TRADITION+INNOVATIO

N
Tech Specs for Home Improvement

Derek J. Capitan
ENGL-2210-010
April 22nd, 2020
Laguna, New Mexico
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAG
E................................................................................................. 0
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................1
PRELUDE...................................................................................... 3
BEFORE........................................................................................ 4
EXTERIOR..................................................................................... 5
SECTION A..........................................................................................7
SECTION B..........................................................................................9
INTERIOR...................................................................................10
ROOMS.............................................................................................12
COMMODITIES............................................................................16
EXTERNAL.........................................................................................16
INTERIOR..........................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................25
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PRELUDE
This house takes heavy inspiration from my great grandmothers’ home

in the notorious Laguna Pueblo. This by no means is considered a “fancy”

house; as it involves traditional craftsmanship and also takes risk in

incorporating eco-friendly design.

Long ago my Laguna ancestors were their own people, occupied with

their own spaces. The outside world hadn’t begun yet and it was beautiful. At

the time there no such problems like fossil fuels or low income; many of

which are threatening the people along with the world. The Laguna people

had very few resources and instead they had to work with the resources

around them which was indeed the environment in which they lived.

The works they created were simply extraordinary and this is the

reason for this document. I want to pay homage and use their way of

creative thinking along with implementing today’s new eco-friendly

strategies. There needs to be an understanding that the ways and ideas

presented can indeed save our futures.

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BEFORE

Here we have photos

of the original house
which are not the best
photos however these
are the only photos
that can be retrieved.

Front portion

As you can see the

house is constructed
entirely out of adobe
which is essentially
dried mud brick.
Combining the natural
elements of earth,
water, and sun. A lot of
homes and other
buildings are made

Side portion with this material,

which is made with
tightly compacted
sand, clay, and straw
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EXTERIOR
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Here we have documentation of the exterior which is an outline of the

entire house. This house originally was not great in size as it was only a two-

person household. The new house presented remains similar in using the

adobe product and also in size to preserve land usage used for the three

sections of garden.

It is important to note that the house is divided into two sections.

Section A being represented through a dark green shading. Sectional A is

roughly 600 square feet. Section B is represented through a yellow shading

and is much smaller in size compared to section A. The size of the section B

is 306 square feet. It is also important to note that the two sections are

connected.

The original house had a lot of space or land around the house that

could have been utilized for more function. By gardening we can truly go

green to benefit mother nature. It is known that plants act as highly effective

air cleaner, absorbing carbon dioxide, plus many air pollutants, while

releasing clean oxygen and fragrance. By planting new gardens, such as rain

gardens, we can make use of the rainwater run-off and help prevent harmful

pollutants from making it in our native streams. It has been proven that an

environmental landscape design can cool the home in summer and warm it

in winter. It won’t only save me money for food but it is also a great

aesthetic for the home Gardening has been a tradition to the Laguna people

and this is why I have incorporated it as part of my house.

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SECTION A
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Here being presented is the Section A document. The first diagram

you see is part A, which showcases a customizable roof. This roof keeps the

home cool in summer and prevents heat loss in the winter. The cool feature

of this roof is its ability to come apart and separate in sections when the time

comes. The system improves efficiency using controls for radiation,

convection and insulation, including a passive ventilation system that pulls

air from the underbelly of the attic into an inclined air apace above the roof

which. One of these spaces is strictly for a shower pocket. On the sides of

you house you find water pipes which acts as a filtration system that

connects to the garden.

At the bottom of the document, part B, you see the roof fully closed

with a green metal finish. To keep the roof afloat are the wooden logs which

stabilize and acts as reinforcement. roof is slanted so that this allows

precipitation to seep and fall down to the garden. The good thing here is that

the water is not going to waste. Peeking out of the roof is a woodstove pipe

and you find solar panels laying on the green plates.

You can never underestimate the use of solar energy. This acts as a

renewable energy source and also reduces the electric bill and possesses a

low maintenance cost.

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SECTION B

Section B is relatively similar to Section A, as it continues the use of

the Adobe finish along with keeping the water pipes intact. You may notice

that Section B does not possess a visible roof at the moment but rather you

see a flat roof style. The reason for this is highlight the circular window on

top of the roof and to also highlight the interior of the roof pond.
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INTERIOR
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Here we have the interior documentation, which is primarily showcases an

interior view but it also encompasses the outer potion of the house. We have

a total of 6 rooms encaged within the home; Each color coded.

 Orange representing the Bathroom

 Greenish blue representing the Bedroom

 Light blue representing the Kitchen

 Greenish gray representing the Livingroom/ Indoor Patio

 Yellow representing the closet

 Purple representing the secret room

 Red representing the hallway

 Lighter green representing gardens

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ROOMS

The rooms drawn I consider to be the most important because of the

commodities they possess. If we are being honest, there is nothing quite too

special about the rooms not drawn such as the bedroom, closet, and secret

room; other than the fact they are a viable necessary space for a proper

living. There is no reason why a house should have 10,000 bedrooms and an

indoor arcade. You should definitely reconsider your options and only have a

substantial number of rooms.

The first room we have is the living room and patio. You can see

that the set-up is very minimal and it is like that for a simple reason; to

preserve energy. Back in the day they did not believe in television which is

nowhere to be found. That or any other type of electronic entertainment.

They were a hardworking people who never let their foot of the gas pedal.
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They would wake up extra early and labor until sundown. The set-up is

identical to the previous home because nowadays you never hear of that

type of work being done and this was the inspiration behind the living room.

An outstanding feature that you see on living room is the circular roof

window above. This room in the original home was pitch black which I semi-

disliked which is why I implemented this elegant piece.

A room that no one can live without is none other than the important

bathroom. This holy grail contains special commodities which is a part of

the toilet and shower. It is important to note that there is only one bathroom.

Again, there is no need for multiple bathrooms because of the amount of

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water being used. The whole point of this project is to save the environment

and you are doing this through only having one bathroom.

While we are on the subject of water, a feature that is within the

bathroom is the shower pocket which allows the rainfall to do the cleaning.

Showers were barely becoming a thing when my grandmother built this

house so with that being said, sometimes they had to go outside and bathe.

This shower pocket is a safer move and it also saves those from going out

during a dangerous storm.

The kitchen is just as important as the previous rooms and here is

where you will find more of the essential commodities. Some of which

include the woodstove which pipes through the roof, water heater, and

fridge. My great grandmother used a wood stove to heat her house and while
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there are more efficient options out there, you cannot knock a woodstove in

keeping your house warm and toasty. It may be old and a bit of work but that

is what makes it more fun. It is less energy consuming and gets you

chopping that wood. Last but not least you need a fridge to keep your food

nice and cold. Lucky for us, our appliances have made tremendous progress

in becoming more technologically advanced.

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COMMODITIES
EXTERNAL
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Here we have the roof pond design which is a passive cooling

technique based up the increased heat capacity of cheap and widely

available water. In general, the pond is covered during day to prevent

heating, and open at

night to be cooled.

The shower

pocket has the ability to

transport the bather to

the center of a summer

rainstorm. This pocket

emulates the unique

entrancing feel of a

warm rain in a way that

this dynamic.
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Here we have our customizable roof once more. This new roof

system of design can be retrofitted with almost all roofing products. The

heart of the design is a foiled covered polystyrene insulation that fits over

and between rafters in new construction or can be attached on top of an

existing shingle roof system. The good thing with this roof is that there does

not need to be a removal old shingles which does save money.

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Here being present are two personal favorite windows. We not only

look at function but how one of them is considered to be eco-friendly in using

wood and clay just like grandma dud it. Nothing fancies here but two

functional windows.
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INTERIOR

This shower head knows how much water is used while showering.

The shower head clearly displays both temperature and your real-time water

use in gallons on a colorful, round LED panel embedded in the face of the

fixture. The water usage monitoring allows you to take control of how much

water you use. Talk about saving right?

You ever the movie Karate Kid? No? Well

remember the scene where Dre thinks the shower is

broken when in reality there was just an on and off

again switch. Well we are implementing the same

switch to preserve the water. When we are not using it,

off. When it’s time to wash, on. Simple as that.

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Dual-flush toilets take the technology one step further. They offer

either a lever on the side or push button system on top of the tank that

allows the user to make a choice. Push one button for flushing liquid waste,
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which uses only .8 gallons of water, and the other for solid waste, which uses

1.6 gallons. You save more water for crying out loud!

The LG Panorama is an environmentally friendly fridge. It uses a very

highly efficient linear compressor that saves energy consumption. It is a

French door and cooling plus technology trap the cooling maintains humidity

level and keeps the food fresh for long. So even the electricity goes out,

there is no worry.
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Here we have two coexisting

models are up to par, as both

models have digital displays

showing output temperature and

can be adjusted in 1-degree

increments. They are durable,

compact, and easy to install.

What better way to go? This

woodstove delivers warmth and

comfort to the home while being

easy to operate and maintain.

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CONCLUSION
As we head toward a more advance future, I want the people back at
home to hop on my new green deal. Houses like this are inexpensive and
lessens the torment on the environment.