Research Experience
Passive Design Techniques in The Florida Cracker House
This project was started in May 2024 through the University of Florida's College of Design, Construction, and Planning. I joined this project from the beginning as the primary investigator.
Cracker Homes are a key part of Florida's vernacular architectural heritage dating back to the 18th century. Using local materials and Passive Design, these homes are an important source of knowledge on Climate Responsive Design. Cracker Homes protected their wood structures by raising them on piers. Florida Crackers also used large, covered porches and dogtrots to promote airflow through the house and create shady, usable space outside the home during the heat of the day (Russell, 2012). Cracker Kitchens were also constructed as separate structures to avoid heat gain in the main structure (Haase, 1992). These are examples of Passive Design: the strategy of using a structure’s surrounding natural energy resources and climatic conditions to create a comfortable environment within and around the structure while simultaneously lessening its reliance on mechanical climate controls and energy usage (Gourlis and Holzer, 2022).
The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement in Blountstown, Florida comprises numerous typologies of Cracker Architecture that represent this building type throughout the Florida Panhandle. Through this research, I have examined six Cracker homes at the Pioneer Settlement to compare their structures, building forms, and climatic design tactics to conclude how they respond to their climate in North-Western Florida.
My goal is to document these Cracker Homes and determine the most optimal layout of homes that utilize Passive Design for North Western Florida. The method used in this study was temperature grid mapping. This method comprises identifying data collection points in each structure and to record surface temperatures indoors and outdoors. This temperature data collected will be analyzed to determine Passive Design techniques that are most effective in Cracker Architecture.
As the Primary Investigator, I take on the bulk of the responsibilities in this project. I am the key mediator between the University of Florida and the contact at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. I interact with the Settlement volunteers and employees on behalf of the University. I gathered all preliminary information the settlement had to offer on each house, photographed, measured, and created supporting documents for the 6 Cracker Homes we are focused on. In these documents are temperature grids that I have drafted and vetted through the help of my mentor, Associate Professor Vandana Baweja. I was in charge of laying down these points in and around the 6 structures and recording surface temperatures at these points during strategic times in the day. From here, I will compile and interpret the information gathered and develop further supporting imagery and documents for the project as I move into writing my report.
