The Four-Season Greenhouse
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
In cold climates with short growing seasons, food production stops for six to eight months of the year. Imported produce travels thousands of kilometers, losing nutritional value and creating emissions. The household's relationship to food becomes purely transactional.
Evidence and Discussion
In Edmonton, with a frost-free growing season of roughly 120 days and winter temperatures reaching -30°C, a year-round growing space transforms both the diet and the psychology of cold-climate living. Passive solar greenhouses — insulated on three sides, glazed on the south, with thermal mass and possibly a small supplemental heat source — can grow cold-hardy crops through winter.
Therefore
in any cold-climate dwelling, attach a passive solar greenhouse to the south side of the building. Insulate the north, east, and west walls to R-40 or better. Glaze the south wall with high-performance glass. Use a dark thermal mass floor. Connect it to the house so you can harvest greens in January without putting on boots. Size it at ten to fifteen square meters minimum. Grow what survives cold nights: lettuce, spinach, kale, herbs, and hardy perennials.