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I've heard some fascinating stuff about passive airflow architecture. The floor plans of old buildings were often laid out in very specific and sophisticated a

I've heard some fascinating stuff about passive airflow architecture. The floor plans of old buildings were often laid out in very specific and sophisticated arrangements designed to take advantage of local prevailing winds and weather patterns so that opening certain pairs of windows at certain times of day would effectively ventilate the entire structure. It's interesting to also think of the secondary effects we've lost by effectively sealing out the outside world and living in a closed box.

girzel 12y ago
I would love to read a book on this: How far can you get relying purely on design and structure, not technology. "Passive" solutions, as you say. A fascinating topic.
- rizumu 12y ago
  Earthships, if you are unfamiliar with them, are a great place to start: http://earthship.com/ http://earthship.com/
- jacquesm 12y ago
  100% passive is possible today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Umbrella_house http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Umbrella_house
- girzel 12y ago
  Very cool, thanks to you both!
- nuggetsgalore 12y ago
  two of my favorites... Thermal Delight in Architecture http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/thermal-delight-architecture http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/thermal-delight-architecture Commonsense Architecture: A Cross Cultural Survey Of Practical Design Principles http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4584732-commonsense-architecture http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4584732-commonsense-archi...
- jkaunisv1 12y ago
  100% is very feasible, even without going the Earthship route. Mostly it has to do with extra insulation but there are a couple other techniques that help. The reason more houses aren't like this is because it adds $10-20k to construction costs so developers don't bother. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house
mogrim 12y ago
Lincoln Castle prison (in the UK) used passive cooling, there's a Time Team documentary about it - the jail fever outbreak section talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6A9sNXnzw#t=2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6A9sNXnzw#t=2013 (The entire documentary is fascinating, assuming you like archaeology / history of course!).

girzel 12y ago

I would love to read a book on this: How far can you get relying purely on design and structure, not technology. "Passive" solutions, as you say. A fascinating topic.

rizumu 12y ago
Earthships, if you are unfamiliar with them, are a great place to start: http://earthship.com/ http://earthship.com/
jacquesm 12y ago
100% passive is possible today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Umbrella_house http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Umbrella_house
girzel 12y ago
Very cool, thanks to you both!
nuggetsgalore 12y ago
two of my favorites... Thermal Delight in Architecture http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/thermal-delight-architecture http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/thermal-delight-architecture Commonsense Architecture: A Cross Cultural Survey Of Practical Design Principles http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4584732-commonsense-architecture http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4584732-commonsense-archi...
jkaunisv1 12y ago
100% is very feasible, even without going the Earthship route. Mostly it has to do with extra insulation but there are a couple other techniques that help. The reason more houses aren't like this is because it adds $10-20k to construction costs so developers don't bother. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house

mogrim 12y ago

Lincoln Castle prison (in the UK) used passive cooling, there's a Time Team documentary about it - the jail fever outbreak section talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6A9sNXnzw#t=2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6A9sNXnzw#t=2013 (The entire documentary is fascinating, assuming you like archaeology / history of course!).