I am not an architect but am using one to design a 3 house development for a piece of land we have (idea is we will live in one and sell/rent the other 2). I was hoping to get some feedback on the design that they have come up with.
Just positives/negatives about it so I can get more perspectives from people in the know (rather than just mine and my husband's unprofessional opinion) as the land is an odd shape.
Is it is something that is ok to ask here?
Can I post the design and get some online feedback about it?
TIA
Jenny
chigurh
May 10, 16 12:29 pm
go ahead - you probably wont like the feedback tho.
Non Sequitur
May 10, 16 12:50 pm
Sure, sounds like a good way to kill an hour this afternoon.
senjohnblutarsky
May 10, 16 1:19 pm
Can it wait 5 hours or so? I need to go home and make popcorn.
Before you post anything... is it a real Architect? Or an unlicensed residential designer?
tduds
May 10, 16 1:57 pm
or a Certified Professional Building Designer?
jennymurphy
May 10, 16 5:18 pm
OK great, looks like I will get a lot of 'constructive criticism' to give as feedback :-)
It's a real architect. (We are Europe based so I'm not aware of the other professions mentions, it's an established Architecture firm using real Architects as far as I know!).
There is an odd requirement that the 3 houses need to have a 'common entrance' which is really making it annoying to plan as we have to then basically fit in a central lobby area.
I will try and attach what we have so far...
jennymurphy
May 10, 16 5:37 pm
OK I cannot figure how to attach here so instead here are links:
Can we get some free professional advice from you?
Josh Mings
May 10, 16 5:42 pm
That annoying requirement is actually solved relatively decently here - but maybe there is an opportunity to create a roof deck on top of the lobby,
Also, there are some bedrooms in each unit that look directly into another unit's bedroom window. Not sure if you want that.
I was expecting something awful. Thanks for the good surprise.
jennymurphy
May 11, 16 3:01 am
Thanks so much for your feedback Josh Mings - I didn't notice that about the bedrooms, I'll ask about modifying that. Glad it wasn't as terrible as imagined! :-)
We actually have a preferred positioning of the properties so that all units would face a more favourable direction as we have concerns about the most easterly unit and light.
We have suggested this to our architect although he's not keen so far, below are two options we were considering for placement:
z111 - Thanks for taking the time to post. I will be happy to dispense free advice regarding children aged 2 and 4 as my current 'profession'. However it is a work in progress and I'm learning (and getting completely crazy) on the job so all advice must be taken with that in mind! ;-)
I truly appreciate any feedback from those who obviously have a bit of free time and don't mind sharing their professional opinion.
no_form
May 11, 16 9:57 am
What's the concern with the easterly unit? Too much light?
Cute response about being a parent. But what was your means of earning a living beforehand? It's a fair question given you came here to ask questions about architecture not parenting, which people here could also provide.
Tia.
jennymurphy
May 11, 16 11:37 am
Thanks for your reply no_form. The concern was too little light actually! Isn't it better to be either West or South facing? (We are in Europe)
We're worried it will only get light in the AM and the garden will consequently be a bit rubbish.
My profession before was in analytics, and I came here because it's an architecture question. I give advice/opinions in parenting forums and would give some in analytical forums if I was still in the profession and had up to date knowledge (and that part of my brain was still functioning ;-) ).
I completely understand why some people would not want to give their opinion for free and that's obviously absolutely fine.
However I'm hoping there are other people (such as Josh Mings) who don't mind and who might do so for their own (dare I say it?) enjoyment/satisfaction or in the spirit of 'pay it forward' or any other reason :-)
Either way thanks for you time and have a nice day!
archanonymous
May 11, 16 11:45 am
It looks OK. Hard to say really without knowing site setbacks, zoning, etc...
Alot of it comes down to how many Euros you want to spend and what matters to you. Might be nice to have the primary residence (your house) more screened off from the other two and the parking in some way.
proto
May 11, 16 12:14 pm
[...just going on totally unscaled drawings in word docs...]
-how long do you expect to live here? is this a development scheme to flip and move on to bigger/better things?
-no info on what these will look like -- exterior elevations?
-fairly efficient layouts for the units themselves from a plan perspective, but also kind of small (maybe that's my "american" showing)
-29m^2 of common space seems pretty wastful unless something else is going on there other than the cranked geometry
-single BR's seem narrow (some as narrow as 8' [pretty mean])
-i hate the master closet arrangement in the largest unit -- sliders are not going to hold up over time as a room partition & door
-shared full bath layouts could be improved to have fewer dead spaces
-partition at shared window btwn BR's will be a sound problem
-areas of rooms not important; actual clear dimensions are more important
-exterior walls seem thick enough to be well insulated, but no info on what those are
-where in the world are you? which way is north?
Leandro Llorente
May 12, 16 9:33 pm
1. The living area facing Garden 2 is the least pleasant among the other houses.
2. I think the square massing/edifice restricted the planning too much that the living spaces are so tight (like Japanese architecture) and the outdoor spaces are huge. The ratio between interior and exterior are not well balanced.
3. The delineation between outside and inside are too defined that it did not allow any spillage or physical connection to the outside.
4. The form of the foyer space almost felt accidental.
jennymurphy
May 13, 16 5:24 am
Thanks so much for your feedback archanonymous, proto & Leandro Llorente, it is very much appreciated :-)
We also have concerns regarding size of rooms and layout, particularly on the smaller houses (true they are all small though compared to US house sizes!)
The bigger house we plan to live in for at least a decade until kids finish main schooling. The other two depending on finances will be to rent or sell. Definitely need to be sellable.
P.S. The plans are directionally normal i.e. North is up (I just removed the compass as it was attached to the company logo/details)
Agree shared windows in bedrooms is definitely not good and that will have to change. And bedrooms are too narrow.
It's right that the balance of especially living areas in relation to outdoor are out of whack and we have to address that.
Garden 2 and house 2 is our main worry as it is in a bad position and we think the value of it will be severely compromised.
Below is a very basic layout of our preferred house positioning and overall dimensions on the plot.
Would anyone who's still interested :-) and willing to reply care to give feedback on whether they think is a better solution or not for the overall building positions?
I would be more inclined to put the two rental/ sale units in an "L" shape and let the larger house you want to keep stretch along the hypotenuse of the site and overhang the smaller parking spot to create covered parking and a nice cantilever expression.
As a whole, I think there could be much more separation between the 3 buildings - visually, acoustically, aesthetically.
Again, without knowing location, climate, local zoning, etc... it is hard to make specific suggestions.
Also, the difference between critiquing a proposal and proposing something new is about a $2000 retainer and $80/ hour.
Hi,
I am not an architect but am using one to design a 3 house development for a piece of land we have (idea is we will live in one and sell/rent the other 2). I was hoping to get some feedback on the design that they have come up with.
Just positives/negatives about it so I can get more perspectives from people in the know (rather than just mine and my husband's unprofessional opinion) as the land is an odd shape.
Is it is something that is ok to ask here?
Can I post the design and get some online feedback about it?
TIA
Jenny
go ahead - you probably wont like the feedback tho.
Sure, sounds like a good way to kill an hour this afternoon.
Can it wait 5 hours or so? I need to go home and make popcorn.
Before you post anything... is it a real Architect? Or an unlicensed residential designer?
or a Certified Professional Building Designer?
OK great, looks like I will get a lot of 'constructive criticism' to give as feedback :-)
It's a real architect. (We are Europe based so I'm not aware of the other professions mentions, it's an established Architecture firm using real Architects as far as I know!).
There is an odd requirement that the 3 houses need to have a 'common entrance' which is really making it annoying to plan as we have to then basically fit in a central lobby area.
I will try and attach what we have so far...
Ground Floor:
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=88713C4C13694B97!285&authkey=!AG3kawZZj6oh6eM&ithint=file%2cdocx
First Floor:
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=88713C4C13694B97!290&authkey=!AGxp24dc48r4vAg&ithint=file%2cdocx
Can we get some free professional advice from you?
That annoying requirement is actually solved relatively decently here - but maybe there is an opportunity to create a roof deck on top of the lobby,
Also, there are some bedrooms in each unit that look directly into another unit's bedroom window. Not sure if you want that.
I was expecting something awful. Thanks for the good surprise.
Thanks so much for your feedback Josh Mings - I didn't notice that about the bedrooms, I'll ask about modifying that. Glad it wasn't as terrible as imagined! :-)
We actually have a preferred positioning of the properties so that all units would face a more favourable direction as we have concerns about the most easterly unit and light.
We have suggested this to our architect although he's not keen so far, below are two options we were considering for placement:
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=88713C4C13694B97!304&authkey=!APlMP70NV8WWNyU&ithint=folder%2c
z111 - Thanks for taking the time to post. I will be happy to dispense free advice regarding children aged 2 and 4 as my current 'profession'. However it is a work in progress and I'm learning (and getting completely crazy) on the job so all advice must be taken with that in mind! ;-)
I truly appreciate any feedback from those who obviously have a bit of free time and don't mind sharing their professional opinion.
What's the concern with the easterly unit? Too much light?
Cute response about being a parent. But what was your means of earning a living beforehand? It's a fair question given you came here to ask questions about architecture not parenting, which people here could also provide.
Tia.
Thanks for your reply no_form. The concern was too little light actually! Isn't it better to be either West or South facing? (We are in Europe)
We're worried it will only get light in the AM and the garden will consequently be a bit rubbish.
My profession before was in analytics, and I came here because it's an architecture question. I give advice/opinions in parenting forums and would give some in analytical forums if I was still in the profession and had up to date knowledge (and that part of my brain was still functioning ;-) ).
I completely understand why some people would not want to give their opinion for free and that's obviously absolutely fine.
However I'm hoping there are other people (such as Josh Mings) who don't mind and who might do so for their own (dare I say it?) enjoyment/satisfaction or in the spirit of 'pay it forward' or any other reason :-)
Either way thanks for you time and have a nice day!
It looks OK. Hard to say really without knowing site setbacks, zoning, etc...
Alot of it comes down to how many Euros you want to spend and what matters to you. Might be nice to have the primary residence (your house) more screened off from the other two and the parking in some way.
[...just going on totally unscaled drawings in word docs...]
-how long do you expect to live here? is this a development scheme to flip and move on to bigger/better things?
-no info on what these will look like -- exterior elevations?
-fairly efficient layouts for the units themselves from a plan perspective, but also kind of small (maybe that's my "american" showing)
-29m^2 of common space seems pretty wastful unless something else is going on there other than the cranked geometry
-single BR's seem narrow (some as narrow as 8' [pretty mean])
-i hate the master closet arrangement in the largest unit -- sliders are not going to hold up over time as a room partition & door
-shared full bath layouts could be improved to have fewer dead spaces
-partition at shared window btwn BR's will be a sound problem
-areas of rooms not important; actual clear dimensions are more important
-exterior walls seem thick enough to be well insulated, but no info on what those are
-where in the world are you? which way is north?
1. The living area facing Garden 2 is the least pleasant among the other houses.
2. I think the square massing/edifice restricted the planning too much that the living spaces are so tight (like Japanese architecture) and the outdoor spaces are huge. The ratio between interior and exterior are not well balanced.
3. The delineation between outside and inside are too defined that it did not allow any spillage or physical connection to the outside.
4. The form of the foyer space almost felt accidental.
Thanks so much for your feedback archanonymous, proto & Leandro Llorente, it is very much appreciated :-)
We also have concerns regarding size of rooms and layout, particularly on the smaller houses (true they are all small though compared to US house sizes!)
The bigger house we plan to live in for at least a decade until kids finish main schooling. The other two depending on finances will be to rent or sell. Definitely need to be sellable.
P.S. The plans are directionally normal i.e. North is up (I just removed the compass as it was attached to the company logo/details)
Agree shared windows in bedrooms is definitely not good and that will have to change. And bedrooms are too narrow.
It's right that the balance of especially living areas in relation to outdoor are out of whack and we have to address that.
Garden 2 and house 2 is our main worry as it is in a bad position and we think the value of it will be severely compromised.
Below is a very basic layout of our preferred house positioning and overall dimensions on the plot.
Would anyone who's still interested :-) and willing to reply care to give feedback on whether they think is a better solution or not for the overall building positions?
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=88713C4C13694B97!306&authkey=!AIIi7e5BykGukiA&v=3&ithint=photo%2cPNG
I would be more inclined to put the two rental/ sale units in an "L" shape and let the larger house you want to keep stretch along the hypotenuse of the site and overhang the smaller parking spot to create covered parking and a nice cantilever expression.
As a whole, I think there could be much more separation between the 3 buildings - visually, acoustically, aesthetically.
Again, without knowing location, climate, local zoning, etc... it is hard to make specific suggestions.
Also, the difference between critiquing a proposal and proposing something new is about a $2000 retainer and $80/ hour.