Architecture Case

In the most urban cities of the United States to its most rural regions, there is one thing that this entire country shares, the people who inhabit it. The American population is steadily increasing and this in turn causes the need for residential homes and other structures of the same nature to be built. As the growing population begins to purchase more homes throughout the nation, residential homes are built based on the needs of the consumers and the safety of the structure to be built. In medieval days, those entrusted with creating these homes and the castles of this time were stone masons, carpenters, and artisans. Today, the role of designing and creating these structures is given primarily to architects who take in specific measurements and calculations to determine the right form or architectural style that would fit best. Architects take into account a variety of geographical factors which in turn may influence a certain style over another. Residential buildings throughout the United States all vary in architectural design elements which have developed specifically as a result of the differing climates and available resources present in the diverse regions in which each structure is built.

The differing climate throughout the varying regions of the United States is one important factor that influences the design and use of a specific architectural style when building residential structures. Although the varying climates include "factors defined by solar radiation, temperatures, humidity, and wind" one major factor that influences architectural design is precipitation (Demkin). Precipitation includes all forms of water falling from the sky mainly in the form of rain or snow. This presents a large problem when designing roofs in areas of large rainfall or snowfall such as Rochester, NY where snowfall is a very common aspect of winter. The problem that precipitation causes is the simple build up of either water or snow on a rooftop which, as an increased load, will weigh down the roof causing leakage problems or even a collapse of the roof itself (Dahl). When designing a residential structure in a region with this type of climate, architects must increase the steepness of a roof, also called its pitch, to allow for easier runoff (Dahl). By doing this, rain is allowed to flow off of the roof top with the aid of gravity and in the winter time less snow will collect allowing for a safer structure. For this reason, one can see that in areas such as Rochester, NY there is not an abundance of homes with low pitched roofs (Pitch). However, in western states such as Arizona or California where rain and snow is not a primary issue, less focus can be put on this design aspect of residential homes.

Because of the variations of precipitation throughout the nation, architects must take a large consideration of rain and snowfall in the design of any residential structure.

Precipitation has always been a factor when designing any residential structure. However, when designing buildings in this present day, architects must also begin to take a large look into sunlight. Sunlight can affect a structure in a many different ways, but two important influences sunlight has on a design is heating and lighting ("Climate"). The more direct sunlight any structure receives the more the interior will heat up ("Climate"). This will affect the design made by architects because depending on the amount of sunlight wanted, the orientation of the overall building will be varied. In regions with cold winters, residential structures may be orientated so that the heat from sunlight is directly utilized by living spaces thus lowering the costs of heating a large home. Inversely, if an architect wishes to block out sunlight in regions with hot summers such as the mid-west states of the United States, orientation would be changed to allow for minimum exposure to sunlight.

This same idea holds true for designing homes that utilize the sunlight for lighting. The use of the sun's natural light, or day lighting, is one aspect of architectural design that utilizes the climate of a region with large amounts of light year round ("Climate"). In regions where days are longer and homes are able to utilize the sun's light for large amounts of time, the need for electric lights is reduced and structures can be designed to be more open and spacious. The use of windows is the most common way to utilize daylight and the amount of sunlight will influence how many windows and the placement of their placement on a building to allow for the most sunlight to penetrate into the home (Roth). Other design aspects influenced by sunlight would be the use of skylights and atriums, or interior courtyards, in residential structures. By incorporating these design features, homes can look more open and costs of lighting a home would decrease (Roth). Climate plays a large role in the design of residential homes and this can be