Recently, scientist Carl McDaniel visited to lecture on his belief system and how he translated that system into architecture. The first few lecture points that McDaniel made focused on how culture and family form a person’s belief statement and for Carl McDaniel that could not be truer. McDaniel crew up in the late 1950’s to early 1960’s when there was an environmental crisis triangle, which ultimately made him want to go into the field of biology. McDaniel posed the question if architecture is evidence based and answered with stating that since sustainable architecture is based on numbers and results, architecture has to be evidence based to help us progress our buildings to receive better performance and in the case of McDaniel’s Trail Magic house, it is maximized in energy performance.
When McDaniel retired, he wanted a house that would reflect his belief statement in biological developments and maximized his idea to work with the land, not harm it. Trail Magic is a positive energy home that produces more energy than what it needed. The house is also a climate positive home and retains heat and takes carbon dioxide out of the air, not into the air. McDaniel stated that the house itself costs no more to build than standard construction methods but stated that it was an investment he wanted to make to the future. Since this house makes more electricity than needed to supply, the extra electricity gets sent to the power company. McDaniel also does not have to pay anything for heating or cooling because passive cooling systems are supplemented by a pond source heat pump that uses a few hundred Kwh. Natural lighting is also maximized throughout the house so that artificial lighting is not necessary during the daytime. Also, this house uses 80% less water and 70% less hot water than an average two person home.
The one problem that McDaniel posed was with the rate of change with the fact that someone else built a passive house before him. McDaniel discussed that only twenty years before, only a few people owned a passive house and as architects, that needs to change. Since, the production and manufacturing cost of a custom house is similar paid to a regular house, all new houses should be living to the standards of the Trail Magic house and these houses should incorporate water filtration, natural ventilation, natural lighting, and sunlight. The more designers follow this sustainable path, they must inform their client to start a new lifestyle change to adapt to the sustainable world. Little changes can make all the difference in the building by following the succeeding rules: smaller is better, the building envelope should be tight and well insulated, the orientation of the long axis of the building facing east and west maximizing on sun lighting and natural ventilation, and other categories to refrain from using volatile chemical products. The next step would be to think about the materials of items and think about the life-cycle cost of upgrading to a better more efficient system. Sometimes, people look away from updating their homes because the project would be too expensive. However, it is an investment cost that will have a better return for them in the future and as designers, this mission should be taken to serve the greater good of the community to help sustain the earth.
In conclusion, Carl McDaniel wanted to invest in a house that possessed his belief systems. He then commissioned the Trail Magic house which is an energy and climate positive house that makes more energy than produced and takes carbon dioxide out of the air and not back into it. As designers, the future of architecture can be influenced to lead building construction of new homes down a better, more efficient path by using sustainable systems of natural ventilation, water retention, water filtration, sun light, and better site strategies. Custom built houses cost no more to build then a standard house and even give out a better lifetime benefit by producing energy and not taking in energy. Trail Magic is the story of a belief system that should be followed by all in order to help sustain the world and help sustain the local community at hand.