Well, the sum total of what I know about buildings is experience, Ayn Rand, and, as I wrote about, "How Buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand. Basicaly, I have a bias against badly built buildings and nothing more than an intuitive appreciation of beautiful architechture. One of the advantages which I have discovered, which is attendant to attending a university in the United States, is that I can ask for books that I want to read - and they find them for me! I read an article about a new book about Glen Murcott, and his minimalist ecological functionalist Architecture. (I just enjoy writing phrases ike that.) Given that it's something I'm interested in, and I wanted to read it, I asked the librarians if they could get the book freom another library, and THEY DID! (Sorry I seem so surprised.)
In any case, the buildings are, for the most part, beautiful. Not just pretty, some of them are really beautiful. But they are all in Australia. Which stinks. For me at least.
Anyways, on the the point. I've been interested in this ecological minimalism and functional building for a while, and then my brother-in-law got involved in a "Solar Decathlon" as part of the University of Maryland's team. Despite being an undergraduate team that was underfunded, and miserable luck, they placed 8th out of 18, and won the people's choice award for best house.
The buildings Murcott designed are not simply ecologically friendly in the classical sense - using renewable materials, and consuming less power than average - but also use local material, and are built integrated in to the environment. Plus, as I said, they are pretty. He uses solar panels, and sheet metal, and wood, and steel beams, and the houses are just breathtaking. The rooves frequently have a curvature, something architechts typically love for the effect, but abhor for the difficulty constructing and maintaining them. (if they are conceintious enough to care about future maintenance.) He uses the natural deformation under gravity of the sheet metal, wich is cheap and environmentally fairly benign, to achieve his effects, and then utilizes shade and water to cool the houses down. The houses are partially cooled by cross ventilation - not only not accidental, but purposely built in order to utilize the curvature of the surrounding land to funnel air currents through the buildings.
I think this was unfinished, but I'm not sure where I was going with this, so I'll post it now, October 2006.
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