Download Free PDF Ebook General Issues in House Design
ONE OF THE MISTAKES that home designers — yes, even green home designers — make is failing to step back and look at the big picture. Instead, they quickly get into specifics about materials, construction details, and which appliances to buy. A better idea is to begin your design process by considering a number of broad, overarching issues. Whether you have hired a designer or are designing your home yourself, begin with the big issues, then zero in on the details. This chapter examines a few of these general issues, focusing on those that can help to make your home environmentally friendly.
IS A STAND-ALONE, SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT?
Since the 1940s, the American dream has been the single-family home. Billions of dollars in advertising, countless television shows, and a wide range of government policies have fueled our desire for that brandspanking new, single-family suburban home. For many, this image is rounded out by a shiny SUV parked in the driveway out front, a Sunday afternoon on the riding lawnmower, and a backyard deck looking out on their own “little piece of paradise.†Indeed, there is much to be said for owning a single-family home on its own lot. You have privacy. You and your family make the decisions about how your house looks, how it’s landscaped, and the protection provided by your little oasis. You’re in charge.
HOW BIG A HOUSE DO YOU NEED?
The bigger the better, right? Isn’t that a part of the American dream? The average US home has more than doubled in size since 1950, growing from about 1,000 square feet to 2,340 square feet in 2004. This has happened even as the average family size has shrunk by one-fourth, from about 3.4 in 1950 to 2.6 in 2004. Today’s homes provide, on average, three times as much square footage per family member (290 in
1950, 900 in 2004). In fact, some of the largest homes being built today are for empty nesters, couples whose children have left the home and who are at the top of their money-earning potential.
DESIGN FOR DURABILITY
No matter what type of house you build, there will be substantial environmental impacts associated with its construction — from the embodied energy in the materials, to the solid waste generated on the construction site. The longer your house lasts, the longer the period of time over which those impacts will be amortized, or spread out.
DESIGN FOR ACCESSIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY
Like it or not, most of us are getting older. In designing houses for the long term, consider providing handicapped accessibility. Creating entries, kitchens, bathrooms, and other spaces that can be used by wheelchair-bound individuals is referred to as universal design. If the home you’re planning is likely to be the one you retire in, universal design is a high priority.
HOUSE CONFIGURATION
What should the basic shape of your house be? Should it be tall and boxy? Low and spread out? Long and narrow, or roughly square? These are fundamental questions that will have very significant ramifications as to how your house is designed, what resources go into building it, how well it fits into its site, whether passive solar heating can play an important role in heating it, and how easy it will be to keep cool. Thinking about the house configuration early in the design process
makes a lot of sense.
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