The prototypical home plan of suburbia, the single level split plan, had been continuously refined over time to be perfectly suited to its suburban condition. The attempts to use this plan in a denser urban fabric have failed since the prototype cannot adapt. The corollary is that the traditional types that work best in denser urbanism have a legacy of floor plans that do not easily accommodate current expectations. Modifications may be too costly or time consuming to undertake. This again keeps the home out of reach for the majority of the population. Both plans have problems, but only one can adapt. [Hint: it's not the snouthouse.] All we must do to start solving the problem is begin with the resilient type and craft a new plan. If we are creative enough we can provide the expected livability in a smaller footprint by using every available square inch. This was the philosophy that guided the design of the 2006 Montgomery Living Idea House. Weighing in at 2,100 square feet it still has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, separate home office, formal foyer, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, living room, and a sitting room off the master. While this may be only a couple of hundred square feet less than the national average, it actually packs a feature list closer to that of a 3,000 square foot home. Truth be told, I was actually able to fit almost the same program into a house 300 square feet smaller than my Idea Home. The issue, again, was that the reduction in square footage without the reduction in fixture count only saves on the cheap space, which didn't appreciably reduce acquisition cost.* What it was capable of, however, is putting a smaller footprint on a smaller lot leaving more room for a yard. The extra space in the rear also allows for future expansion of the home should the need arise. This proves it's possible to have a home that meets all the checklist requirements and still has enough breathing room. With a smaller footprint it is still possible to have a big yard on a small lot. The inhabitants can look out onto their back yard and kitchen garden instead of being shoved up against their back fence. By extending the view from the interior of the house into the exterior spaces, without violating the neighbor's privacy, the whole home feels larger. These are the techniques that allow you to build small and live large. *might be a different story today when every dollar counts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Build Small, Live Large :: Evolution + Extinction
The prototypical home plan of suburbia, the single level split plan, had been continuously refined over time to be perfectly suited to its suburban condition. The attempts to use this plan in a denser urban fabric have failed since the prototype cannot adapt. The corollary is that the traditional types that work best in denser urbanism have a legacy of floor plans that do not easily accommodate current expectations. Modifications may be too costly or time consuming to undertake. This again keeps the home out of reach for the majority of the population. Both plans have problems, but only one can adapt. [Hint: it's not the snouthouse.] All we must do to start solving the problem is begin with the resilient type and craft a new plan. If we are creative enough we can provide the expected livability in a smaller footprint by using every available square inch. This was the philosophy that guided the design of the 2006 Montgomery Living Idea House. Weighing in at 2,100 square feet it still has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, separate home office, formal foyer, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, living room, and a sitting room off the master. While this may be only a couple of hundred square feet less than the national average, it actually packs a feature list closer to that of a 3,000 square foot home. Truth be told, I was actually able to fit almost the same program into a house 300 square feet smaller than my Idea Home. The issue, again, was that the reduction in square footage without the reduction in fixture count only saves on the cheap space, which didn't appreciably reduce acquisition cost.* What it was capable of, however, is putting a smaller footprint on a smaller lot leaving more room for a yard. The extra space in the rear also allows for future expansion of the home should the need arise. This proves it's possible to have a home that meets all the checklist requirements and still has enough breathing room. With a smaller footprint it is still possible to have a big yard on a small lot. The inhabitants can look out onto their back yard and kitchen garden instead of being shoved up against their back fence. By extending the view from the interior of the house into the exterior spaces, without violating the neighbor's privacy, the whole home feels larger. These are the techniques that allow you to build small and live large. *might be a different story today when every dollar counts
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