ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSES TO THE INFLUENCES OF ECOLOGY AND CULTURE
“My forest setting is unique” was a comment
frequently heard at the charettes. This may be
true regarding the individual sense of place for
each forest and grassland. Yet the charettes
revealed ecological and cultural patterns that
cross forest boundaries.
To ensure sensitive responses to the contexts
of ecology and culture, the guide addresses eight
geographic areas known as provinces. For example,
the Southeast Coastal Province is a lowland area
with a hot climate and aristocratic cultural
traditions. The Southeast Mountain Province
includes characteristics such as higher elevations,
a cooler climate, and cultural traditions formed
by such “common” people as farmers and frontier
families. Both contexts merit separate and
individualized design responses.
The provinces are:
• Northeast Province, including the Middle
Atlantic States and northern Appalachians
into New England.
• Lakes Province, including the eastern prairies
and the Great Lakes States.
• Southeast Coastal Province, including coastal
areas of the Southeast and Gulf States and
Puerto Rico.
• Southeast Mountain Province, including
the southern Appalachian Mountains,
the Ozarks, and the Ohio River Basin.
• Great Plains/Prairie Province.
• Rocky Mountain Province, including the
northern Rockies, the Black Hills, and
the Wasatch Range.
• North Pacific Province, including the Olympic
Range, the Cascades Range, and Southeast
and South Central Alaska.
• Southwest Province, including the southern
Rockies, the Mohave and Sonoran deserts,
and Southern California.
FIGURE WITH A MAP OF THE EIGHT PROVINCES:
Rocky Mountain
Southwest
North Pacific
Great Plains/Prairie
Southwest
Lakes
Southeast Mountain/ Coastal and the
Northeast
There may be anomalies within these broad
provinces. In these cases, designers can consult
the guidelines from an adjacent province to find
characteristics that match a particular forest
or grassland setting. Such variations must be
documented in a Design Narrative.