Residential Design for Everyone
This is a continuation of Part 1, seen here.
Click to read more about Off the grid in Washington, Part 2…
The purpose of this project is to explore residential options for land east of the Cascade Mountains just south of the Canadian border in Washington State.
Geography and Climate
The geography as you can see below is low rolling hills with occasional groupings of evergreen trees. This area is fairly high, at about 3,500 feet (1,066 meters). Although this area gets far less rain than on average for the US, there is significant snow accumulation. This is a net heating climate, as there are approximately 7,400 heating degree days and 372 cooling degree days per year. The mountains to the west play a large role in defining the climate. Mountains in the western United States tend to block cloud formation moving east off of the Pacific Ocean. Also, the topographical affects during warm months drive the formation of thunderstorms which lead to some precipitation and raise the potential for wildfires. Cold Canada to the North influences the weather in the winter by partnering up with the Cascade Mountains and funneling cold weather south across this region.
Click to read more about Off the grid in Washington, Part 1…
In our next project, we take a look at a Portland, Oregon home. Specifically we investigate how to bring more natural light into the living room located in the center of this roughly symmetrical 80 year old house.
