The notion of good living when related to habitation is, particularly in the United States, often associated with houses or apartments of large square footage. This demand for large spaces leads to compromises in architectural integrity and construction quality. In an architectural sense, good living is not directly related to the quantity of space. In this thesis, I argue that spatial quantity does not necessarily improve people's lives. Additionally, an excess of space often leads to investments in superficial conventions and products which can be associated with a consumer driven iconic representation of good living. At closer examination, most of these goods and products are disconnected from the most essential qualities of life and contribute little to the quality of our human relations. From an environmental standpoint, large under-used spaces require a larger footprint, i.e. larger parcels of land, with a greater consumption of construction materials and increased maintenance and energy demands over the extended "life" of a house. In this thesis work I will attempt to search for unique and substantial qualities within a house that is designed to be of a very small square footage. The design philosophy for A Very Small House has, at its core, only the most essential qualities of domestic space. For the personal life of the inhabitant: a refined place to cook, a refined place to bathe, a refined place to sleep. For the life of the inhabitant as a member of a family or a community: a refined place to gather and a refined place to extend. I use the word refined in this context to mean: very subtle, precise, or exact. A means of ennobling an act or a space / Master of Architecture

Since the history of humankind, humans have been transforming the world to benefit their lives. Wood is one of the oldest materials that has been used in many aspects from making small tools to building shelters. Forests, as a main source of wood production, are manipulated to supply the growing consumption with the development of technology. In Sweden, although the forest area is only accountable for 1% of global forest, it is ranked as the fifth largest producer of wood and forest-related products (Swedish Wood, 2018). It is also a country that promotes transition into timber cities where studies show 45% of forest products go to the building construction sector. As a result of increasing wood demand, more and more old-growth forests are replaced with monoculture production forests (Ahlström et al., 2022). This causes forest degradation in which the forest no longer holds the quality to maintain life. Loss of habitats, interference with biodiversity, ecosystem destruction, and threat to social and cultural lives are the consequences of the extraction practice. In response to this urgency, the research aims to expose the entangled network of wood production and addresses an alternative approach to architecture that fosters both humans and nature in the context of northern Sweden. Theories and concepts related to coexistence with nature are discussed to synthesize a form of architecture that has benefits for human habitation while flourishing ecosystems and organisms. The design proposal evaluates the findings across different scales ranging from building to masterplan. The research aims to seek an alternative approach to urban expansion and building construction strategies in northern Sweden by analyzing an ongoing urban expansion plan of Umeå. By integrating strategies and knowledge learned from case studies and literature reviews, the design proposal reconfigured the conventional approach to satisfying human habitation. It envisionsa coexistence through architecture which has equal consideration for both humans and nature. In the long term, the proposal speculates a positive impact on the site and wider ecosystem by taking into account the timescale and life cycle.

La performance énergétique des bâtiments peut être estimée grâce à la réalisation de simulations de thermique dynamique qui prennent en compte différentes hypothèses conventionnelles telles que celles définies dans la réglementation thermique 2012 (météo, occupation, consignes de température, usages de la fenêtre et du volet par les occupants, etc.). Les retours d’expériences dans les bâtiments énergétiquement performants mettent en évidence des écarts importants de consommations énergétiques entre les prévisions et les mesures in situ ainsi que des surchauffes estivales. D’après la communauté scientifique, même s’il existe de multiples facteurs pouvant expliquer ces écarts, l’occupant semble être l’élément le plus impactant. En effet, son action sur la fenêtre et le volet modifie le renouvellement d’air et la gestion des apports solaires. L’usage mais aussi la typologie de la fenêtre et du volet affectent donc les consommations énergétiques et le confort. L’objectif de notre étude est l’analyse de l’évolution thermique d’appartements occupés afin d'établir un modèle comportemental de l’occupant réel permettant de quantifier l’impact des modifications architecturales sur le confort thermique et les performances énergétiques des bâtiments. L’objet d’étude est un ensemble de deux résidences situées sur la commune de Vauvert (Gard, France) construites en 1969. De caractéristiques constructives identiques et suite à des rénovations similaires (V.M.C., chaudières, fenêtres), l’une d’entre elles a été récemment isolée thermiquement par l’extérieur. Une analyse sur une année des conditions thermiques réelles, du comportement individuel de l’occupant et des consommations d’énergie est menée sur la base d’enquêtes et par une instrumentation in situ dans les séjours de 13 appartements occupés. Elle nous permet de définir un modèle comportemental de l’occupant soit 32 combinaisons d’usage de la fenêtre et du volet qui peuvent être regroupées selon trois profils d’occupants (l’occupant « expert », l’occupant « actif » et l’occupant « contre-productif »). La modélisation fine des paramètres nécessaires pour les simulations de thermique dynamique réalisées avec Pléiades+COMFIE, aide à la compréhension de l’impact des stratégies architecturales sur le confort et les consommations énergétiques des bâtiments en milieu méditerranéen. L’analyse thermique des deux résidences (isolée et non isolée) montre, en hiver, des niveaux similaires de consommation pour un confort réduit dans la résidence non isolée. Cependant, en été, lors de pics de température, des surchauffes apparaissent dans la résidence isolée. Le comportement de l’individu a ainsi un rôle essentiel dans la limitation de l’inconfort d’été. Les analyses des mesures in situ montrent que des stratégies permettant le rafraîchissement des appartements ne sont pas toujours mises en place par les occupants. Des solutions architecturales atténuant le comportement contre-productif de l’individu sont finalement évaluées. / The current design of energy-efficient buildings used to be performed by dynamic thermal simulations using conventional hypotheses like those of the 2012 French thermal regulations (weather reports, occupancy, temperature set, operations of windows and shutters by occupants, etc...). However, feedback highlights a great difference in energy consumption between forecasts on the one hand and in situ measurements in winter as well as overheating in summer on the other hand. According to the scientific community, even if many factors can account for this gap, the inhabitants seem to play a major role in it as well. Indeed, by acting on their windows and shutters, they modify the renewal rate of fresh air and the management of solar contributions. As the matter of fact, the use and the type of windows and shutters affect the energy consumptions and the comfort. The aim of this study is to analyse the thermal evolution of occupied apartments in order to establish a behavioral model of the occupants. This will allow us to quantify the impact of architectural modifications on the thermal comfort and the energy performances of buildings.Two residential buildings are investigated in Vauvert (a city in southern of France). Both of them were built in 1969 using the same constructive techniques and have lately been renovated in a similar way (CMV, boilers, windows). The only difference is that on the facade of one of them an external thermal insulation has recently been installed. The analysis of the real thermal conditions, of the actual human behavior and of the amount of energy consumed is built on surveys and on an extensive year-round in situ instrumentation in the living rooms of 13 apartments. It allows us to define a behavioral model of occupants based on 32 different combinations in the operations of windows and shutters. We can divide them into three occupants' profiles (the “expert” occupant, the “active” occupant and the “counterproductive” occupant). Digital Pléiades+COMFIE simulations are made in order to validate this model. The refined modeling of the dynamic thermal simulation parameters helps to understand the impact on the thermal comfort and the energy consumption of different architectural strategies in the Mediterranean area.In winter the thermal analysis of the two residential buildings (insulated and non insulated) shows similar levels of consumption, but a lower level of thermal comfort in the non insulated case. However during temperature peaks in summer, overheating appears in the insulated dwellings, but human behavior is the key to limit occupants’ discomfort. The analysis of in situ measurements shows that strategies to cool down the apartments are not always implemented by occupants. Architectural solutions mitigating “counterproductive” occupants’ behavior are finally examined.