The New California Republic wrote:Novus America wrote:I would definitely want a corridor that could be enclosed, maybe say with sliding glass doors so it could be opened and closed as weather permits.
Villa Tugendhat has something similar, whereby the back of the house has glass windows in the rear living areas of the house that can be retracted into the floor depending on the season.Novus America wrote:Though still what to do when 4 feet of snow gets dumped in your courtyard is a valid question.
It's possible to have a water collection system that will collect the water runoff in the courtyard as the snow is melting, and can be used the same as greywater for toilet flushing and other household tasks that don't need perfectly clean water.Novus America wrote:I guess it would be possible though probably expensive to have a courtyard with a retractable roof.
The machinery required would also take up substantial floor space, unless it was operated by hand of course, but such a thing over a large courtyard area would likely take up to an hour of hand winding to completely extend or retract.
The issue is if it is cold, it might take a while for the snow to melt.
I suppose you could heat the court yard ground though.
Though generally I think court yard homes best for places like the Southwest.