Los Angeles Isn’t London

Wednesday, October 1st, 2014

Los Angeles isn’t London, Dave Munson notes, but contemporary California housing is built for an English climate, rather than a Mediterranean one:

Traditional Mediterranean and Arab cultures both used courtyard houses. Exterior walls in these cultures were often plain or even drab, with much more of the focus being on the interior courtyard. By having a smaller landscaped area and using native plants rather than ones introduced from a wetter climate, a household could cut its water use dramatically. The courtyard house also takes advantage of microclimates, shared walls, shading, and the solar chimney effect to naturally ventilate the house and use less energy than the detached home.

Contemporary California House vs. Mediterreanean

Comments

  1. AAB says:

    Traditional Mediterranean and Arab cultures both used courtyard houses.

    Yeah, those people who can afford it. Everyone else living in the cramped cities makes do with a 3-floor terraced house. Google/Bing some images of old Croatian cities like Zara, Durbovnik, and you’ll see that there aren’t all that many courtyard houses but there are plenty of terraced houses.

  2. Marc Pisco says:

    The large communal house with blank outer walls and shared inner common areas probably says as much about the culture and marriage customs as the climate.

  3. Todd says:

    Recent studies show that pools use less water than the same size lawn, and evaporation can be tremendously reduced using a pool cover.
    In Southern California, you’ll take my pool when you pry my cold dead fingers off of it.

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