Friday, March 4, 2011

Learning from cats

    
Do you have cats? Before they lie down, they would struggle for a long time, trying different positions until they find the most comfortable one. Then they just stay there for hours and refuse to move.

This was brought up during a discussion about the rooting of a building on its site. There are a lot to consider: sun, wind, topography, landscape, view, vehicular/pedestrian access, existing buildings, zoning regulations, subsurface conditions, etc. It takes time and requires rigorous studies to find the optimal solution.

[Side note 1] Other fun facts about cats:
- They usually spend about 16 hours a day sleeping, and 30% of their waking hours grooming themselves.
- In some extreme cases, especially when they are scared or hiding, they could stay still for 7-14 days!

[Side note 2] From ARE "Site Planning & Design" sample questions:
After sight, which of the following senses is primary to conveying information about a site?
_ Touch
_ Hearing
_ Smell
_ Taste

 

4 comments:

Ish said...

taste??

Human said...

dont eat the soil! the answer is hearing. i dont know why tho... ncarb is weird...

Architectoid said...

here were some good answers to the questions with explanation:
http://www.areforum.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-230994.html

Unknown said...
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