This challenge was basically to attempt to design an outhouse around a specific environment. And, of course,the Arctic was the natural choice! Making the outhouse more of a self-sustaining "thermos" was main goal of the project from an environmental standpoint. The steel braced structure sits on a floating concrete base that acts as a water collection system using heating elements to melt snow as it piles around the base and collects that water in a cistern. A bright red steel clad exterior allows a strong distinction for fellow explorers. The exterior walls utilize 24" of insulation that keep the passive solar gain inside and the excessive cold outside.
The outhouse also acts as a year round refuge for explorers in need and a rendezvous point for rescue teams. It is solar powered and the anerobic digestion system provides a means of sustainably dealing with the waste produced while feeding the gas powered water heating system with fuel.
Hi Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI know this was posted literally a decade ago, but I am looking into thermally / contextually sensitive outhouses for my graduate thesis at the U of minessota, and I thought I wouold reach out to you. do you have any favorite precedents for this typology, and what would you do differently on this project looking back. Thanks!