The Dark Season Room
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
North of 50° latitude, winter daylight drops below eight hours. The psychological toll is measurable: seasonal affective disorder affects roughly 10% of the population in northern Alberta, with another 25% experiencing subclinical winter blues. When no room in the dwelling is designed to counteract the darkness, winter becomes a months-long endurance test.
Evidence and Discussion
The solution is a room designed specifically for winter light: south-facing, with the largest glazing ratio in the house, painted in warm, light-reflecting colors, with full-spectrum supplemental lighting (10,000 lux daylight-balanced) built into the architecture. This is where you eat breakfast, read, and spend the darkest hours.
Therefore
in any dwelling north of 50° latitude, designate one room as the dark season room — south-facing, with glazing sized for maximum winter solar gain, walls and ceiling in warm, light-reflecting colors, and integrated full-spectrum lighting (10,000 lux at seated height). Use this as the primary gathering space from November through February. Position it where morning sun enters first. The room should feel like a sunlit clearing in the forest, even on the shortest day of the year.