Lesson 8 - Environmental Factors Flashcards
What is the difference between Macro and Micro Climate?
Macro is the general climate of the region. Micro is the local modification of Macroclimate.
NOTE ON COLORS
Warm Colors are best seen in bright sunlight.
Cool Colors are best seen in overcast light or northern light.
MACROCLIMATE
What is the latitude in the United States (not including Alaska and Hawaii)?
The Latitude is varies from about 49 degrees north at the northern tip of Minnesota to about 25 degrees north in the Southern tip of Florida.
As Elevations Increase Temperatures Decrease.
How high do you have to go to have the temperature decrease 1 degree?
For every 300 feet of increased elevation it becomes 1 degree colder.
What does the abreviation NOAA stand for?
And what does it do?
(MICROCLIMATE)
National Oceanic and Atmospher Administration
- Designer can obtain data on Macroclimate from here.
The Best way for a designer to learn about Microclimate is to walk the site.
What Day is the Equinox, Summer Solsitce and winter Solstice?
Summer Solstice - June 21 or 22
Winter Solstice - December 21 or 22
March 21 - Vernal Equinox
September 21 - Autumnal Equinox
NOTE:
A body of water is usually warmer at night and cooler durring the day.
AND
Its Nornally cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than adjacent land.
Microclimate is affected by ground surface material.
What is Albedo and conductivity?
Albedo is the fraction of energy that is recieved on a surface.
This is measured on a scale from 0.0-1.0
0 Being Flat Black and absorbing alot of energy
and 1.0 being a mirror and completely reflective.
Conductivity refers to the speed with which heat passes thrugh a material. Metal has a high conductivity. and sand and soil are low.
What is the comfort zone for a person?
Between 63-71 degrees in the winter
Between 66-75 degrees in the summer
Within a relative humidity range of 30-60 percent.
75 Percent humidity will result in discomfort regardless of temerature.
NOTE:
Urban Areas can be 10 degrees warmer then comparable rural areas.
Note: The greater the speed of air movement the greater the cooling affect.
Air Movement less then 50 feet per minute is generally not noticed.
50-100 feet per minute is pleasent.
100-200 Feet per minute is pleasent and noticable.
200-300 Feet Feels Drafty.
300 Feet + is uncomfortable.
Sound is Measured in Decibels** on a logarithmic scale that has a value of 1 at the threshold of hearing and _140 at the threshold of Pain. _**
Each increase of 10 decibels represents a tenfold increase of sound energy, which the human ear percieves as approximatley twice as loud.
What is a comforatble noise level for the average person?
_50-60 decibels. _
What is the recomended decibels for a sleep or a study area?
No more then 30 Decibels.
What Decibel of sound could cause hearing imparament if exposed to it for a long period of time?
85 Decibels
Sound pitch is determined by frequency, which is the number of oscillations, or cycles, per second.
Sound Audible to Humans is how many cycled per second?
20-20,000+/- Cycles per second.
NOTE: Doubling the distance reduces the sound intensity to one-quarter.
- Gusty Winds reduce the sounds by adding white noise.
- Trees Thin Out high frequency noise.
- A low wall midway between source and reciever has a little affect on low frequency sound.
What is an example of a sound masking in an enviroment where there is a freeway?
Feeway Park Seatle Washington.
LAWERENCE HALPRIN - Landscape Architect
The white noise generated by its cascading fountain literally drowns out the sound of the nerby interstate.
What is Glare the result of?
Glare is the result of too much contrast. NOT BECAUSE OF TO MUCH LIGHT!
What is Ecology?
A polticial movement that is ment to prevent the enviroment.
i.e. Pollution
Ecology is the science of the pattern of relationsips between a community of organisms and its enviroment.
Who introduced ecology into the 19th century society and what book did he write?
George Perkins
Man in Nature - 1875
An introduction into the study of ecology.
What are Catchment Areas AKA market Trade or tributary Area?
It is a geographic area from which the participants in an activity are drawn. It grows and shrink activity.
What are Residential Catchment Areas?
Paticipants in an activity area which is Determined by local transit systems.
Proctor Compation Test
Geotechnical Tests to determine the maximum, practically achievable, density of soils and aggregates.
When was the Regional Planning Association of America created and what for?
This was created in 1920 by a group of American Enviromentalists to explore and expand the possibilities for large sacle comprehensive planning in the US
Who is Lewis Mumford, Benton Machaye?
Who were members of his group that furthered on to develope a landmark ecology based plan for the entire state of NY.
Lewis Mumfors and Benton Machaye proposed the appalachain Trail in 1922.
Machayes writtings included The new Exploration: A Philosophy of Reginal Planning.
and From Geography to Geotecture.
Clearence Stein and Henry Wright were part of their group.
What is an ecosystem?
An Ecosystem may be a forest, a desert, a pond, a labratory culture, or a manned space vehicle.
Explain the Ahwahnee Principles
Y. 1991
Ahwahnee Hotel - Yosemite National Park
A group of architects, planners, and community leaders for together to present community principles. that express new sustainable planning ideas.
See page 140
Who introduced the concept of conservation as a philosophy of natural resource managment?
Theodore Roosevelt and His Cheif forester Gifford Pinchot.
Begining 20th Century.
What booked cuased an alarm that revealed the reality of an emerging ecological disaster in the mid 1960’s?
Rachel Carson’s _Silent Spring. _
This book identified the gross missunderstanding of the value and hazards of pesticides.
It outlined in specific the pesticide DDT and the impact on the entire natural ecosystem.
Name 3 Principles of the Scientific Laws of Nature.
- In the earth’s ecosystem (the area of teh earth’s crust and atmosphere approximatley 5 miles high and 5 miles deep) there is a finite amount of natural resources.
- Given the laws of therodynamic, matter cannot be created or destroyed.
3, All Forms of Energy tend to seek equilibrium and therefor disperse.
i.e. water falls from the sky, settles on plants, and then percolates into the soil.
Name a credo for enviromental responsibility
The Natural Step
Organized by scientists, deisgners, and enviromentalists in 1996.
NOTE:
Buildings consume atleast 40% of the world’s energy.
