2. Right House, Wrong Site

We had to make some changes to capture the winter sun.

A lot of clients  get ideas from  display homes or   home design brochures from  some of the larger project builders. Often they are  “sold”  the plan and its advantages (usually price).  But putting house A and Site B doesn’t work unless careful consideration is given to the principles of air movement and passive solar design. We see so many house designs that look sensational in a book but put on a particular site just don’t stack up. 

Recently I was asked to do a renovation” on a clients home who picked a plan out of a book and built the home. But it turned out to be cold, dark and very hot in summer. To renovate and correct the orientation to get light in was going to cost over $150 000……They sold the home!!

Solution:  

Obtaining a site survey is essential BEFORE any design work is commenced. A site inspection may then be required to look at the surrounding environment, and discuss the possibilities. Then write down all the personal requirements of your new home. Each site is as individual as the family who is going to move in. Making a list of  the  constraints that are   likely to affect the design.  There are two types of  constraint. “negotiable” and “non – negotiable”. Non Negotiable are   local,  state and  federal building regulations and covenants. Bon Negotiable Constraints are  positions of  rooms, driveways, size and budgets. The slope can be a negotiable constraint as  changes can be made  to the  site  using   site cut and retaining walls.

Your designer will use his skill and expertise in Architecture and Design to put everything you need and want into the home right from the start. Cutting corners at the design stage in an attempt to save money always ends up costing  more in the long-term.

Every new home is  unique, every  client is  unique, and every design  should be unique.

Call us today for a no obligation, free  assessment of your site. This can be done in person or via  the internet as  most local authorities  today have excellent mappung capabilities and an assessment can be done from the desktop.