Adapting to our Environment

Thank goodness for National Parks and the ubiquitous guided walking tours. It allows us to learn, and relearn the lessons so easily forgotten in our concrete jungle cities. In this most recent foray into the Southwest deserts, we are reminded how well desert plants adapt to the climate changes. Not only plants, some of the desert rat nests have material which dates back over 1,000 years. Run the calcs on that Life Cycle Analysis…

Many of the plants, such as the teddy bear cholla, send taproots deep into the earth in search of pockets of water, as well as establishing a very extensive network of surface roots to collect any rain which might fall. By the same token, they are very well protected against the waste of any of the previous moisture due to evaporation, as the thick covering of spines protects shade from both radiant heat, as well as trapping an air layer to provide thermal resistance to convective heat.

Some of the Palm Springs mid-century architecture had clearly taken a lesson from nature. Sweeping shade canopies, dramatic overhangs, and deeply recessed wall openings provide shade from the desert sun. An even closer biomimicry of the desert plants would be the exterior louvers, or shades which also create a pocket of air around the building. The other approach is to imitate the nocturnal animals, building thick walls to protect from the heat, with small windows, shuttered against the sun. This might work for survival, but I vote for capturing daylight which buffering from the sunlight heat.

The jojoba bush takes another tack in reducing evaporation, and that is to set the leaves upright so they have minimal sunlight striking the surface. In the building world, this might be akin to citing the building with minimal southern exposure, or putting thin, high windows which are shaded by the overhang.

One building which has a similar water collection and use pattern is actually located up in Boise, Idaho. Not exactly the desert, but a relatively dry area anyway. The Banner Bank building uses about 70% less water than similar buildings. The system starts by capturing rainwater as well as storm water from the surrounding streets and parking lots. This water is then used to provide water to the low-flow toilets and urinals in the building. I guess you could say the capture system is like surface roots, and the “taproot” is the tie in to the municipal system.

I suppose one might observe that thinking about architecture while walking through a National Park is just proof that I have not sufficiency unwound to really get mentally on vacation… but I like to think of it as an opportunity to reground, recharge, and rethink the interaction of man with nature. A reminder that the natural world has far more experience in adaptation and survival, and that humans are relative newcomers, who have much to learn. A fresh look toward the new year.