 Chapter
7 part 1
Oh to Arrange
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I know you have
been yearning to start those plans and get down to real business.
You hurt so bad, you have arrange pains!
But I still
suggest you be patient and bear with the first half of this chapter.
Then! I promise you can arrange to beat dickens. For
your patience though you will get a reward. By the time you get to
the nitty gritty real plan stuff your plan will be so much more
sophisticated that not only will you be proud but you will also have saved
significant time and effort in avoiding redesign.
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Topic on this page
Topics on page 2
topics found
only in the complete eBook
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Central Command is
Where?
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Every organization has a central
command. Every design has a central concept. A house plan has both and
it is your job is to figure those out. Figure them out both BEFORE you
begin designing.
If it is obvious what I am saying
skip over this part. If not then 'central command' means who has the
decision making and administration authority for the home when this house is
done and operating? 'Central Concept' though means the principle plan
organization idea behind the design.
Central Command
Will someone be in the house on a day
to day full time basis? Who is it, what are their duties? Where will they
carry out these duties? The answers to these simple questions will
tell you where in the house 'central command' should be and exactly what it
needs, design wise, to perform best. Is the wife a full time
housekeeper? Is the kitchen her preferred center of the universe? Is the
husband a stay at home dad who tends the children and does work from
the house? Is his preferred 'place' a study or den, the garage, etc.
Or just to round out, do both owners (or the single owner) work outside
full time with no full time day person present? How do things work then?
You could go on to include a full time hired housekeeper or a live
in relative. The point is obvious; there are numerous requirements
and location needs that vary depending on who is calling the shots from
the house. Here's a list of 'use areas' (not necessarily a complete list) that
have specific and varied answers depending on what has been said here.
TIP: Notice I said 'use areas' not rooms. This is not just to be
cute. It is a good idea not to think yet in terms of 'rooms'. Rooms imply
enclosed by walls and doors on all sides which is not necessarily required
or desirable.
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Central Concept
Once you determine the presence of a
'central command' (or the lack of one), it is time to move to find the
most central concept (idea) for the house. Perhaps the central command
answer is very strong and that becomes the central concept. Or
perhaps C Com is secondary to other ideas you have. Now is the time
to explore these and crank in C Com as appropriate.
Next, remember Chapter 3 where we
talked about 'bubble diagrams'? Now is the time to bring out the bubble
blowers.
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TIP:
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So, what to do?
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First make a loose freehand circle
without regard to scale/size for ONLY the major functional areas you know
you need.
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Do an arrangement of these for every
organizational idea you can think of. Do not forget your site's outdoors.
Stretch yourself. Get outlandish and maybe a little crazy. This is why
bubbles work, they keep you loose and fast so you can really burn through
lots of ideas and arrangements.
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BUT DO NOT GET BOGGED DOWN BY SHOWING
DETAILS. Closets, doors, fixtures etc. just slow this process down
and now is not the time.
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Instead start imagining these bubbles
in 3d and how the relationships work. A solid wall between or no
wall, A hall or a breezeway? Keep it real basic.
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Also don't worry about being
practical right now. Imagine there are no constraints; no budget, no
climate problems, no anything except your imagination gone wild. You will
have the entire remainder of the design process to get real.
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For multi story possibilities draw on
the insights you gained in previous Chapters.
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Prototypical
and Historical Concepts
There are several basic conceptual
arrangements that have a long history in houses. These were originally
formed by climate and culture. Although today with vastly improved materials
and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) concepts once suited
for only the original climate can be adapted and modified. (Keep Green in
mind but lets not make it a straight jacket). Lets call them idea starting
points. (The names are mine).
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The 4 Square |
The Spine |
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the Atrium
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the Outdoorsman |
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The In Law |
the
Village |
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Last Bubble Steps
Once you have explored all of the 'Central Concepts'
(C Con) you care to you are ready to go the next and final step in bubble blowing;
little bubbles.
TIP: If you are doing a small
economy house and are the practical type you may have already gotten to
this point. Obviously the smaller the house the fewer C Con possibilities
there are (unless you really did loosen up and had fun).
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Select the one or two most favored C Con
(Central Concepts) diagrams and
evaluate these against all your previously formed goals. If you had taken
my suggestion and had the goals well thought out and in order of priority
this step should go smoothly.
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Revise your C Con diagram accordingly.
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Start putting in the smaller areas and details
(kitchen becomes prep, pantry, nook, etc.). Still keep it loose and
sketchy.
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once you get the functional sub areas in where they
work for you make notes or any other record of your thoughts on how these
link together and relate (solid walls, part wall, hallway etc).
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If your C Con is multi story do the same for each
story and think specifically about the vertical access arrangement.
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Now go over this diagram/s and begin making the bubbles
roughly to size (scale).
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Last do the arithmetic and get an approximate area
for the entire house. Add 10% for contingency due to this early stage. You
are now starting what is called Schematic Design.
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Compare the total area to your budget area. Evaluate
and revise your diagram accordingly. (Like said again and again better now
than at the end).
For
the remainder of this chapters topics as well graphics
please purchase this book.
purchase
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