Architectural design and brochure plans

From time to time I’m asked if I have “standard plans” or “brochures”. And, it goes without saying that many home builders have standard plans or brochure plans, usually with a not to scale floor plan and some external elevations or a 3D perspective view.

The “volume builders” seem to have lots and lots of standard floor plans but, because they realise that most people want a more bespoke design, they usually offer to alter their standard floor plans in some way or other, whether that be by doing a mirror reverse of the plan (flipping it over) or by adding or removing rooms or even, to some extent, enlarging rooms. And, herein lies the rub: Whatever you do with a brochure floor plan, it’s going to be a compromise. Let me explain why.

When you have a house designed by an Architect or an Architectural Designer, a ‘good’ Architect or Architectural Designer will start by meeting with you in the office and on your proposed building site. The Architect or an Architectural Designer will look at the lie of the land, determine where true North is (not magnetic North); where the sun rises and sets, throughout the year; where the prevailing winds come from; where there are low areas where drainage could be a problem; where the views are; where the best areas on site are for outdoor living and where access needs to be. Other things that will be considered are services locations and, if it’s a rural site, optimal placement of sewerage systems and effluent fields and water supply tanks.

Through discussion with the client, the Architect or an Architectural Designer will next determine the client’s needs: Budget; number of and configuration of living spaces; kitchen and services areas such as laundry and/or scullery; bedrooms and bathrooms; storage, garaging and parking and any specific areas not required in many houses such as sewing rooms, music rooms, art / hobby rooms, workshops, libraries or accommodation for specific items of furniture such as pianos or billiard tables. All of these things will be discussed in general and then in more detail.

The aim of any good Architect or an Architectural Designer is to learn to understand how the client lives and, very importantly, how the client intends to live in his new home, both in the immediate future and also in the more distant future when their family needs change when, for instance, children leave home. Your Architect or an Architectural Designer will also consider your and/or your family’s future mobility needs so as to ensure that the building is capable of meeting your needs not only now, but also into the future. Unless, of course, you’ve told your Architect or an Architectural Designer that your goals are more short-term. You may see yourself in this house for only a limited number of years where after you may intend to do it all again and design something different on a different piece of land.

Now, having read the above, which is a simplification of the process and only a broad outline of any good Architectural Designer or Architect’s skill set, you may come to realise that a potential home builder would be short-changed by simply picking a brochure plan, moving the odd wall or flipping this or that and expecting or thinking that such a solution would inevitably result in the perfect home for their needs. It could be that I have designed, previously, a home that may well be nearly perfect for your needs. Or, it could be that I have designed some homes, a combination of which would with, minor tweaking, be good for your specific requirements. But, generally speaking, the best solutions are usually arrived at when your Architect or an Architectural Designer starts with a clean slate and designs a home that meets your needs.

The simple reality is that most “volume builders” do not employ skilled Architects or an Architectural Designers and as result, they do not have the ability to follow the process of designing a home for a client and their site’s specific needs. You can’t know what you don’t know.

The same goes for more detailed design aspects such as kitchen design: Most kitchen designers move into that role from a kitchen sales background. They have one advantage and that is that they generally have a fair idea what usually works. But, what usually works does not necessarily work for all people and I am often amazed that most people who go to a kitchen joinery firm is never asked whether they are left-handed or right-handed or what type of food they prepare most often. It all stems from overuse of the 1940’s idea of the “kitchen triangle” but that is a topic for another time.

I’ll leave you with this thought: Considering that a house is the single biggest investment almost everyone will make in their lifetime, you owe it to yourself to ensure that you go down that design process with an Architect or an Architectural Designer who understands your needs and not someone hoping to sell you their product.

How do you 'date' an old New Zealand house?

There are some broad stylistic periods, and some more definitive descriptions for periods within the broad periods.

Colonial, in the New Zealand context, sometimes called colonial Georgian, dates from approximately 1800 to 1840. These houses are usually symmetrical with simple hipped roofs.

The Regency style is a precursor to the Early Victorian style and is not that common in New Zealand. It dates from 1811.

Early Victorian dates from approximately 1840 to 1860. Many Early Victorian homes retain the symmetry of the earlier Georgian style, usually with more decorative features.

Mid Victorian dates from approximately 1860 to 1880. In the 1850’s to the 1870’s there was a style called Cottage Ornée or Gingerbread which was called Fancy Colonial here in New Zealand. Also in this period, there can be some influences from the Gothic Revival style, also called Carpenter Gothic.

Late Victorian dates from approximately 1880 to 1900. Most Late Victorian homes are asymmetrical and the homes usually have far more decorative features than the earlier styles. Outside, there can be Classical Revival features, even some Egyptian influences, while inside you may see Art Nouveau features in homes from the late 1880’s to 1914.

There are several other variations: Queen Anne, from the 1870’s to 1900. Queen Anne homes often have turrets, shingle gable panels and bay windows. Also in the 1870’s, in the USA, the Stick Style developed, predominantly on the West Coast and in the Mid-West.

The Stick Style became very popular here in New Zealand in the 1890’s and early 1900’s.

The Italianate style gained popularity in the 1870’s and again later, around 1900. Italianate influences can be seen on many public buildings of that era. Some Italianate homes had more classical detailing and symmetry. Italianate homes are sometimes called Palladian after the architect, Andrea Palladio.

The Eastlake Style is named after a style which became popular after a book on household architecture by an English writer, C. L. Eastlake. The book became especially popular in the USA during the 1870’s and many of the American timber details were subsequently copied here in New Zealand. Eastlake detailing includes many of the fretwork designs we see on buildings of the period, and also lathe-turned spindles, also called Spindle-style where the turned decorations replace conventional fretwork.

Spindle Style was popular in New Zealand from 1890 to 1910. The Edwardian period dates from 1900 to 1915.

Also from 1900, the Elizabethan or Tudor style, which on New Zealand was usually shown as an overlay over the weatherboards to imitate the framing timbers visible in the English Tudor style.

As readers may note, there’s some overlap of styles, so Art Nouveau features are often found in Late Victorian and in Edwardian homes, and Tudor detailing is seen on Edwardian Villas. Most traditional houses fall within the Late Victorian and Edwardian era. The Bay Villa describes a house shape which became popular in the USA in the 1850’s. The Bay Villa style became the predominant house style from the 1890’s. There are several variations and many of the styles described above can be seen in Bay Villas. So, you can have an Italianate or Stick Style or Victorian or Edwardian or Spindle Style or Queen Anne Bay Villa!

The English and Californian Bungalow made it’s appearance from 1915 and held it’s popularity until the early 1930’s. Because of the overlap between styles, it’s even possible to have a transitional villa which incorporates Edwardian and Bungalow features. A Style often confused with the Bungalow Style is the Arts and Crafts movement, which begun as an English style in 1860 but which only reached our shores after 1900. The Arts and Crafts movement represents a complete break from the earlier decorative styles.

The Art Deco Style was born in 1925 and by the 1930’s Art Deco had surpassed the Bungalow Style in popularity, even in New Zealand. The 1930’s is also the birth of the State House in New Zealand. It is a bit difficult for the untrained person to see some of the subtle differences between the different styles. If you’re unsure, feel free to send us some photographs of the house as a whole and of details such as original fretwork, gable details, door and windows and skirtings and architraves, and we’ll do our best to give you an indication of likely style and/or age.

Energy Efficiency

With the colder weather has arrived so it makes sense to talk about insulation values.

 We are all aware that higher R-values will generally provide for a more comfortable house, year round. Many customers surf the web and subsequently we often hear the question: “Why are construction R-values in the USA so much higher than in New Zealand?”

 Now, it’s important to remember that the United States of America does not use the metric system, so when you see R-30; What does that mean to us? The conversion factor between SI (metric) and US units of R-value is 1 h·ft²·°F/Btu = 0.176110 K·m²/W, or 1 K·m²/W = 5.678263 h·ft²·°F/Btu. So, US R-30 = NZ R-5.28.

 The USA have eight different climate zones for their Model Energy Code. Their Climate Zones 3 and 4 align to our three Climate Zones, as their Climate Zone 5 is certainly colder than our coldest zone, and their Zone 2 is warmer than our warmest zone.

 Applying the conversion factors, and looking at their Climate Zones 3-4, we can therefore see that they advocate the following minimum construction R-Values, when we convert their values to the metric system:

 ·         Sub-floor: R-2.2 in their Zone 3 and R-2.8 in their Zone 4. All three NZ Zones set compliance at R-1.3.

 ·         Timber frame walls: (90x45mm framing) R-3.2 in both their Zones 3 and 4. We vary from R-1.9 for Zones 1 & 2 to R-2.0 for Zone 3.

 ·         Ceiling: R-6.6 in their Zone 3 and R-8.6 in their Zone 4. We vary from R-2.9 for Zones 1 & 2 to R-3.3 for Zone 3.

 Just to check, lets compare with their Zone 2 (Florida, Southern Texas, etc)

 ·         Sub-floor: No requirement in their Zone 2. All three NZ Zones set compliance at R-1.3.

 ·         Timber frame walls: R-2.3 in their Zone 2. We vary from R-1.9 for Zones 1 & 2 to R-2.0 for Zone 3.

 ·         Ceiling: R-6.6 in their Zone 2. We vary from R-2.9 for Zones 1 & 2 to R-3.3 for Zone 3.

When I design for my clients, I set the R-values higher than Minimum Code Requirements because I believe it makes sense to do so. Some builders look at these figures and think they’re “too high”, but the evidence stacks up and these higher R-ratings makes sense:

·         Sub-Floor or Floor: For on-ground concrete slabs, we usually use R-1.5 and for Timber sub-floors, R1.9 minimum.

 ·         Timber frame walls: Minimum R-2.8 and up to R-4.8.

 ·         Ceilings: Minimum R5.2, commonly up to R-7.2.

An interior photo of a very well insulated Martinborough home. This home maintains comfortable temperatures year round with only limited heating and cooling requirements.