colonial times

our next project involves the analysis of vernacular architecture (architecture built by the people at its very beginnings). Being assigned "Cold Climate" vernacular architecture i chose to research and analyze colonial houses of new england. going back to the vernacular architecture of colonial times takes me to the saltbox homes and the cape cod type housing. these homes were simple in their designs and reflected the people way of life at that time. no rooms were established that were not absolutely necessary and privacy was a luxury and very scarce. much of the designs were to temper the harsh new england weather. sloped roofs to minimize snow build up and to counter the wind, north facing windows were absent to keep in as much warm air, and a central fireplace was the only means for heat and light at night time.

from my overall research i need to ultimately boil my analysis down to one specific building. which building i will choose i am not sure yet, but i will ultimately be designing a building program to fit this cultural identity. as for right now i need to provide 4 presentation boards: 3 for my cultural/vernacular analysis, and one board for an abstract expression that conveys the cultures internal spirit. what that means exactly i will need to clarify, so for now i am focusing on laying out my boards in a concise manner to express, once again, only the main ideas of my analysis. this project will be due next wednesday and from then i will be given a building program which i am very excited for.