Kanulaf Zuk

I love this place!  

Thank you both, that gives me a great place to start.  I will do my best to identify any wind patterns in the area, make notes on the orientation and shape of the courtyard, and then set my goals to identify the optimal places to create a heat chimney of sorts with trees, and then a cool area with a body of water.  

Thanks again!

I understand the basics of how a draft is created with a Rocket Stove.  

Does anyone know where I can find resources to create a draft or breeze in an enclosed Courtyard?  I am attempting to design a Permaculture garden demonstration at a local middle school, but the teachers tell me the air can become so hot and stagnant, that nobody would want to work or enjoy the garden.  My goal is to work on understanding the thermal dynamics of the space in order to place shade in the correct position to create a slight draft or breeze by appropriately placing hot and cold spots.
Thank you for any help or direction.
I tried to attach a Photo of the courtyard

My apologies just wanted to clear up Smart Kitchen too

Simply Made and Resourcefully Thoughtful

Wow, thank you so much everyone, such great input and now Im excited for the great deal homework I have ahead of me. Just wanted take a moment to attempt to answer some quick questions from some of the responses.

I enjoy understanding ultimate functional goals for a design, so I'll try to begin there.

My ultimate functional goal is to improve the relationships around me.

My current indoor kitchen is intended to feed a family of 4 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, U.S. Unfortunately, it is small, inefficient, and wasteful, and cannot contain my family of 4, at once, comfortably. Both me and my wife work away from home, so cooking after work is a challenge to enjoy while attempting to enjoy time at home as a family. An outdoor kitchen/dining space(14ftx16ft), could be designed for how we specifically work together while making it possible for us to enjoy watching our children play in our small yard, or helping to obtain and tend to the food in the garden. I appreciate the opportunity for the design to also educate my children from interaction, rather than my instruction, as it will leave me with more time to simply just enjoy "them". I understand the living roof Garden may not be practical for me at this moment, since I do currently have garden space. The Garden Roof was more of a hope for others around me to physically see, in order to assist the understanding that even in an urban environment here, where space is limited, solutions do exist. Maybe in time.

I really believe that a kitchen/garden can come very close to becoming a closed loop system, limit my energy bills, limit the strain on public sewer systems, and enhance my overall experience in general.

And I cannot thank everyone enough for your thoughts, input and advice, I have a lot more work ahead of me and really appreciate your gifts, thanks soo much.

I was wondering if I could receive any input on an idea I had for a Permaculture Outdoor Kitchen Design? I have had many ideas for sometime now and could really use some help ironing down a simple first design. I would really love and appreciate any advice, input, or links for help on a few specific issues, so that I can make this a reality. The basic idea is to build an outdoor kitchen based on many permaculture ideas, such as:

1. Living Roof: The roof of the kitchen would hopefully be a garden or living roof, growing edibles (How do I build the correct living roof with wood, 20ftx14ft, structurally sound, to support the weight of the living roof w/ edibles growing in what medium?

2. Water Harvest: Excess water runoff from the roof will be harvested to be used throughout the kitchen(What could be a simple and affordable filter for the water specifically from the living roof to make it potable?)

3. Biogas: Food scraps and organic waste could hopefully feed a small biogas unit to produce a gas stove top to cook the food or boil water, as well as create fertilizer (Has anyone had experience with the Homebiogas unit?, does it really work?) http://www.homebiogas.com/

4. Grey water: Grey water irrigating the gardens surrounding the kitchen

5. Refrigeration- Hoping to implement a chest fridge adaptation to run off of a small solar set up (From my understanding I have read the adapted chest fridge has operated on 100watts per day, so I am hoping a small 100 watt PV system could potentially power it. Has anyone had experience with the adapted chest fridge's power usage?) http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html


In a nutshell, that is the basic idea. Grow it, eat it, and feed it, over and over again. I am also trying to keep this as small scale and affordable as possible. I have tried to explain permaculture many times to many people and I am hoping that when they have an opportunity to walk around and play within it, it will explain far past any of my best words.

Thank you so much for any advice, input, or thoughts