Type 1 errors are the kind that you never really recover from, at least not without considerable expense and aggravation. A classic example is siting one’s house due north and installing huge windows in order to catch a view. Try as you will, you will never achieve the efficiency and enjoyability of a well sited, sunlit house. In the picture of the driveway, it’s easy to spot the error and inwardly smirk at the sheer blind folly of it. But often, we think that high paid professionals are immune to this type of blatant, foolish error.

In the example of the expensive Las Vegas hotel, designers, accustomed to never giving a moment’s thought to working WITH nature ( why would they when they can rely on mechanical solutions like Air Conditioning?) placed the facade of the hotel due south, covered all of it in glass and to make things worse, created a parabolic effect. The result is a condensed beam of super heated light that has guests and staff alike scurrying to avoid it’s burning effects. And if that weren’t enough, the heat-ray is doing such a good job of super-heating the water, that the hotel is reduced to pouring in ice cubes to keep the water comfortably refreshing enough to satisfy the few souls who venture into this desert debacle.

Meanwhile, on the home front, how much energy could be saved if designers and architects bothered to consider the sun’s path? By simply siting the roof line appropriately, we could easily block out the high summer sun (2) while allowing penetration of the desirable winter sun (4). Simple, elegant, and profitable solutions are the hallmark of ecological design.