Literature Review on Building Envelope, Heating and ... - Beeshive.org

Maritime Climate Indigenous Architecture
Cook (1996) described the maritime climate zone as the mid-latitude (between 40º and
60º latitudes, both north and south) coastal regions of the globe dominated by ocean
influences. The maritime climate is humid and temperate. Precipitation occurs in all
seasons (no dry season), and might change by the hour. The weather could come from
any orientation. Summers are cool and short. Winters are mild and short with some frost
but not continuous snow. Spring and fall are extended in length. There are small
differences between monthly mean temperatures. In Canada, the Atlantic Provinces and
the West Coast have typical maritime climates. Similarly, the northwest, northeast, and
mid-Atlantic coasts of the United States, the coasts of Chile and New Zealand, the
southeast coast of Australia, and most of Japan are maritime climate regions. Most
maritime climates, except Western and Central Europe, are restricted by coastal mountain
ranges, which limit the spread of wind and climate conditions inland.
Cook noted that architectural responses to a maritime climate are always sensitive to
dampness, but architectural responses to changeable temperate maritime climates are not
consistent.
The Cape Cod House or Cottage of New England
The Cape Cod house (also called colonial, hall and parlour, or early American) is an
example of an architectural response to the climatic changeability of the maritimes. The
Cape Cod is an old UK house type that was adopted and modified for the more rigorous
and unpredictable maritime climate with warmer summers, colder winters, and more
wind throughout the year. The Atlantic Ocean dominates the climate in New England and
is known to be more extreme than in the United Kingdom in terms of changeability.
Cook (1996) reviewed the evolution of the Cape Cod through the time from a two-room
house to the current large colonial house. Today, Cape Cod style is chosen for taste and
not for its bioclimatic benefits. The Cape Cod type is also common in the Atlantic
Provinces.
Initially, the Cape Cod was a compact one-storey, cubical form with a timber-framed
exterior. There was a large central fireplace and a large thermal mass masonry chimney.
The cubical form is said to be thermally efficient. The house faced south regardless of the
road direction. Thermal gains were not the reason for this orientation; people wanted to
face the rarely seen sun. South was also the usual direction of fair and fine weather.
The Cape Cod’s building envelope adaptation included the following.
• Building for foul weather was addressed in all directions, because climate is similar in
all exposures.
• Masonry walls, stucco, or lime washes over earthen or adobe walls are responses to
damp conditions. For wood, protective paint is applied. The local presence of rotresistant
timbers, such as red cedar on the west coast of Canada, was used to support
the exposed wood structures.
PERD-079: Task 2 - <strong>Literature</strong> <strong>Review</strong> 45