I will start with some basic concepts of space
planning that would apply to a "starting from scratch" situation,
but these same principles can also apply to an addition and/or
remodel project. In that case, you may find that your existing
spaces don't adhere to these principles, but at least you have some
kind of direction to look in and can decide what kind of compromises
you may have to make to accommodate your existing situation.
Personally, I live in a home that we completely renovated and added
a little bit of square footage to, but the kitchen, for instance,
isn't really located in an ideal area of the house as far as the
sun/ daylight is concerned. But, like most people, we had to work
with what we had and also with our budget. Although we did move the
kitchen somewhat, it really should have been where the garage is
now. This simply was out of the question as far as budget, as well
as the vehicular access and topography of our site was concerned. No
design is ever perfect, there are always compromises between
competing forces.
The Spaces You Live In Effect
How You Live-
I strongly believe that the way the various
living spaces are laid out, the way they relate to each other, and
the way in which they respond to the sun, and to any possible
"views" (more on this later) will have a noticeable effect on how
you feel living in the house. It’s not something that is always easy
to recognize but to put it more plainly, your mood can be
significantly affected on a day to day basis, by the design of the space(s) that you spend so much time in. Although these effects are
not easy to measure in any empirical way, years of experience and
reactions from clients who have lived in the many spaces I have
designed over the years (including ones for myself and wife) have
convinced me of this. In a home that responds to the elements of
nature, most importantly sunlight (even if you think you are just in
a tiny little house crammed in with a bunch of other tiny little
houses), you will simply feel and live differently than in one that
does not respond to these issues.
Further Reading/Viewing-
For further reading, I highly recommend
Christopher Alexander's, "The
Timeless Way of Building". Although some may find his
approach somewhat bordering on mysticism (and I can guarantee you I
am not a person who subscribes to mysticism) this book is also a
treasure trove of very practical design concepts, especially for
homes, that have stood the test of centuries. The concepts can
just as easily be interpreted as psychological rather than mystical.
Another big favorite of mine is
Sarah Susanka, the author of the
now quite well-known book the Not So Big House. She has been a
real pioneer in moving away from the "McMansion" craze and has been a
real inspiration to me.
The Central Living Spaces-
For most of my clients these days, what people
seem to gravitate most toward is the central living space, usually
consisting of the kitchen, dining room (or area), and family/living
room (or area). Often these spaces are all continuous and may be
completely open to each other or may only have slight visual
separations between the spaces. Some clients still prefer the
different spaces to be more visually separated from each other, but
the relationship of these spaces is often still the same, regardless
of whether they are open to each other, or separated by walls,
doors, visual screens, etc. To determine the sizes of these main
living spaces, you may just key off of the place you live in now,
places you may have lived before, or places you have visited and
found you liked. The sizes of these spaces may also be limited by
your budget. In that case, please refer to my article on
construction costs. The main thing at this point is just to get a
relative size and proportion, in very rough terms, of the spaces.
Bubble Diagrams-
You can then draw little boxes or
"space bubbles" on paper to scale, cut them out, and
then can freely arrange them in relation to each other on a table.
Then, you will want to key in on the direction and tracking of the
sun from your studies of your site described above.
At this point, don’t get too focused on the
shape or actual "look" of the house (although this is admittedly
very hard to do). The most important elements right now are just the
relationship of the various rooms or spaces to each other, and to
your site and to the sun, and possibly towards vehicular and
pedestrian access to and from the location of the house.
