I am currently working at a small-ish firm where (after spending a lot of time drafting) I am starting to have some opportunities to participate in the design process. Most of my education was on the more theoretical side, and I am discovering that the methods which I developed when working on conceptually-driven projects in school do not (big surprise!) necessarily translate to designing something like an efficient floor plan or an ergonomic kitchen without some additional effort on my part. I often feel as though I am asking dumb questions to my coworkers from more practical backgrounds.
Other people at the firm have taught me some rules of thumb, but I am becoming curious about ways for me to also develop my knowledge and abilities further on my own. I am not necessarily thinking about building codes, which I can reference online where I haven't memorized them already, or structural and construction considerations which I haven't yet gained much exposure to (this firm does mostly interiors), but more like learning what seems to be almost a different type of design process which I see happening when other more experienced designers mark up my drawings.
I have done some searching on Amazon, and not found as much as I expected to. A lot of the books seem to be aimed at interior designers (which would be okay if they were advanced enough) or non-architects.
Books on amazon called "Detail in" Contemporary Residential Architecture .. plus a whole bunch of others are pretty good and cheap. Mostly drawings, plan,section,elevation and details.
If you are looking to better your design sensibilities and create better flow, and organization, I second slow home. My old prof runs the company that does the series/movement, they have a couple of books as well.
Also for general methods/approaches to residential design I found patterns of home to be quite good (condenses some of the most pertinent ideas from a pattern language). Another one, older and harder to find, but good ideas nonetheless is modest mansions by Daniel Prowler.
I'm a big supporter of any of D.K. Ching's material, such as Form, Space, and Order; keep in mind, these are more design basics and not home design basics.
I highly recommend "The Place of Houses: Three architects suggest ways to build and inhabit houses." It is by Charles Moore, Gerald Allen, and Donlyn Lyndon and was written in 1974.
People watching helps tremendously to learn how people actually use the built environment.
I remember working on a renovation where I was asked to draw something up for a first meeting without having had a chance to meet the users and see their existing space and the plan was not well received. The following week, I went out to survey their space and I had a chance to observe what they were doing for a while (also asked a few questions, but mostly remained in the background). Just being there, I sort of just got it. So I went back and drew something up to show at the next meeting and they loved it.
This might not be appropriate for all clients, but you can also imagine yourself walking through your plan and using the spaces, just from a functional perspective, and figure out what feels right and what doesn't.
Given what I saw in studio at school, I wish there had been more emphasis on the practical, especially from a useability or livability stand point.
One thing a professor did suggest was to design at 1:1 when it came to interiors. If you want to plan a space out ( and have plenty of space ) take out some chalk or masking tape. It's also a good idea to do this in section as well ( especially when you have a ramp to figure out ). It may seem dead simple, but a lot of people just don't do this.
Neufert's books are good templates when it comes to typical layouts of residential, commercial, cultural etc. They're particularly helpful when alloting space for random stuff like volume for acoustically sensitive spaces, coat check areas, queue length.
If you're looking for compact and efficient layout ideas run through some case studies of good quality developer driven projects.
May 9, 14 12:56 pm ·
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Books on designing more practical floor plans?
Hello,
I am currently working at a small-ish firm where (after spending a lot of time drafting) I am starting to have some opportunities to participate in the design process. Most of my education was on the more theoretical side, and I am discovering that the methods which I developed when working on conceptually-driven projects in school do not (big surprise!) necessarily translate to designing something like an efficient floor plan or an ergonomic kitchen without some additional effort on my part. I often feel as though I am asking dumb questions to my coworkers from more practical backgrounds.
Other people at the firm have taught me some rules of thumb, but I am becoming curious about ways for me to also develop my knowledge and abilities further on my own. I am not necessarily thinking about building codes, which I can reference online where I haven't memorized them already, or structural and construction considerations which I haven't yet gained much exposure to (this firm does mostly interiors), but more like learning what seems to be almost a different type of design process which I see happening when other more experienced designers mark up my drawings.
I have done some searching on Amazon, and not found as much as I expected to. A lot of the books seem to be aimed at interior designers (which would be okay if they were advanced enough) or non-architects.
Any thoughts?
Great question. I hope people have some good recommendations for you.
i would suggest watching the Slow Home videos on Youtube.
Books on amazon called "Detail in" Contemporary Residential Architecture .. plus a whole bunch of others are pretty good and cheap. Mostly drawings, plan,section,elevation and details.
If you are looking to better your design sensibilities and create better flow, and organization, I second slow home. My old prof runs the company that does the series/movement, they have a couple of books as well.
Also for general methods/approaches to residential design I found patterns of home to be quite good (condenses some of the most pertinent ideas from a pattern language). Another one, older and harder to find, but good ideas nonetheless is modest mansions by Daniel Prowler.
I'm a big supporter of any of D.K. Ching's material, such as Form, Space, and Order; keep in mind, these are more design basics and not home design basics.
I highly recommend "The Place of Houses: Three architects suggest ways to build and inhabit houses." It is by Charles Moore, Gerald Allen, and Donlyn Lyndon and was written in 1974.
People watching helps tremendously to learn how people actually use the built environment.
I remember working on a renovation where I was asked to draw something up for a first meeting without having had a chance to meet the users and see their existing space and the plan was not well received. The following week, I went out to survey their space and I had a chance to observe what they were doing for a while (also asked a few questions, but mostly remained in the background). Just being there, I sort of just got it. So I went back and drew something up to show at the next meeting and they loved it.
This might not be appropriate for all clients, but you can also imagine yourself walking through your plan and using the spaces, just from a functional perspective, and figure out what feels right and what doesn't.
Given what I saw in studio at school, I wish there had been more emphasis on the practical, especially from a useability or livability stand point.
One thing a professor did suggest was to design at 1:1 when it came to interiors. If you want to plan a space out ( and have plenty of space ) take out some chalk or masking tape. It's also a good idea to do this in section as well ( especially when you have a ramp to figure out ). It may seem dead simple, but a lot of people just don't do this.
If you are looking to improve your particle knowledge ?
So you should learn infinity Construction & Design
Neufert's books are good templates when it comes to typical layouts of residential, commercial, cultural etc. They're particularly helpful when alloting space for random stuff like volume for acoustically sensitive spaces, coat check areas, queue length.
If you're looking for compact and efficient layout ideas run through some case studies of good quality developer driven projects.
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