Sun and Shade Backyard Project

Today we had another guest professor, JoAnn, introduce us to sustainable design. We focused on sun and shade in our project to design a backyard. The client wants afternoon shade on their lap pool, afternoon sun on their hot tub, and morning sun on their patio.

We used a sun peg to determine the shadows at different times of the day. The sun peg is attached to the base of the backyard model so you simply move the model around until the end of the peg’s shadow is at the desired time of day on the chart and then hold it still to see where the shadows are on the model.

It was mandatory to put a hill and trees on the left and I decided to add trees on the right too. I made the trees white to keep them from distracting from the design.

The trees made really pretty shadows as well.

I constructed a large shelter to keep the pool shaded. The cutouts give a nice view to the trees and cast interesting shadows too.

The top of the structure has a trellis to provide even more shade and shadows.

Across from the pool is the hot tub and eating area that sits up against a curving wall and a low hill.