Climate Cabin
The Climate Cabin addresses multiple facets and requests from the program and project descriptions facilitating: non-toxic timber construction, passive solar heating and cooling, PV battery and conduit storage, and an assembly that will be resilient to climate and temperature shifts.
Timber Construction
The Climate Cabin's skeleton and foundation are constructed out of a mixture of heavy and light timber as well as T&G decking for aesthetics. This makes for ease in construction and assembly opposing specialized and time consuming building techniques such as stucco, masonry, as well as rammed earth. The exterior of the cabin is faced with scorched cedar wood to eliminate the toxicity and chemicals from paint, while giving the cabin a look and feel of age and prominence with healthy wood.
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling
The strategy of passive solar heating and cooling was implemented to use a combination of calculated window square footages, a thermal mass, as well as controlled eaves in order to ensure a comfortable indoor climate with yearly temperature swings. Using climate-mapping software to determine heating and cooling hours for the summer and winter months, an approximation of 72sq ft. of south facing windows was determined for adequate heat gain. Porcelain tile for the floor and north interior wall is used as the thermal mass to capture the sun's heat, and radiate it through the later hours of the day and night. Three of the windows are double-hung, being operable to let in breezes and ventilation to the cabin. With the use of heavy curtains or shades over the double-hung windows, heat transmission loss can be minimized at night. The control eave including the roof overhang is measured to block out the summer sun, yet let in the winter sun. (see diagram pg. 4) This directly blocks harsh summer sunrays from entering the cabin through the southern glazing.
PV Storage
A small storage space, opening to the outside, has been included to act as a closed area to store the components of a PV system, as well as misc. storage for wood or any other necessities that can be kept out of plain view. The strategy for outside access to this space is to prevent insect or rodent infestation inside the cabin, quarantining anything that might inhabit raw materials to the outside of the cabin.
Cabin Resilience
This 180sq ft. cabin (excluding front entrance porch) is designed to withstand years of season change and weather extremes through the heavy timber foundation to the floor and roof construction. Standing seam metal roofing is specifically used to completely minimize the threat of water leakage and damage to the structural components of the cabin. Though this strategy is more costly than a generic corrugated metal, the upgrade will ensure a longer life expectancy of the cabin.
(Competitor's text)
6 scanned / 5 viewable
- Site Plan
- Axonometric Drawing
- Elevation
- Schema
- Perspective
