Welcome to... Companion PowerPoint Presentation for the Introduction to Housing textbook

Small Homes

 What is a small home? 1,200 to 1,700 square feet  Advantages for young families buying their first home, busy career persons, or mature adults wanting to downsize  Require less cleaning, painting & routine maintenance  More easily negotiated & higher energy efficiency  Require fewer resources to build

 Mies van der Rohe—”less is more”  Question—How do you either create or recreate qualitative space which is limited in square footage (reality) but looks larger than it actually is (illusion)?  Do it through craftsmanship (best that can be afforded), materials (high quality) & design  Hans Hollein (Pritzker Prize winner)— combines the costly with everyday materials

 Key is to create illusionary space—space which appears to be more extensive & desirable that what actually exists  Some possibilities: glass & skylights mirrorscurves wall-to-wall floor coverings multi-purpose, small scale furnishings

 Interior-exterior connection roof overhangs porch & deck courtyard Smooth transition from & exterior to interior glass doors lots of windows interior plants

Sustainable Design

 Sustainable design is defined as design that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs  The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program

LEED-Home Criteria  Location & linkages  Sustainable sites  Water efficiency  Indoor environmental quality  Materials & resources  Energy & atmosphere  Homeowner awareness  Innovation & design process

 Frank Lloyd Wright—houses should grow from and work in harmony with their surroundings  Emerging goal is to create environmentally conscious homes that remain functional & aesthetically pleasing

 Holistic approach that includes: solar orientation daylighting healthy ventilation systems (IAQ) environmentally friendly components such as recycled materials energy efficiency Rug made from recycled plastic Bamboo floor Bamboo floor

Strategies  Interior design—taking advantage of natural sunlight for lighting; minimizing interior space  Architecture envelope—adopting climate responsive design  Culture—designing to reflect local culture  Siting—acknowledging interrelationships between humans & their environment  Alternative building materials—selecting local and/or resource efficient materials  Energy efficiency

Energy Efficiency

Why focus on housing?  Accounts for a major portion of total energy use (20%)  Heating (38%) is largest consumer in home  Easiest sector to target  A great deal (perhaps 50%) of energy is wasted  Most homes are not adequately built for energy efficiency & older homes are typically not efficient  High energy prices can create financial burdens for homeowners and renters

 Energy programs: Built Green (Colorado) Energy Star (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)  Many minor modifications can enhance energy efficiency (including appropriate R- level & site plan) Compact fluorescent Compact fluorescent lights lights Efficient ceiling Efficient ceiling fan fan

Earth-sheltered housing  Uses the earth as a barrier & as a moderator of temperature  Not a new idea sod homes earth berming homes built into hills

Geodesic dome Uses 30% less surface area to enclose the same amount of volume as a box type structure—less area for heat to escape or outside air to penetrate Spherical shape provides for natural and efficient interior air circulation

Solar housing  Active—uses collectors, pumps, & tanks to collect & distribute the sun’s heat  Passive—where the shell of the house & living space collect & distribute the sun’s heat  Photovoltaic cells—convert sunlight directly into electricity

Components of a passive solar house:  Direct gain—sunshine enters south-facing windows; absorbed within living space; stored in mass within home  Indirect gain—energy from sun collected at one place, such as a solar greenhouse

Wind-powered housing  Wind power is the world’s fastest growing energy source  US wind turbines produce over 3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity  Wind turbine generators harness the energy of moving air to generate electrical power