4.2 SITE

With the primary problem being the limited use of biophilic design in residential environments, the solution would not adequately serve its purpose being restricted to one single site location. For this reason, the design project will be a series of design solutions situated in and responding to seven of the climate zones as defined by IECC. The IECC climate zones range from 0A: Extremely Hot Humid to 8: Subarctic/ Arctic, and are classified further as Humid (A), Dry (B), or Marine (C). These climate zones are defined within the United States only and are categorized by county in order to locate the climate conditions as accurately as possible. 112 The criteria for deciding the climate zone of each location is based on average temperature, precipitation, and heating degree days, which is defined as the difference in temperature between the average outdoor temperature in a day and a given base temperature for a building space, typically 65°F. 113

The IECC climate zone designations were chosen for this project due to the range of categories that are covered and because of their precise designation of each zone, allowing for the addition of assigning site conditions in accordance with climate. Additionally, the clarity of the category names in relation to their meaning is preferred over other methods of climate zone designation, due to ease of understanding.

With the intention of selecting a diverse range of climate zones for the prototype locations, the following types were chosen:

● 1A: Very Hot Humid a region that receives more than 20 inches of annual precipitation and has either a 67°F or higher temperature for 3,000 or more hours or a 73°F or higher temperature for 1,500 or more hours during the warmest six consecutive months of the year 114

● 2B: Hot Dry a region that receives less than 20 inches of annual precipitation and where the average outdoor temperature remains above 45°F throughout the year 115

● 3C: Warm Marine a region that has approximately 5,400 heating degree days or fewer, with the coldest month’s mean temperature between 27°F and 65°F, the warmest month’s mean of less than 72°F, at least four months with a mean temperature above 50°F, a dry season in the summer, and the month with the most precipitation in the cold season being at least three times as much as the month with the least precipitation 116

● 4A: Mixed Humid a region that receives more than 20 inches of annual precipitation, has approximately 5,400 heating degree days or fewer, and where the average monthly outdoor temperature drops below 45°F during the winter months 117

● 5C: Cool Marine a region with between 5,400 and 9,000 heating degree days, with the coldest month’s mean temperature between 27°F and 65°F, the warmest month’s mean of less than 72°F, at least four months with a mean temperature above 50°F, a dry season in the summer, and the month with the most precipitation in the cold season being at least three times as much as the month with the least precipitation 118

● 6B: Cold Dry a region with between 5,400 and 9,000 heating degree days 119

● 7: Very Cold a region with between 9,000 and 12,600 heating degree days 120

To add to the legitimacy of the design exercise, site conditions were also added to accompany each climate zone selection. These conditions range from urban to rural, flat to sloped, and wooded to open land, with various levels of snow, rain, and sunlight for each. The conditions all correspond to site conditions that are seen within the actual designation of the climate zone it is associated with, and these conditions will be taken into consideration in the designing of the prototypes.