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Wednesday, January 26, 1977
University Daily Kansan
Prof's wife warm on solar idea
Staff Reporter
By NANCY TEETER
Carolyn Crawford, an interior designer,
nursed a house curved to the point of
curvature. Her porch was lit with her
lights, and it illuminated it here.
By reading engineering and architectural trade journals and books, she learned enough to design her unusual house, on the 2000 block of Orchard Lane.
rter husband, Michael Crawford, KU professor of anthropology, said that even though he has supplied money and labor, the house is still his wife's project.
Remnants of past careers as a
Staff photo by JAY KOELZER
Mrs. Crawford quite a successful free lance interior design business in Lawrence to be what she calls the "chief contractor" on her house.
Solar site
Although their octagonal solar house is more than four months from completion, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Crawford are sure that it will be one of the most distinctive on the block.
News director sought
A search for a new director of the Division of Information of the KU Office of University Relations is being conducted by the Director, editor of University Relations.
Larry Knupp, director of information since September 1973, resigned in late December to become editor and publisher of the Ellinwood Leader.
Collier and a seven-member panel have screened about 100 applications for the position and are arranging personal interviews.
He said Friday he hoped to find a replacement by Feb. 1. Mia Marlesa, staff
member of the Division of Information, has been named interim director.
Collier said that under Knupp's direction there had been an increase in the number of news releases sent from the information office.
Knapp purchased the Leader, an 1,800 circulation weekly, from H. Martin Glenn, publisher since the mid 1930s. Knaps plan to take over the paper about Feb. 1.
Knapp, a KU journalism graduate, was news director and operations manager of radio station KVGB in Great Bend before assuming his KU position. He also served two terms as president of the Kansas Associated Press Broadcasters Association.
professional ballet dancer and harpist remain. Her long hair is worn like a ballerina's, and a large gold harp occupies a corner of the living room.
"Everything about the house is for practical and engineering reasons," she said. "In theory, when form truly follows function, a house will be beautiful."
Judging from the blueprints for the 3,000-square-foot house, it truly will be beautiful when completed this summer. The two-bedroom, three-level house is designed to work with nature—not against it, Mrs. Crawford said.
The house, including the foundation, is coated with polyurethane foam insulation which resists the passage of hot or cold air. The pipework that connects the house is the kind used in the Alascan pipeline.
From 65 to 85 per cent of the house's heating needs will be supplied by the solar system, she said. The plates are positioned so that, in theov, they will track the sun.
Four of the eight sides of the top level will contain solar flat plate collectors, which consist of a large pane of glass layered on top of an air pocket, a black aluminum sheet and copper tubings filled with water and antifreeze, all over a large pan.
The heated water and antifreeze in the pipes travels through a 12,000-gallon water tank in the basement, heats it, and returns to the solar plates. After mixing the heated water, water, much like a hot water heater mixes hot and cold water, the water can be used.
Air heated by blowing over the hot water heats the house. Mrs. Crawford said that during the cold weather last month outside power would have been needed only once if the temperature was on—on the third consecutive day without sun, with extremely cold wind chill factors.
The two bedrooms are on the lowest level. Because they are occupied for shorter periods of time than the rest of the house, these rooms are placed lower because bat air rises.
A small pool occupies the center core of the house at the bottom of an open well, which extends to the roof. Spraying water from the pool will hardify the house.
"I like to call them secret gardens. They will be quite large, almost like little private parks."
Sunken, unpaved "patios," which will open from each bedroom on the lower, underground level, will be warm in the cool in the summer, Mrs. Crawford said.
Large windows on the second level, which contains the living areas, will have "micro" Vernacular blinds made of copper. The blinds have very thin blades which can shut tightly to keep heat in, or reverse and reflect heat outward. Mrs. Crawford said.
The third level, which will be an office for Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, will be surrounded by Solar panels and have a skylight and dome overhead.
The top or "dome" of the house is made of double layers of acrylic plastic, which supplies light in the day and a panoramic view of the sky at night, she said.
Later Mrs. Crawford hopes to add a萌萌 toillum to supplement the solar power and water resources.
"Without knowledge, I couldn't have done it," she said. "There are no businesses to help you design and build a solar house so you have to have the expertise yourself."
She said she began reading about solar building techniques about five years ago. It took her two years to design the house. The architect helped Crawford hope to finish the house by May.
Because of the cold weather during the past month, no progress has been made on
the house, and Mrs. Crawford has also had
materials the material she has needed
in small enough quantities.
"It's been an uphill battle all the way, but no one has ever said absolutely no. I have never run across a stone wall I couldn't climb." she said.
Everything seemed to be against building the house, including the fact that I'm a woman. There doesn't seem to be a conspiracy against solar building, just a lack of awareness about building them now."
"Logic brought us to this point. I had originally wanted a house in old west Lawrence, but none that I wanted were available.
"We're investing our money now and protecting ourselves for the future. Does anyone have a choice? We want to keep warm when our gas supplies run out."
Nixon moves to recover tapes
WASHINGTON (AP) - Richard Nixon's lawyers asked the Supreme Court yesterday to strike down a three-year-old law that gives the government control of the former chief executive's presidential papers and tape recordings.
A legal brief filed with the high court said Nixon had been unfairly singled out as an unreliable custodian of the materials, which include the Watergate tapes.
The law challenged by Nixon's lawyers in
series of court fights applied only to
Nixon.
It would eventually provide for public access to the materials.
CLASSICAL SERIES
FAR FROM THE MADDING CARF DROUGH (1967)
Dir. John Schlesinger,
Julie Christie Terrence Stamp,
Peter Finch (Great Britain)
Wed., Jan. 26; 7:30, 75c
FILM SOCIETY
Films of Mariene Dierlich
dir. by Josef von Sternberg
BLONDE VENUS (1932)
Mariene Dierlich, Cary Grant
includes Dierlich singing
Hollywood movies
TH 50 SOUTH EMPRESS (1934)
Mariene Dierlich, John Lodge
Thurs., Jan. 27; 7:30, 75c
POPULAR FILMS
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EART (1976)
Dr. Nicolas Reegh, with
Bowie Candy
Clark, Rip Torn
Fri., Jan. 28 and Sat., Jan. 29
3:00; 7:00 and 9:00; $1
Woodruff Auditorium Kansas Union
SIMS. a non-profit, educational organization 842-1225
BUY
Free Introductory Lectures Today—Wednesday 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Kansas Union Oread Room
Relax
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FEATURES CLASSES IN BOTH BEGINNING AND ADVANCED RACING TACTICS, FILMS, SPEAKERS, AND A SPRING CRUISE.
INTRODUCTORY MEETING THURSDAY JANUARY 27 7:30 PM
BIG EIGHT ROOM KANSAS UNION
Sell it through Kansan want ads. Call the classified department at 864-4358