Architectural Berms (Topic 3 of Ground Rules)

 

The concept of Ground Waves, first exemplified in grid juncture landscaping mounds, are extended to fusing earth to home in an accommodative intertwining of celestial cube projections and the geocentric cuboda.


Starting at a cube-projected wall, trough-to-crest half waves are naturally embanked there. In keying their maximum slopes to the 45° angles exhibited by edge and square slopes from 2 prime cubodal orientations, such berms logically both extend along walls and spin around corners. The 45˚ slope also represents a universal average of celestial cube-projected north/south roof combinations at any and all latitudes.


Alternative options find appropriate application in the confining support of inside corners amenable to the steeper 55° angle inherent to the square perspective
and keyed to a half wave spun 90°. Outside corners employing 30° max-sloped waves spun 270° symbolically express the mundane pole, and by association may signal direct harmonious transition to the diamond grid.


The practical merits of such berms is that, with suitable ground cover, they get water away from the house; and they contribute to the moderation of seasonal temperature extremes in a passive manner requiring no attention to thus reduce the home’s energy consumption.


Another reasonable choice of angle for house berms is 35°, an angle whose manifestation in 2 cubodal perspectives matches it to P-R grid duality with full wave berms beyond the house. The 35˚ angle also represents the fusion formula solution to the 45˚ roof average of any combination at any latitude.


To complete a trend of shallowing angles away from the house, and to distinguish the diamond grid, full berms there are keyed to the edge perspective's 20˚ sloping triangle. In general berms and mounds may plateau and/or be terraced, and planting is appropriate on wave slope maxima or minima, top or bottom.  


More ground design possibilities that merge harmoniously with random terrain and deal with flat and concave contouring are explored in Topographic Options, topic 4 of  Ground Rules.