/dining rooms had 8x6 picture windows split into two 2x6, and the fireplace windows were increased to the same size, as was the bedroom one. This resulted in pleasing symmetry from both inside and outside, multiple compliments since completion of exterior, better function and thermal regulation. I'm very happy.
Is choosing ethics over aesthetics a false dichotomy? We’ve gotten to the point where we’ve determined we don’t have to choose between sustainability and aesthetics. Isn't this similar?
This needs a longer discussion
Our house is in Maine and is ten years old. While not PH certified, it was designed using Passive House concepts, with PH level airtightness, PH certified windows and a lot of insulation. Heat load calculation led to using two minisplit heat pumps for heating/AC. House is always comfortable.
Our views are to the south, down a steep incline to a field below. We have high ceilings in the living area, about 4 meters, looking at the view. A wall of windows about 3.5 x 3.5 meters brings in lots of sun which is especially nice in winter. Two windows are openable, four are fixed. All our windows are tilt/turn, triple pane. A one meter overhang keeps summer sun from overheating. We've never experienced too much heat from the sun. A/C is only used a half dozen days a summer.
On the north side, kitchen has a 1x2 meter window grouping, openable. Small pantry has no windows. Master bath has two small windows , about .5 x 1 meter, guest bath has one identical window. Mechanical/laundry room on north side has no windows. Main entry on north side has a door, mostly glass.
Two bedrooms are on south side with two big openable windows on south wall, 2 x 1.3 meters each. Single similar windows on east wall for one bedroom and west wall.on the other.
If building again, we might eliminate a few windows, but overall they work pretty well. Might reduce the living room ceiling height and shorten the wall of windows. Could shrink the bedroom windows and/or just have one on south walls instead of two. Now, I'd give a lot more though to upfront carbon, whereas our design focus then was much more on operating efficiency.
I haven't calculated the window/wall ratio, but since most of the glazing is on the south toward our nice views, it's probably lower than typical.
The house has about 160 square meters of conditioned space.
Great in depth view(pun intended} of windows.
Mondrian is quoted as saying "Symmetry is death" although it may have been someone else.
Properly sized south overhangs can eliminate most summer overheating except for the offset of seasons caused by the thermal mass of the earth. In the north we usually want heat gain in March but not in September which both have the same sun angles.
I have Trombe walls in my house that delay the solar gain until night time when it is usually needed. A combination of windows for light and ventilation and Trombe walls can maximize the value of solar heat and with proper overhangs can minimize overheating.
Glazing continues to improve and selective coatings can minimize heat gain from east and west windows and the use of vacuum sealing can now make the windows perform quite well.
Glad to see you talking about the psychological value of both daylight and views of nature.
I have had clients that are reluctant to go on vacation due to the daylight and views and have others say that they "love their Trombe walls". With double stud walls and air sealing we can afford to not live in a "beer cooler" with LEDs.
Wayne Appleyard
Architect
Hey Lloyd, I know this is off-topic, but check it out; better yet, start flying Delta (or offsetting yourself!) They are putting real money into it.
"Delta will spend $1 billion over the next 10 years to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and invest in ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Starting next month, the airline will work toward canceling out emissions from its flights and ground operations."
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137782/delta-carbon-neutral-greenhouse-gas-emissions-climate-change-airlines
I don’t think any Canadians are getting on American Airlines in the near future. But good to know!!
I appreciate the mention of veering away from exterior symmetry of windows just for the sake of symmetry and instead embracing the importance of the need of light and view! This is one of our biggest challenges oftentimes when collaborating with architects is this fixation of symmetry that we find disregards practicality or functionality.