• Physical separation (air-tight walls or glass surfaces, air-tight doors)
• Visual separation (non-transparent surfaces)
• Acoustic separation (sound proof walls and doors)
• Architectural separation (wherein a space located adjacent to another is differently executed, not physically, visually or acoustically, but by means of architectural language)
Spaces separated by walls and solid panel doors can come under all the heading of all the aforementioned spatial separation types. Such intense separation is needed in spaces for sleep, relaxation and personal hygiene; yet, there is rich variation in the possible interrelation of distinct domestic spaces. (Some examples shown in figure 1.51.)
Passages through the home's space refers to actual movement. These passages or corridors can, at times, afford space for storage (clothes cupboards). The home's most common passages are the entrance hall and inner hallway. These areas are often used to store items of clothing and are referred to as the wardrobe. Clear width in these spaces should be at least 1.20 m (excluding furniture) for the entrance hall, and not less than 1.00 m (excluding furniture) in all other corridors where openings to rooms appear at either side.
Note
When determining the size of the entrance hall, ensure there is enough room to pass through this space, in addition to storing clothes and shoes, even when the door is open.
Some situations require variations. If a chair is placed in the entrance hall to assist the elderly or children, make sure that it does not restrict passage. In addition, in the case of small children, provide a storage space of 0.90 x 1.20 m for pushchairs, or a suitable place to store a wheelchair and or other mobility aids. This can be a walk-in closet, best arranged with direct access to the foyer, which prevents wet and dirty shoes, pushchairs, wheelchairs, mobility aids and shopping trolleys from being taken into the home. (Multi-unit housing developments often provide communal storage for pushchairs, wheelchairs and/or bicycles.) The larger entrance hall can also serve as a place to welcome guests and prepare for post-breakfast departures as a family unit. (AP)
The living room’s actual function can vary according the size and arrangement of the dwelling. Living rooms of different sizes and arrangements are shown in fig. 1.40. Common pastimes and receiving visitors are general functions. This can be supplemented by a furniture zone for the “individual activity” of one resident. This area always should always be provided, since it also serves as a reserve
area for any unforeseeable ancillary functions. The living room can be a place for dining also – in this case, in proper proximity to the site of cooking, unless there is an alternative dining spot is in the kitchen.
Figure 1.33. Living room examples
The living room can be a place to sleep, especially in small apartments. Single- or double-occupancy homes do not require acoustic separation (unless it is part of the client’s brief), since this is tolerable if sleep and other functions do not occur at the same time. Larger than double occupancy homes can allow for sleeping in the living room, in cases of necessity, if other functions within the home are isolated acoustically and visually (chiefly, food preparation and consumption).
Although it is not common practice, more homes are being provided with a kitchen as part of the general living area. This is usually required by developers in order to reduce construction costs, and it can result in the production of smaller living areas.
A detached dining room can perform at a higher standard or can act as a “second living room”, usually when sleeping in the main living room cannot be avoided. The dining room is usually directly connected to the kitchen and living room. See figure 1.41 for various dining room arrangements. The area required can also depend upon the number of users and how food is to be served. Examples of how this might be achieved efficiently are given in figure 1.41a. Apart from the dining table and chairs, storage may have to be provided for tablecloths, cutlery and serving utensils, as well as ornamental pieces such as decorative glass or bone china tableware. The dining room does not have to be visually or acoustically separate form the rest of the home.
Figure 1.34. Dining room examples
Note
Sitting around the dining table can be beneficial for everyone, but especially for the hearing impaired. It is best to sit opposite one another, not side by side or at right angles, because this makes it easier to lip-read. Better still, if the window is at a right angle to those seated at the table, light distribution reduces the shadows on people’s faces, thus making lip-reading, perception of facial expressions, and communication easier. (AP) The eat-in kitchen offers an economical use of space, with the dining table also made available as a food preparation area between meals. In rural houses, where the residents deal with vegetable gardening and animal husbandry, the kitchen table is indispensible for processing items. Naturally, eat-in kitchens are found in urban homes as well. The demand often arises, even in more spacious homes with a separate dining room, for a small breakfast nook or place to eat within the kitchen. (This can be achieved economically, too. See figure 1.22b.) For alternative eat-in kitchen layouts, see figure 1.42.
Figure 1.35. Dining kitchen examples
Cooking utensils and kitchen layout are discussed in Section 1.3.5., figure 1.28.
Sanitary facilities are detailed in Section 1.3.7., figure 1.36. These areas require visual and acoustic separation (a rare possible exception being private bathrooms accessed only from the master bedroom).
The bedroom’s main function is sleep, but this room can also serve other functions, including study.
Therefore, it should be isolated visually and acoustically. Examples of bedroom plans are given in figure 1.43. (Sizes given are practical minimums, so larger dimensions can be allowed for in designs.)
Figure 1.36. Bedroom examples
Single bedrooms are at least 8.00m², which, when occupied by teenagers, tend to serve as their own living room. If this is required, it is better to build a single bedroom at double bedroom proportions.
Bedrooms, in general, should be considered multifunctional spaces. In multi-unit apartment buildings, families of different compositions well move into a similar and repeated dwelling type. Thus, a
"nursery" might also function as a study room if there are no children present. Grandparents move in, children leave home, rooms become personalized, etc. For alternative layouts, refer to figure 1.44.
Conventional rooms have been discussed, but other options are possible within the home. We are talking of galleries, chat spaces or interlocking seating areas which might not be so easily defined. The design should allow for these other functions, since they have an impact upon the levels of convenience or comfort required. Specific design briefs might require alternative spaces (body-building room, sauna, swimming pool, hobby room, craft room, studio, etc.), all of which can only be designed correctly following consultation with one’s client.
1.5. Residential comfort
1.5.1. Lighting
Care should be taken to provide adequate light for all rooms and residential spaces. This includes the provision of both natural and artificial lighting.
Natural illumination may be direct or indirect. Direct light from outside is provided to the interior via glazed surfaces (windows), while indirect natural light is provided via translucent surfaces or unobstructed openings from adjoining rooms that receive direct light. (fig. 1.45)
Figure 1.37. Ventilation and lighting concepts
Building codes (OTÉK) recommend ratios for glazed surfaces in proportion to useful floor area, such as "[…] provide a 1:8 minimum for adequate light in rooms where people remain for long periods.
Where appropriate, provide 1:10 […] further, when light is from above, provide at least 1:10." This calculation must take into account the effective glazed surface (excluding window frames), which is significantly smaller than the windows nominal size.
At the sketch design stage, it is useful to count the clear glazed area as 13 cm smaller on all sides of the frame in comparison to the window’s nominal size. When final plans are prepared, this can be adjusted to fit manufacturers’ actual dimensions, with the product catalogues providing a variety of window types, frames and sash profiles that allow for precise calculation.
Compliance with regulations does not guarantee that the natural lighting levels will be lesser or greater than required. If the window overlooks a narrow street, courtyard or larger building, then a ration of 1:8 will not suffice. Conversely, for a hilltop home that commands the entire horizon, it is more than adequate.
Direct sunlight upon a given point varies in intensity across the sky's hemisphere depending upon angle of incidence to the horizon. Light from the zenith can be three times more intense than that from the horizon. This is why windows facing the sky are more effective than vertically glazed surfaces.
This is also why slanted skylights are preferred for the provision of natural light, because they can provide much more light than a vertical window.
Room illumination may not only depend upon window to floor-area ratio, but also the depth of spaces or height of surfaces to be illuminated. Professional convention holds to the belief that the depth of a properly illuminated part of a space should not exceed two and a half times the size of the perpendicular height from the finished floor to the top of the window. (fig. 1.46)
Figure 1.38. Window sizes and sufficient illumination depth
Indirect natural light is usually weaker than direct, but not always – for example, at times when light comes from an entirely glazed intermediate space. Therefore, consider indirect lighting the equivalent of direct lighting in spaces that require natural light for given activities. For instance, the kitchen might be indirectly illuminated via a dining area that adjoins it without obstruction. By analogy, similar situations might occur (room depth in comparison to window size) where direct light does not penetrate far enough into a room for given activities, but sufficient light levels are attained for others.