More about the atrium house

http://www.worldbook.com/content-spotlight/item/1127-world-book-explores-ancient-rome/1127-world-book-explores-ancient-rome?start=3

http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/schoenauer/arch528/lect05/n05alec5.htm


We often use ancient ideas to create new designs. In this case, I needed a water collection system that wouldn't require extra expenses outside building the house itself. The Roman atrium house began as a single story structure with a small opening in the roof. This hole is how the house gets its name. Originally the hole was just a small opening to let smoke out of a hearth below. Over time it developed into a water collection system. Rain would flow down the roof, which was tilted into the center, and into a pool inside the center of the house. That pool would drain into a cistern from which the residents would take their drinking and bathing water.

The design of the water collection system of the atrium house is a good starting point for my design for the DRC house.

The Roman atrium house plans

http://ancientandold.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~class2/c102/

http://english8.fsu.edu/jcg07h/capstoneprojecthtml.html

Our-Africa.org

I found my new favorite resource for researching the DRC!

The main page is broken up into a bunch of different categories through which I can research the culture, history, economy, wildlife, and more.

"Fewer than a quarter of people have proper sanitation facilities and fewer than half access to clean water."

That is terrible! Looks like I'll be working in a water collection system for these houses...

I've found through this site that malnutrition, disease, and poverty are huge problems in the DRC, leading to orphans who have to sleep on the street and beg for food. The best way to solve this problem is to create a safe and healthy home and I'm on my way to designing one!

"In the daytime, temperatures average 25°C across the rainforest, but can exceed 35°C in the south. With humidity also high, conditions can feel oppressive."

The homes will have to be airy and open, with materials not prone to decay in wet conditions. The next thing I'll have to research is passive cooling.

Researching the Democratic Republic of Congo

The CIA World Factbook is an excellent resource for finding economic and population statistics on every country.

I found everything from the per capita GDP (and a comparison to the world) to the breakdown of religions to the population pyramid!

The DRC is right on the equator (0 00 N, 25 00 E) so it's pretty much the most tropically tropical rainforest you can find.

Here's the Climate snippet:

tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)

Natural resources!!!

cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber 

Some environmental problems to look into:

poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage 

National agreements that I should know about:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Some more things to research:

• what all those environmental agreements mean for building
• wastes created from mining - those could be made into building materials!
• traditional lifestyle