After extensive research, I decided to go with the Ice Field. For those of you who haven't hiked this trail, I recommend going to google images and taking in some photos. As cold as Alaska can get, the scenery looks absolutely breathtaking. I'd even consider going myself someday. The Harding Ice Field is located in Kenai Fjords National Park (est 1980), where glaciers, earthquakes, and ocean storms are the architects. The park sits at the edge of the North Pacific Ocean, and the Ice Field is the source of at least 38 glaciers. These gigantic rivers of ice have shaped the terrain and are now receding to reveal their work. As ice melts, rock is uncovered and the process of succession begins to take place.
Now, my original design was turned down two days prior to the project due date. The final design was not my best work, but I did what I could in such a short time. There's not much to it. I wanted to block the winter winds coming in from the north, hence the big circular wall. The rest was just thrown together. As you can probably tell, I wasn't too happy about the final design. So, I'm going to explain the original. It was centered on finding a way to heat the building without electricity or a fuel source. Obviously, the sun was my best method. The design had two south-facing walls; one transparent glass and the other dark-colored concrete. the idea was to let the sun heat up the dark wall and allow air flow underneath the glass. That air would then get trapped between both walls and heat up. Anyone who know their physics will see that the warm air trapped within the walls would then rise and enter a slot into the building. Bam, solar-powered heater. The design diagram can be found in the post with study models.
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