Seperate the house into three smaller structures joined by a central courtyard. Much easier! In parents' wing, put in a video intercom that's wired to your brothers spaces. That way he can be easily monitored without necessarily intervening.

This fractionates the three struggles of your family-- your parents life, your brothers life and your family's life into three separate structures.

For hierarchical concerns, you could lump the large garage and master bedroom together giving that wing equal if not bigger weight. In addition, you could use three different cieling heights for variation.

Random observations:

My initial thought is that you are using the shape of the site to inform too many decisions about the floor plan that maybe do not take into account the actual spaces and what they will look and feel like. Right now, it looks like a lot of movement through the house is going to take place in a pretty small hall/foyer space.

Are you working only in plan? A building massing or 3D model would really help us to get a better idea.

With the 2 "residences" will this be 2 completely isolated spaces or are there areas in the house, like living spaces, that will be shared between brother and parents?

The front elevation of this house has a lot of garages. A lot of garages. I'm not sure if you have considered what having garages on both sides of the house will look like and also that the front yard is basically paved. If you swapped your brothers area with the master bed and kitchen, you could group both garages together, just placing your brothers on the far east side. By pushing this garage unit North along the property line, you could open up some space behind the garage that could act as an entry foyer and living area, with the remainder of your brothers area going where the master bed and kitchen are now. This would still allow access from the parents garage to the house via the mud room.

The master suite would move to where your brothers garage is, and all of the entry areas (living, foyer, etc) would be centralized. I would consider trying arranging the spaces orthogonal throughout, rather than the 2 rotated masses at the end.

That's probably hard to understand without a visual. If I get time later I will see if I can work something that shows that better.

I like the one car with the rocket launchers. You should get drunk and take that thing out

CC's comments are spot on. Some other observations:

-only way to get to master bedroom is through kitchen. Awkward.
-only way to get into the house from the big garage is through the triangular mud room.
-the only way to get to maids room is to go through the bath or garage. Might as well put her in a dumpster.

Just by drawing in the missing doors you would see a number of issues emerge.

-There is a major issue with scale. Either the cars depicted are '60's Cadillacs, or some of your spaces are really tiny. Living room and study look like walk in closets. I hope yo momma not fat :)
-breakfast space looks unusable if you actually plan to use it for anything.
-I'm not a big fan of dining/family/living room arrangement. The symmetrical relationship is too rigid. Also, having a separate space for living/family is a dated concept. It just adds to a lot of dusting and purchasing of unnecessary furniture. I would rather see a guest room, which at least gets an occasional use. IF your parents have lot of antiques (my European mama does as well) you will need a lot more wall space. Bunch of rooms flowing into each other are hard to furnish.
-DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT put yourself in a basement of any kind. It's unhealthy for body and mind. Go up instead. Putting up a living space above the garage would probably give you the most privacy. Make sure you give yourself a private entrance as well. You will appreciate having it. Your brother Chuck will need all the basement space, for he has you all fooled. He's actually an FBI agent that goes on secret missions every night :) (reference to a TV show called Chuck. Not trying to be insulting).

Another major consideration is the budget. Not sure what the budget for this project is, but right now you layout looks expensive. Having plumbing (kitchens and bathrooms) so spread out add up.

Other than that, you have a good start on your project. Devil's in the details. It's an awesome task you have in your hands: designing a family house. Try not to get discouraged.

Do post progress drawings in this forum. A bunch of us will be more than glad to help.

designing a house for your parents is quite possibly the most difficult thing that an architect can do... surpassed perhaps only by designing a house for your in-laws... what area of the country is this in? are there any vernacular styles of houses that you can look to for inspirations? for instance, if you're in a warm climate like florida or california, i really like unicorn's suggestions of 3 buildings around a courtyard...

as you said, this is a really strange site... i think it might help us to give you better impact if we knew some of the context... how are the adjacent houses (if there are any) oriented? are there any views that you want to focus on? where will the driveway enter the site? right now the plan reads as if you're just thinking about the house as a self-contained object...

all of the above comments are good... you've gotta add in the doors, both so that we can read what is going on and so that you can see that there are some issues with the flow between the spaces (which steelstuds has pointed out)... for instance, how do you get into the "maid's room"? right now you either have to go through the bathroom or the garage...

even if the budget is no concern you still have a TON of exterior walls, which means that it is inefficient both in construction and in terms of energy... as studs said, it looks expensive... too much money spent on building a lot of corners... try drawing a roof plan of this... it will be either damn near impossible or really, really strange (also expensive)... i'd really encourage you to simplify things quite significantly...

good luck and post some more drawings for us to keep responding to...

Thanks all! Your comments have been uplifting! I am currently working on updating the plans. A lot of good suggestions. It's amazing what a fresh set of eyes can do. Thanks again! CC a quick visual would be great. I am going to try to use the comments you all suggested and see where I end up. I'll be posting updated plans (with scale) as soon as I feel I made some progress. Thanks again everyone! Looking forward now! :)

CC to answer your question... ideally we would like the two 'residences' to be isolated.... but not so much where they are two separate buildings. I have been toying with the idea that there might be a mobile wall that links both spaces together to create a flexibility within the space so that it can be separated... shared. Also the idea that my parents can go on vacation and the entire half of the house can be closed off and function independently so that the caregiver isn't sneaking around / stealing any of our valuables.

You're so noveau riche. You need to learn how to treat the hired help like shit and keep them in a constant state of terror. Always have the upper hand!

Despite that, I think I might take a stab at this.

I promise not to include any over indulgent sculpture work or anything obviously brutal. But, be forewarned... I have a special place in my heart for 18 foot ceilings and unnecessarily complex hallways.

Also, archs. And monolithic concrete forms.

Also, I'm a really big fan of gold leaf.

Aerial Site + Context:

http://upload.spankdu.com/images/9ltrjkahdbj7ywsntxvh.jpg

Unicorn, it isn't that... we have had a large sum of money and valuables stolen over the years. After those experiences I am just looking out for my family.

Of course you have. You have an innate fear at them.

When you eat, shit, piss or watch TV... your eyes should always be looking directly at the help.

You should also make casual mention of how the idea of torture really gets you excited! Don't be afraid to mention how you would casually murder someone and get away with it-- don't spare any detail of your plan!

Any time they are doing anything at all... DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TELL THEM HOW TO DO IT BETTER. They could be doing the most amazing work you've ever seen. But do not admit that! Instead, constantly give them hints on how they could improve while also complementing them on their work effort. "Oh you're doing a really good job. But you could make this great by doing X."

Also, when you stare at them... never look them directly in the eyes! That suggests you're part of a mutual playing field.

And if they try to stare you in the eyes, tell them how much that stirs up angry emotions and you'd prefer it if they talk to your shoes.

Also, never "be above" anyone else. You have to constantly play games, trick them and prank them!

Also... never, ever give them people food. Offer them stale croissants, leftovers or food you buy at gas stations. And NEVER let them eat at the formal table unless you convince them to dress up!

And, if you leave food out... make sure you always "poison" it. If they are allergic to pecans, be sure every piece of food you leave out prominently has pecans in it!

Also, it's not technically illegal if you lace foods with ipecac (vomit inducer) or laxatives.

Also, also.

Make them reliant on you! Be sure the end of the month check is always three days late. That way they can't pay their rent on time!

Occasionally let the air out of their tires. This way you can always save the day!

Also, do something absurdly nice once in a while... but attach as many strings as you can to it. Let them leave early to go on a date but insist they must wear a specific horrendous outfit you think they would look great in!

Also, never refer to them as actual people.

that is a BIZARRE piece of land... it is like trying to build a house in the backyard of four other houses... it is a little like the site of koolhaas' villa dall'ava that sits completely surrounded by other houses... no wonder your having such a hard time...

your plan seems to be trying to maintain the traditional suburban front yard/house/backyard arrangement, but on this site that will be damn near impossible... since it appears to be a desert site, the courtyard typology is actually a pretty good idea... it would have several advantages: 1) it would allow cross breezes and maybe even evaporative cooling if you put some form of water in the courtyard, 2) you could design the house to be internally focused on the courtyard rather than trying to having a "front" that faces the rear of one of the four other houses

cadmonkry, it is really, really hard to design a house, let alone design one for your OWN family with so many emotional landmines. I've done a few houses for people who had to move their aging/Alzheimer's stricken parents into their own homes and the struggle with the separation/togetherness required is a challenge.

I'd advise you to look online at some floor-plan-for-purchase sites. Some of those sites you can search for "attached inlaw apartment" or the like. This would let you look over how other people have laid out a plan with two elements efficiently and how the connection between the two happens. Just peruse those examples and think about how you might do your own. Philip is right that all those corners are expensive to build and the more exterior surface a building has the more costly it is to build. And roofing that geometry - whew! The plan sites online have elevations and some even show roof plans - that would be very helpful. I'd even suggest, if you find one you like online that suits your needs very well, purchase it and modify it for your parents. Personally, I prefer designing with the constraints of an existing structure to building on a green field site - some would say I'm not a very good architect with that attitude, to which I laugh and think who gives a damn what you think?! ;-)

That site aerial you posted is frankly totally bizarre - a very challenging site. Have you verified all the setbacks and your maximum lot coverage allowed? You might consider hiring a local builder to act as a consultant for you - someone familiar with this municipality's zoning etc. It's very, very challenging - don't beat yourself up over how you are struggling with it, it's NOT an easy project!

Also, don't worry a bit about what some a**hole loser self-involved posters here have to say. Your only concern is making something that works for your family and will hopefully retain resale value in its context in the future.

Wow, this is an extremely awkward piece of land. Some developer really made some money on this. Arizona or New Mexico I am guessing? Conditions like this happen all the time in those areas as larger family opened parcels are split between siblings and then sold off to outside families. If you build all the way up to the Northwest property line, that house on the top left is going to have a great view of a wall. I wonder if these 4 homeowners know a house will one day reside here?

I'm curious about the house that is cropped off in the top center, only because in this image it is the only house the defies the pitched-roof style. Just wondering what established building materials and styles have been made and how willing you might be to eschew them?

At any rate, I think with this site, you need to build up. Minimizing the floor print of the house is going to be a priority so that you can maximize distance from the adjacent homes. With the amount of program you need this residence to contain (essentially 3 houses in one) I think a single-story plan is not going to be the best use of the land. Your current plan has quite a bit of wasted space... this site really is going to be about reducing those areas and making this floor plan as tight as possible.

Unitizing the difference residences with an outdoor space might the best suggestion, ala courtyard or something. There could be architectural/structural elements that unite them as well... portico, yard wall, etc. so that the overall reads as one structure (just maybe not one roof).

I would maximize the views west and south since those areas have the least visual interruptions. North is already consumed with a driveway (on lower level) and east has some openings, but not much. Seems like most of the service spaces need to be grouped along the southeast property line as much as possible.

I would really start examining the space/usage needs of your family so you can start ensuring that the spaces in this house are going to be sufficient in size (or necessary) and that the adjacency of the spaces are going to provide a natural and efficient flow of traffic. Since it sounds like you have a fair amount of existing furniture to work around, I would dimension those items and put them into this plan. There is nothing worse than houses that were designed without furniture in mind (ala most track homes) and having to adapt to awkward room arrangements. Some of these room sizes appear to be based on predetermined standard room sizes... maybe this is not what your family needs.

In regards to your brothers "house", what kind of accommodations need to be made for his care? Without being too evasive, do room sizes need to be made larger to allow for wheelchair and multiple users and/or medical equipment?

I think you made the right first move, which is get something on the page. It's always easier to proceed with the project once the first idea is out, even if everything about this initial idea ends up thrown out. What I would do now is reexamine the program and the space usages as well as inventorying everything that needs to be included in the plan, be that furniture, users, room sizes, etc so that you have a clear list of what is exactly required. Look for some precedence on multi-family/generational housing, esp. ones that address the climate region you are designing for (which shouldn't be too difficult if this is where I think it is). Then, start fresh... let's just file this floor plan in an archive and see where a fresh approach leads you and revisit this one later.

Problem solved!

Steal 4 of these and you're done!

Sure, if your family happens to be a band of pikey bareknuckle boxers.

Pikey bareknuckle boxers need a place to live as well.

This site is so weird, it's kind of exciting. The courtyard model (as mentioned by many here) does seem to make a lot of sense. Place 4 trailers around a fire and go from there.

Contribution!
Pro-tip: you'll have to zoom in about 200% for 'detail.'

I hope you like french doors and verandas!

I guess that is one way of approaching it.

CadMonkey,
What is your experience and education level? You mentioned school--how far along? Suggestions above all seem very helpful. I think you're trying to tackle a very complex design problem by simply jumping into cad and laying out a floor plan. Based on the odd lot & functional requirements your family needs, I think your biggest priority is setting up a good program for the project. Study proper adjacencies, necessary sizes for each space, up & down (multilevel) relationships, etc. Once you have this firmly tackled, the floor plan will fall into place. Everyone else's suggestion of an inner courtyard is probably a good one--given the lack of yard space and views outward. And finally, go back to an orthogonal plan with 90d corners. It will make your life easier and prove for a more efficient layout. Once you have the 'exterior perimeter of the house' established you can embelish some of the interior spaces with angles and curves if you prefer.
Final observation, a house with 5 car stalls is going to look ridiculous on that site however you go about it. If 5 stalls is really necessary I would look at doing something very clever . . . has anyone ever done an auto body shop in a basement? :)
Best of luck. Keep us posted.

steelstuds - that image made me think of aalto's experimental house - which I think might actually fit on this site...

I agree that a courtyard-style house would work very well for this weird site (and I'm guessing desert climate). too bad about the setbacks, though...

be careful about multiple buildings on one site. Makes it expensive if the muni decides each should have it's own sewer and water taps, which I've seen before.

this is definitely going to be challenging! good luck!

You seem to be struggling with clarity and finding an organizing principle or device. I think you are on the right track, though, in sticking with something traditional that meets the needs of your family, which probably means one large house, as opposed to two because of your brother.

To that end, I have two suggestions to help point you in a more organized direction, without attempting to re-design what you have ...

Diagram 1 suggests that you establish classically or traditionally designed "foyers" to act as "nodes". You can have one in each main section, which then leads into related rooms/spaces. These classically designed "foyers" or "halls" can be connected with circulation hallways that are designed more as "space" than hallway and articulated. This would mean, for example, lined with bookshelves, artwork, possibly skylighted, etc.

Diagram 2 shows how to rearrange your massing based on the property lines, so as to simplify and clarify rooflines and plan. However, not knowing the surrounding context and view orientation, this may not be helpful.

In either case, you might want to consider eliminating the second garage or (as suggested by someone else) consider moving garages below to the basement, if that is feasible.

If the images do not appear, I will post again, since I haven't done this before and it might not work the first time! Good luck!

y'all do realize that it should be possible to have separate entrances without 3 separate buildings don't you? ;-)

this being said, I should add the anecdote that I offered my services pro Bono to my dad once.. for an extension and remodel of the family home. He refused.. said he wanted somebody on the job he couldn't still visualize in a stroller. Said it matter what credentials I had, what studios I'd taught or what awards I'd won. Oh well...

yeah....i'm calling bs on that flag lot.
so what's the real story on this post?

jeffe, it struck me as bs too - but look at the fences of the SW and NE lots - they follow the "site" lines. I can't believe it's real, but it's so godawful crappy that it *must* be real - a developer's chance to grab another sale at the expense of all 5 occupants.

There are many "flag lots" like this in the Boston area in the older neighborhoods - I agree it's strange in a newer suburban development, but I know at least two in my neighborhood that have a narrow accessway (often just a 5' path) to a larger lot behind some houses.

not unheard of.

@ DS - look at the lot to the southeast - there's a fence line following the expected property line grid.

i've seen many lots here in new mexico where people fence in a much smaller portion of their lot for 'yard improvements', leaving a large portion natural landscape untouched.

but really, i can't imagine who would drop coin to build those four surrounding houses with no rear yards knowing that there's an interior lot with virtually no setbacks? in the southwest?

that is a bizzare lot
I am assuming your dad bought it real cheap?

I wouldnt necessarily want any of those 4 houses with no yard at all, nor your new house that you have to drive in between 2 houses to get to


that being said, with it being so odd, some cool things potentially can come out of it
Good luck

I wanted to thank all of you for all you're help. I've been stabbing at this here and there. I've made some schematic progress and I am somewhat happy. Been trying to be patient at this and gaining some confidence in pushing forward.

See latest image:

http://upload.spankdu.com/images/wpq2epuh0ne40a7da3q.jpg

Any appreciated comments or sketches would be welcomed

Thanks again! :)

why don't you do a bent bar scheme? look at lutyens or some gehry plan stuff or something else good

all those 90 degree angles look forced on the site .. but then in the master suite you stick in a few angled walls which is just killing me

and i'll do some sketches for some $$$ i'm cheap & good trust me !!

I agree. It seems like this plan went too far in the other direction. The arrangement of spaces is improved though... the only thing I question is the relationship of the garage to the house- could be annoying unloading groceries. Master bedroom seems small. Have you out furniture in these spaces to see if they are the right size?

Mass this out so you have an idea of what it looks like beyond a plan. See how you can merge the shapes of the original scheme (that followed site lines more) with the programmatic layout here.

Dude, you still need to put some doors in. Relationship between spaces is murky at best. Once you put doors in, you will be able to identify a number of issues, and we can actually give you useful advice.

Good luck!

Your formal living area and formal dining areas are way, way too small.

And, don't take this the wrong way but I suspect you are new to this so it might be difficult, but you must think of this three dimensionally. You should figure out your roof (which will probably simplify your forms) and then work simultaneously in Plan, Elevation, Section, etc. At your level of experience in residential design, I would suggest keeping everything as simple as absolutely possible.

Good luck.

I agree with CC. I don't think you've gotten the massing down yet. Worry about that with your space requirements, then layout the rooms.

Your lot appears to be bordered on all sides by (4) 2-story houses. That means you have no real sight lines to the street or a backyard and at least one of your neighbors at all times is going to have views into your living room, bedroom, bathroom, whatever. Unless you like claustrophobia, no privacy, and views of your fat retiree neighbors out sunning themselves in speedos, BUILD UP!!! Build until you can see over your neighbors' houses. Catch some breezes. Build up as high as zoning allows, at least at one wing anyway. I would give your parents a private 2nd floor over a 1st floor communal space. Then use one single-story wing for your brother/maid, the other for yourself.

If not, frame in a communal courtyard pool area to tie all 3 families together. Bonus points for evaporative cooling to accommodate for all the surface exposure on your decentralized massing. This lot does kind of call for the classic, introverted u-shape footprint. Create a poolside outdoor eating area, place the kitchen right off the courtyard. Give your parents or yourself a roof deck over the wing(s). Essentially three separate families living under one roof calls for as many private areas to get away as you can fit into the program. You could also detach the garage away from the house and place it at the open end of the courtyard pulling triple duty as a garage/ poolhouse/ clubhouse for you and your dad as your "get away place" to work on cars. I see no reason why your garage has to be attached. It blocking sight lines into your courtyard would also further create privacy from your neighbors. Just like this:
_
U

In a lot of municipalities, you often can place a detached garage inside of the standard setback, which may free up more room for what you want to accomplish. With the atypical lot, you might have a good shot at stretching some zoning code requirements too. Definitely talk to your zoning inspector about the possibilities for exceptions. Place the majority of your fenestration on the courtyard. Place windows for cross breezes at the outer facades, but keep them more minimal and private than the inner facades. If that's too centered on itself, place a few walkouts or porches near the corners of the lot, the closest thing this lot has to site lines. You need to go to the site and map out site lines from your neighbor's 2nd story windows to determine where and how high you need to build.

Just curious, what made your dad decide to buy THIS lot? I am curious if there are additional neighborhood requirements or appearance committees considering you're basically building in 4 people's backyards. What is the topography on this site? Is there the possibility of a walkout basement?

3D please. You need to took at the spatial relationships, how you move through the spaces, etc., etc., etc.

If I were you, I'd focus on that. Let the plan evolve as you get an idea of the architecture. Spend some time on this. Go look at some great home designs (NOT some spec floor plan book that your folks might have bought you), look at how they create space, work with light and movement, etc., etc.

It's terrible. I'm sure they'll love it.

beekay31 makes a good point about using a central courtyard. Right now, most of the bedrooms are going to have zero views or useful windows. Moving things up to a 2nd floor (or higher) would really help. Also, split leaving things is going to give you a lot more room to play around with.

Again, look at this in 3D... either physical or digital.

The symmetry of the site condition should be of some comfort to the designer. The site suggests a largely diagonal plan shape, relative to the entrance axis and to the views (?) between the neighboring houses. That is, some of the first-floor spaces could be oriented outward to the spaces between the houses -- i.e., the corners of the site -- while those facing the houses directly would want to have minimal/screened fenestration.

The courtyard model seems a natural -- but it fights with a pyramidal central volume ?

Man, the garage is the biggest space of the house, what's with you Americans and your obsession with your vehicles :) And why all those strange jumps and corners, lots of extra walls but no space. And those two diagonals in the master bed and bath room just don't seem to do it for me.

Please hire an architect.

zing!

Thanks for the positive comments. I have some ideas flowing now. The surrounding homes are all single story. So putting a 2 story home is something that will just stand out, and create angry neighbors. My parents own a two story home at the moment, and are highly against owning another one. Plus they aren't getting any younger.

I really like the courtyard idea, but reversing to the south. Detaching the garage and lining it up to your diagram will be hard for maneuvering and all the north views out of the home will be garage doors.

My father bought it when there were no homes on the property, so it looked attractive then. We can still sell the property and see a profit still.

I don't understand some people on here. If you don't have anything positive to say why say anything at all?

From the pictures of the site, it looks like surrounding houses have pretty large mcmansion roofs on them, i'm sure if you went with a lower slope/flat roof, you could add a second floor and not stick out too much...

one of the things i've learned doing residential work how big and ridiculous the roofs are on mcmansions.

I don't understand some people on here. If you don't have anything positive to say why say anything at all?

'If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.' - Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction

Criticism of design within an architectural forum is not about positive and negative. Take from it what you will. Architecture is not paint-by-number. If you're looking for a graceful solution to your very difficult design problem, my advice to you is still the same--hire an architect. My better advice is to sell that piece of property, perhaps to one of the other home owners adjacent to you--at least someone ought to get a decent lot.

Why not use this as a learning experience for myself? I am currently working at a firm (non-residental), so why does that not make me eligible to do this for my parents? It is the least I can do for them and be an amazing opportunity for myself.