Hello Yarnos,
without a property address the following comments can only be made in general terms - for instance I can't tell what might be on your northern boundary that would drive your architect to place a garage on the northern side of the design. Presumably they have a degree in architecture. It is however clear that the only room in this design that will receive direct sun is the rumpus room, the garage (stacked parking is dificult to use, but again, presumably there is a good reason) & the store room. Why a store room or parked car needs a north orientation I couldn't say. There will be no sun in the kitchen in the morning. Nor in the family room, at any time of day. The upper level lounge has no north window at all. There is a very large amount of space (costing money) given to circulation on the ground floor - not especially efficient planning.
As to your list of questions - I think there are far more fundamental issues to be addressed with this design before proceeding to any questions of decor. Your architect ought to have thoroughly considered furniture layout in tandem with your needs & desired mode of living as part to the strategic planning of this residence. Your architect ought to be able to answer your questions as to arrangement of windows.
Further: I question why one would change from a parapet to a hipped roof, from front to back. This is a particularly inconsistent bit of thought.
Heating & Cooling: this design raises concern for how it might be efficiently cooled & heated. I suspect you will be providing energy input every day to keep the home at a comfortable temperature. Money out of your pocket again, that could be designed out or at least minimised at this stage of planning.
I think there are a great many unresolved issues with this arrangement, more than I have time to comment on, or that I may raise without further information.
Again, as I don't have all the information pertaining for your brief, your instructions to your architect, or your site, these comments are general in nature & relate only to the drawings provided in your post on Houzz.
Best of luck,
Charles

The following are all just general comments from a non-architect:

- the entry area looks a little awkward. Part of it is double height, but then the ceiling appears to drop down again, only to be double height again at the stairs. I'm having trouble imagining how aesthetically pleasing it will be to have a "gang plank" of sorts visible as soon as you walk into the home. I'm not really sure how this space is intended to work with the study either, as there doesn't appear to be a door to close off the study, yet there are part walls intended to block off most of the study.

- I would consider sliding doors for the cinema instead of hinged doors. You may also want to reduce the amount of natural light if you prefer watching TV in the dark. A raised platform for true cinema styled seating may also be something you want to consider.

- I'm not a huge fan of tandem garages, but I presume that was the only option available due to the block size/dimensions.

- the entrance hallway seems a little narrow and like a rabbit warren with all the doors. I'm guessing they're for heating and cooling purposes, especially the void space at the entrance.

- existing the entrance hallway into the dining area does not seem practical. A decent sized dining table and chairs will probably take up most of that space, which means that you'll constantly be navigating around the table. I would consider flipping the kitchen so that most of it runs across the bathroom/hallway wall.

- I presume you have a downstairs bathroom to future proof the house in your old age? If so, you should think about which of the downstairs rooms is intended to be the bedroom (e.g. is it the cinema or the rumpus) and whether that room needs to be established as a bedroom now (e.g. with a built in wardrobe).

- subject to the above, I don't see the need for a separate rumpus when you already have a dedicated cinema room. Unless you wanted a dedicate "play" room for very young children and their toys. I would consider opening up that space, installing a nice, big sliding stacker or bi-fold door onto the alfresco and re-arranging the kitchen so that you enter into a nice, big open space with plenty of room for living and dining.

- I personally don't understand the appeal of having the laundry and another toilet only accessible from outside (i.e. from the alfresco). It would annoy me to go outside to check whether the washing or drying has finished, although I guess it is convenient when taking clothes to hang up on an outside line. Will you be having a pool and is that why you have an outdoor toilet (i.e. to prevent wet people from running inside the house)? If so, you may want to make it large enough to also operate as a change room for guests.

- it looks like you have two toilets for the main bathroom upstairs - one in the main bathroom and one as a separate toilet. That seems like overkill to me, especially with the ensuite and another two toilets downstairs. I'd consider removing the second toilet from the main bathroom and maybe trying to fit in a double vanity with the extra room. Or even creating a three-way bathroom so that the "vanity", the "bath and shower" and the "toilet" are all separate. That may be more practical for your two children, especially if they're opposite sex.

- I'm not a huge fan of the toilet placement in the ensuite. When sitting on the toilet, you'll be looking at your reflection in the vanity mirror and there is no privacy at all if a second person wants to use the ensuite. I'd consider putting a linen cupboard in the lounge area and stealing of the room from the linen cupboard to expand the ensuite, potentially even separately enclosing the toilet.

- bedroom 2 looks a little small and lonely, but I can't think of any practical suggestions.

- will you use the deck from the upstairs lounge? Unless having a deck is a planning requirement, I wonder whether that space wouldn't be better to be enclosed to create a bigger lounge (which may also allow for the linen cupboard to be moved and the main bathroom to be expanded into a three-way bathroom).

- I'd consider sliding doors for the WIR in the main bedroom instead of hinged doors.

- having bedrooms 3 and 4 the same size and somewhat "separated" from the main bedroom is a good idea for as your children grow into teenagers. It would be nice if the lounge area could somehow be more dedicated for them, but I can't think of any practical suggestions for that.

Hello Yarnos
I agree with palaestra in that it is very difficult to understand the context of this plan and provide constructive advice without seeing it located on a site plan, and more information about the orientation. If north is to the left (I'm assuming when facing the property from the street, which would place the garage on the northern side as you describe it), then I believe this floor plan actually needs to be mirrored. It is very odd that an architect would give your garage and store area the best orientation location for the home, and place the bulk of your living areas to the southern edge. Depending on where you are located geographically in Australia, your family area will be dark and cold, and your upper floor lounge room will be hot with north-western sun.
I agree also that the external form of the home seems disjointed in the change of aesthetic between parapet and hip roof-forms.
I think it is great that you are seeking advice and confirmation of your design before committing to building - this is where everything is relatively inexpensive to amend and change. Once the house starts construction, change is expensive. And once it's built, well, it's permanent. It is definitely best to get confidence you're getting it right at this stage of the game.
I also find it interesting that you can not have a double garage on a 750m2 lot - I think you are creating functional challenges for yourself with a tandem garage, and challenges down the line in resale, particularly in Western Sydney were people are quite reliant on their cars.
I also question the inclusion of a full bathroom downstairs, where there are no bedrooms, and would suggest it just being a powder room. Unless this has been specific to your brief, it seems an excessive cost given the other bathrooms in the home.
The stair configuration does seem also an inefficient use of floor area. Even if you have the mid-level landing, it is still a lot of area to dedicate to circulation in that part of the floor plan, for little aesthetic benefit. I know it can be seductive to have the double-storey void when you arrive in your home and see the stairs winding up, but at the moment, that is an area oriented west, will be a good heat trap and will actually feel quite tight and tall - and acoustically make that lounge room difficult to use for anything noisy.
Best wishes, and feel free to get in touch with me if you would like any more information, or a more indepth review. I have a service where I audit home-owners designs formally, and provide alternative sketches. You can learn more about it here - http://undercoverarchitect.com/ua-design-audit/
Regards
Amelia Lee
Undercover Architect
amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

Thankyou so much for your critique, I have a difficult block which is very narrow at the front and splades on the right hand side, I have included a survey plan with the proposed house layout. First the idea of tandem garages comes from the restraints in the narrow width of the block at the front of the block.
Originally we requested drive through garages which the left hand side was better suited for access where the right hand side boundary has a narrow start then splades and the house walls aren't parallel which was going to make access a bit hit and miss.
The idea of the bathroom downstairs was should we arrive from work dirty we park the car come from the side entry and straight into the shower instead of walking upstairs with dirty clothing. Also we are thinking later down the track should we need to look after parents we can make the study downstairs into a retreat room.
The idea of using flat and hipped was something we have requested for and our Architect was reluctant.
As a suggestion what about we flip the rumpus room to the south side of the home?
I would be open for further suggestions and designs as this is what I am looking for... Not building a home and finding that I need to have lights on during the day, this has been my biggest concern
Regards
yarnos

Hi Yarnos

Said in the kindest, gentlest way ... flipping the rumpus will kill the flow of your open plan kitchen/living area, and be a piecemeal fix.

For this to really work, you need to figure out a way to get the garage on the southern edge, or only have it as a one storey element so you can get northern light over it into your lower floor living areas.

Best case scenario if this plan is fixed - put skylights into your lower floor roof over the living areas (Velux do a great sky window that can go between your trusses). I'd also consider deleting the rumpus ... you have an upstairs loungeroom, a study, a cinema room and a family room - do you really need that additional living area of the rumpus? Can you instead rejig upstairs, and enclose that upper floor lounge, so you get some acoustic privacy up there, and turn it into a 'rumpus' space.

If you deleted it, you could wrap your outdoor area around this edge, get extra glazing in on the northern edge of your family area, and really suck some natural light into the floor plan, into the back of those kitchen areas.

At the moment, I believe you will need lights on (especially in your kitchen), and you'll pay for heating and cooling more than you should.

Also - listen to your architect about the hip/parapet guidance.

Hope you appreciate the honest feedback :)
Regards
Amelia Lee
www.undercoverarchitect.com

I'm not sure the downstairs study is big enough to function as a bedroom for two people. Also, the bathroom would be quite a walk from the bedroom through high traffic/public areas (which may be a pain for older people who need to urinate more frequently or who have other health issues).

On the current plan, the cinema room would appear to be the best substitute bedroom since you could potentially, at a later date, install a door direct from the room to the bathroom (i.e. turn the bathroom into an ensuite) and a door direct from the room to the under-stair storage to use that space as a built in wardrobe.

Also, I would suggest having a look at some narrow lot house designs since, although your lot is technically larger than a "small lot" (i.e. 750m2 instead of 400m2), it has some of the same restrictions as a narrow lot (i.e. 10m wide frontage).

Here are some examples which show that it's possible to have a double garage, even with a narrow lot:

http://www.kalka.com.au/build/k-series/

Hi Yarnos - there are very specific elements all tied in with this proposal. It is very hard to amend a design with compromised principle decisions. Basic site arrangement will drive some critical decisions down the track. The parts of your brief to the designer about having an additional bathroom has a logical reason. Without starting from the base reasoning of everything it is hard to really fix up something with some major inherent issues. Its more of a matter of starting over, I feel. Whether this is best done through your existing architect, or beginning again is a decision you are best placed to make, depending on your expectations of design / documentation costs & end result. As you have already noted, getting the decisions right now is your best investment - you wouldn't have posted your concerns if you had not felt this to be true. With that in mind I would have a serious look at alternative proposals, bearing in mind you get what you pay for.
With regard to parking: not with standing council controls that may apply to 'streetscape' - you may consider placing parking diagonally staggered at the alignment of the neighbouring residences or slightly behind (gaining extra width - potentially one may apply to have a zero lot alignment on the south boundary in part to assist site planning). This element (not full width of site) may create a courtyard space behind it, to which a suite of rooms may have a pleasant easterly aspect. Thereafter my site planning would centre around gaining private external space to the north & orienting principal living spaces around these outdoor spaces. This would be in tandem with an understanding of the functions of the rooms in the north neighbouring house. One could vary these rooms between being full width of the site, or partial width of the site to make a sequence of indoor & outdoor rooms. Site strategy - critically important. This is but one approach one may explore. I will send a rough sketch of what I describe a little later.
regards,

Charles

Hi Yarnos

Oh this must be hard ... you ask for feedback, so you clearly want some input, and then you get all sorts of suggestions!

Listen, ideally you would start again and re-arrange the spaces to better suit the topography and orientation. However, I think you have probably invested a fair whack of time, energy and money in this scheme to date, and the thought of starting again may be completely overwhelming and just not an option - financially or timewise.

I do think you can rejig this floor plan to improve the quality of natural light, particularly in that lower floor area. I also think reconsidering how many living areas you have (with your alfresco, you have 5!), and make sure the ones you do have work really well. More of stuff that doesn't work does not make a home better - quality will win over quantity every day, and design makes the difference.

I do wish you well in how you create your new home. If you'd like to chat further about a formal Design Audit, I'd be happy to help. I have a service you can read about here ... http://undercoverarchitect.com/?p=1737

Regards
Amelia Lee
www.undercoverarchitect.com

G'day Yarnos
Welcome to the 'Dilemma Page' All the above are Reasonable Ideas and the joy you have is picking the eyes out of them. One of the main things to consider when starting to design a home is to determine what sort of 'Feeling' you want to end up with. Modern, Hamptons, Colonial, Skillion etc. Modern designs can look a bit 'Blockish' unless you are very good at proportions and interest points, They also tend to cost a lot more than 'standard' residential construction and can feel a bit 'cold' and soulless. Have fun with your architect and try not to cramp his/her (sorry her/his) suggestions and when you get something you are happy with don't put it back on the 'dilemma Page' Good Luck

Hi Yarnos
Please get rid of ALL passageways/hallways!! they are a waste of floorspace.
A space between 2 rooms can have cupboards or storage as part of a space to move between rooms.
Too many small steps and corners in the outside walls will increase costs for footings and timber framing.
And why is that toilet looking at me while I'm enjoying a BBQ out the back on your beautiful alfresco area?
I have a friend who has been working on her plans for 6 months now, and has finally got her dream plan.
And please do not allow the architect to pressure you into 'finalising' your plans....(read "I just want to get paid and forget about this job"
I also agree with all the other comments
Good Luck in getting the house you want

The small steps and corners are created due to the size and shape of the block trying to achieve maximum living space possible. Its unfortunate that we don't own the perfect block shape facing North. These are the challenges you are faced with when you buy your family home at a young age. The toilet looking into the Alfresco is valid comment and will take this up. Not sure how a design will work without hallways and passage ways

Hello again yarnos,
I might mention that north does not ever have to be at the street front of the lot. No matter where it is, in a new build, there is always a way to make best use of the biggest free natural resource we have. I am sorry my advice really amounts to starting again, but I do believe that your designer can do better for you. Fiddling with it at the edges will just be exactly that. All the best,
Charles

Thanks for your comments using your expertise how would you approach this design? With what we have designed ao far as each room and space has the purpose and been requested by us...As we have requested for a contemporary look and feel home

G'day yarnos
A 'Modern' elevation with the balcony over hanging the garage door to lessen the impact and add some depth to the facade.

Sorry No Luck in adding a PDF - will try something else.

G'day yarnos
A 'Modern' elevation with the balcony over hanging the garage door to lessen the impact and add some depth to the facade.

Congratulations, Yarnos - you're at the start of an exciting (and immensely frustrating and exhausting) journey. Try to remember the excitement.

Yes, you can hire an interior designer you like (and browsing through articles and photos on Houzz may help you find one). But you will be asked to make decisions about things you never even knew were choices (do you want the top corner of your kitchen benchtops rounded - bullnose - or square, for just one example. Do you want cornices and skirting boards? What sort? etc etc).

So, just take a breather now - because you are at the point where people start charging big $ when you change your mind.

One thing my family found helpful was visiting the Home Ideas Centre in Clayton in Melbourne (there's also one in Adelaide - not alas, in Sydney, but maybe you could make a flying visit?) It's like a home show - but without any pushy salespeople. You can look at different paint colours, paint colours, taps, drawer styles . . . and take brochures or photos of what you like. This gives you a starting point. (There may be a similar place in Sydney - does anyone know? Or Yarnos, you could ring the Melbourne people and ask them what the nearest thing in Sydney is.)

You might want to ask your architect to give you a list of all the things you have to make choices about - and start researching them now. Otherwise you may find yourself sitting in an office, looking at photos and forced to make on-the-spot decisions about dozens of things you then have to live with.

Some 'little things' that I want in my dream house: double sinks in the laundry (one for use, one for soaking wetsuits!), hidden drawers in the kickbacks in the kitchen - ohh, and a kitchen cupboard with pull-out baskets for potatoes and onions like I saw on Houzz last week. I'd think about stealing some space from the family room for a walk-in pantry in the kitchen - but that's me, not you.

Hi yarnos,
How wise to seek further advice before finalizing a design. You need to recognize that the best advice may not be what you want to hear.
I am not a professional but have consulted design professionals. This is what I have learned.
The best designers will apply "tough love" to your wishlist of your perceived requirements.
If you have a strong personality and seem adamant about your own misplaced design ideas, you will need an architect/designer who can deal with this to put you on the right track for a sensible outcome.
This may mean throwing out all your preconceived ideas to narrow down what you really need as against what you think you need. Only good design is value for money. You want your home to be functional, energy efficient, enduring and a pleasure to live in. And nothing like a building quote to shake up your ideas about what you really need.
Professionals who have advised you in this forum have given some sound advice. The best advice has been to start from scratch and to design as much as possible to take advantage of north if you want a comfortable and pleasant home. Clever design can do this as shown by Paleastra.
Good luck with your project.

Yarnos, go to this site to learn about design principles http://www.yourhome.gov.au/

Hi again yarnos, unless you want to store your cars in an oven, and heat which will transfer to the house, do not have a dark garage door or any dark colours especially on a west- facing facade. You will pay for this.

I can only endorse most of the preceding comments. Now is the time to change your ideas and plans while it is all still on paper – and the fact that you have written and asked for feedback would indicate that you are at least slightly unsure where you are going with this.

The orientation of the block is not a disaster but north will remain north, west will remain west and ignoring the reality of light and heat and cooling etc comes with big price tags – and these are not just financial. Houses that require lights on during the day, that are entirely reliant on air-conditioning to make them liveable and that do not have zones for quiet living, public and private spaces and have a disproportionate amount of space devoted to circulation are actually really unpleasant to live in (as well as being costly to build and service).

Reading between the lines, it appears to me that you have gone to your architect/designer with a pretty solid and immovable wish-list – home cinema, double height foyer (which is going to suck heat out of the ground floor in winter especially because of the lack of solar access), garaging for two cars, five toilets, three bathrooms, etc. – and he/she has tried to shoehorn them all onto the available lot. Try to think through what will make your house work for your family – for instance working out which rooms could be versatile and serve more than one function would be a good start. I like the idea of not unnecessarily bringing dirt into the house (my partner is a builder so I do understand about dirt, brick dust, plaster dust, concrete dust etc so we have a bathroom/laundry with an external door onto a verandah return for just such a reason) so a laundry that can be accessed from outside and also with an internal door makes sense.

I would put a lot more effort into trying to make the site and floor plans work in terms of light, heat, public spaces, privacy (including aural), circulation and access before I started to worry about parapets v hipped roofs and colour schemes etc. A well-designed house takes a lot of effort at this stage – anything that is not addressed now in terms of design will come back to bite you on the bottom down the track. Don't compromise on the basic elements of good design now because no amount of double-height, drama-filled staircases and dedicated home cinemas will compensate for basic design failures later. Once you have a design that you are happy with and that you can walk around and function in in your mind's eye you will have a house that will surprise and delight you for decades. The building is really easy once the design has been sorted – and this design is not sorted. And I think you probably already know that!

Good luck – designing and building your own house can be the most exciting and wonderful project or it can be dispiriting and vastly expensive both to build and to live in. Your choice...

Hi
Can you live with a single access garage? It is a real downgrade for a house in my opinion. I prefer two garages and an entry across the front. Adjust the staircase to suit( it might just be changing the direction). Storeroom and study behind the new entry on the right. This might also open up the back area a bit.

You have a good sized block but I guess it must be rather narrow from the design your architect has drawn up. I am not an architect but I know what I like. I looked at your design and wondered why your living areas are not north facing. The alfresco allows no light into the family room. Why do you have a shower in the downstairs bathroom - it could just be a powder room? The laundry looks to be an afterthought. I would have it where the store at the end of the garage is, with an internal door. Do you really need a cinema, a rumpus room and an upstairs lounge? I just see lots of cleaning. Sorry, about all the questions, but if I were in your place I would be finding another architect. By the way, I am building a new home at the moment and the person who designed our home is an eco-designer who knows how to get the best out of the Australian climate, without waste space.

Hi archimondo

Thanks for your drawing and idea, very interesting and very nice idea something i will run by my Architect about the double garages. The current design has been highlighted non functional and can downgrade the home. Archimondo your idea enables more sunlight on the northern side of the home into into the living areas?. Not sure if building this type of facade would be within our budget but would love this design as this would stand out in the current street with the other newly grand built homes. Not sure how i would make this facade functional with the current design home layout but would have excellent resale value in the future. These ideas are great and exciting so i can work with my Architect, these ideas are the concepts i am looking for on this advice page.

susan_66 like the Home Idea in Melbourne might be worth the investment the time to visit Melbourne not sure if the suppliers would be available in Sydney but there would be equivalent?

I am considering changing and desiging the cinema room into more of a kids/adult hangout room which will have a nice big couch and TV so should we need to sit with our guests away from the children we have the option. As a cinema room is costly and limited to usage.

The study room would probably become a guest room as it will work better for olderly parents avoid walking upstairs and try to incorporate the bathroom somehow in the design?

The upstairs living area would be strictly only for own family and don't want visitors accessing the 1st floor as this will reveal a lot of our privacy and should the bedrooms be left untidy or messy our guests don't get exposed to this.

Really appreciate everyones input, has opened up some great ideas i hope this also helps others. Keep them coming should i have a housewarming party once finished you will be the first to be invited ;-) LOL!!!!!!

Hello Yarnos,
I am no professional, but we are also designing a house at the moment and I would be seriously disappointed if I received drawings that looked like that from an architect! This is what our first set of drawings looked like from our architect.....
From what the other professionals are saying, you may seriously want to consider another architect.
All the best.

Jackjr, its not so much a matter of what the drawings look like at this stage, but whether the layout is suited to the lot, works for the family with a minimum of wasted space, while incorporating climatically-appropriate design principles for natural inbuilt comfort and energy efficiency. This takes a clever and knowledgeable designer and a client with flexible thinking.
At the risk of offending you both, both of your plans look like so many project home designs that also ignore a northern aspect for living area rooms (unless in the tropics). I'm wondering what led you both to use an architect. From my perspective, neither of your architects has done either of you a favour.

Very very true Rob!
Actually our house is very much designed with the northern aspect in mind, which is pretty much straight out the back. The reason the lounge and main room are at the front is because we have a beautiful view out to the South. We also live in Qld, ah la the tropics!
For some reason though this architect apparently hasn't achieved a layout that is suited to the lot, or minimum wasted space, or incorporated climatically-appropriate design principles for natural inbuilt comfort and energy efficiency or submitted detailed drawings that are easy to understand.

I am reading more and more into the comments and feedback and starting to engage a clear understanding of what makes a good design.
A good design needs to include all climatic attributes sun, light, wind then good design is a design that has a functional layout and a design that will work with our family now and the future and as we grow old. So i am going back to the drawing board and try and put all these concepts into a functional workable layout.
Here are some of my new thoughts?
•Modern living home design
•Flat roof (not sure which is most cost effective hipped or flat )?
• Brick veener home
• Earthy colours
• Hebel power floor system for noise minimisation and heat transfer
•Kitchen area to serve and entertaining dining room and alfresco area. and looking into pool area for children safety
•Guest room to be downstairs near bathroom and toilet
•Remove cinema room and use this space as a Retreat room/ rumpus room should we require at later stages of our lives to be away from kids we have the option to be away from them.
•2 car garage side by side as i need to park work ute and run out cor emergency callouts)
• storage area \ workshop area will accept if this is detached away from home......
• Mud room so when i park my work ute i can access shower without dirtying the whole house with my work boots and clothing
• Also should it be raining family can can access the home internally without getting wet Open living area with 3 meter ceiling height looking out into the backyard alfresco pool area to create large undercover entertainment area between alfresco and living area.
•A grand entrance with void area and staircase been the highlights
•Laundry to be centre of home to service both levels and bathroom downstairs. Laundry requires to be large enough to iron and store towels kids swimmers detergents iron board and household brooms and mops washing machine and dryer.
•2nd level works well maybe
•Kitchen and living areas to be placed on the north side of the block
Not sure if this is achievable with my current block constraints but definitely a challenge for my Architect.

Hi Yarnos, it's good news you are prepared to start again.
Did you look at the website www.yourhome.com.au ? Under Passsive Design, read about thermal mass. If you are in western Sydney, summers can be hot. Thermal mass inside the house will be important to temperature moderation and keeping house naturally cool. Consider reverse brick veneer i.e. mass inside with insulated wall outside. Climate appropriate design to reduce your need for energy will make the actual house i.e. construction/orientation/window placement for cross ventillation etc do all the work. This has to be considered at the same time you are working out what rooms go where.
If your current architect hasn't stressed these important points or made noises about many of the issues raised by others (professionals especially) in the discussion, then consider changing architect.
All the best. Putting in the hard yards up front will be worth it.

I have been very dominant and narrow mined about our home design my Architect has discussed these options, but asking for second opinions has verified some do's and don't's. Not sure if this block can meet our demands. Would be interesting to see what other layouts and designs other designers come up with this difficult block narrow block?
"We need to design the inside first then the front and then the back" are the words of my Architect

Nothing like looking at things anew. Your architect can probably now work with more freedom and you will probably work a lot better together to get a good sensible result for your needs within the constraints of the block. It sounds like you may have learned some useful tips which might impress your architect! And yes, the basic bones of the house come first - the essential spaces and their aspect and relationship to outdoors - the "flesh" comes after that. Finally the skin. With a two storey you don't need to fill the block with house. Meanwhile keep searching the web for ideas and possibilities (two storey narrow lot plans). With your new-found knowledge you will be a better critic of crappy wasteful design!

Hi Yarnos

It’s great that you’ve been able to access so much valuable and useful advice at no charge to help you with your home design.

It is also great that you are feeling confident and have a new understanding of what makes a design work, and some of your thoughts show that you have been paying attention to advice that others have shared, and that I imparted here and when we spoke on the phone.

A solution that responds to the orientation of the site, maximises its assets, and creates a functional, flexible, family home is still possible for this block of land. You are, however, a fair way (even with your great ideas) from having a home design that works, and need to trust in the best expertise and experience to turn these ideas into a home that will deliver on its full potential.

Ultimately, you want to maximise your budget, your time and your energy to create a great home. The thing with free advice though (even as great as what you've received to date) is that it is still quite general, and as such, will not enable you to really maximise the full potential of this home for your site, your family and your life.

You get to do this once Yarnos – at least with this house anyway. And once it’s built, it’s built. So make it count. As we discussed, I believe that there are other alternatives for your home design that will dramatically improve it. Best wishes with your endeavours, whatever method you choose to pursue.

Kind Regards
Amelia Lee
www.undercoverarchitect.com

This is the most fun and exciting part of using forums and pleasant websites like HOUZZ it creates opportunities and improved designs and concepts for everyone that is building. Also a wealth of knowledge to empower the family that is going to take the next biggest step in their lives,building their home.
By no means does this advice create the answers to our problems but it provides me more knowledge and a benchmark creating a BETTER design. This valuable info will highlight if the Architect or designer that offers their services to provide correct ADVICE. Been always analytical and challenging always all ideas, provides us our success and the best outcomes we select and value for money..
U.C.A you have been a great platform and eyeopener in directing us to reinvest some more planning time on our home.

Yanos, with not much to do on a rainy day, I've been looking at your site plan and notice a single storey dwelling to your south. You have the advantage of a current single storey to your north, but your 2-storey dwelling is likely to create shading issues for the dwelling to your south, destroying any possibility of that house utilizing their north facing roof for solar in the future if they don't have it now. Get your architect to do winter shadow diagrams to see effects of varying placement of 2-storey sections. Also what about gradually stepping your necessarily long plan up the block rather than doing a larger cut to accommodate the length on one level?

Stepping was initially discussed, but we requested that the internal of the home was flat and place gradual steps leading into the home west side and the east. The attached image was the idea i was referencing when discussing steps with my Architect

Found this article from a WA architect http://www.wishlisthomes.com.au/house-designs-narrow-blocks-dont-compromise/ Noticed he was on Houzz - Wishlist Homes. Here is one of his plans

Re step picture. Nice gradual steps for outside, but not what I meant for inside. See the example plan which lends itself to a number of breaks being a single step or two steps depending on slope of site, so the plan could be adjusted to suit. Outside landscaping would follow suit with low terraces down the side of the house. Rethink the pros and cons of something like this. If you want completely one level, consider making the lower floor wheelchair friendly and so suitable for temporary or permanent unforeseen circumstances or for the use of elderly people in the future. Bedroom downstairs with accessible bathroom complies with this possibility.

Ok, have had some discussions with a few local builders and some have suggested that you can take advantage of the fall towards the street. This might allow to build the garages under the house. I can't visually see how this will work how can i visually see this concept? How do you determine how deep into the ground i need to dig? How steep is the driveway going to be ? This will minimise the the cut on the Eastern Boundary and can obtain a flat alfresco area leading into the yard. Can anyone provide a sketch and side elevation show how this will work and heights. I want to ensure this is a practical and affordable idea, before i suggest this concept to my Architect.

This may not be useful to you but I have recently discovered on the web this (?new) building company who also do energy efficient custom designs to suit the block. http://www.greenhomesaustralia.com.au/ The reason I mention them is that if you can believe their blurb, they seem to actually know something about passive solar design (I am somewhat biased to this way of thinking). Their standard designs may not impress you as they are in the somewhat retro sensibly-sized category, but they all seem to be well designed and laid out with passive solar in mind. I'm thinking they don't just rely on passing BASIX to call an inferior design "energy efficient". This makes me think their designers are on the ball and may be able to come up with something sensible, suitable and stylish for your block.

I would think the best person to talk about whether the garage under the house would be an option is your architect. By now he should be plenty familiar with your block and design issues and depending on the program he uses it shouldn't take very long for him to be able to give you a rough idea of how incorporating the garage under the house might work out.

Have you also considered asking your architect his professional opinion on the best design solution for your block? After all, that is what an architect is most useful for - creating a unique design solution appropriate for your lifestyle and site. As much as you may feel like you need to go to him with a strong design and though it is tempting to take control of every step of the design progress often a designer will do his or her best work when they are given freedom. So, because the design hasn't worked out so far, my recommendation is to give your architect your trust, or otherwise find a new architect you can trust.

Yarnos

I agree with Natasha. Your existing architect will have (well, should have after working on your existing design) an intimate understanding of your site, soil conditions and implications of levels on your design. He/She are in the best position (given his/her understanding of your brief and constraints) to illustrate to you how a design solution such as this can work.

No one on this forum is currently in a better position than your architect to explain this to you and outline the affordability of it as an option, based on your site, your brief and your budget.

You can visualise this concept by letting your architect demonstrate it for you. If they are not demonstrating it, then you have the wrong architect I'm afraid. And if you are not empowering them to use their expertise and provide design solutions for you, then you either need to get another architect, or be a better client.

Architects and designers - the good ones - are creative problem solvers. They are design detectives in the art of living well. They spend their entire professional and personal lives and time studying how people live, and how to create environments (and homes) for them to support them living better - more functionally, flexibly, beautifully. The talent of a good architect/designer is invaluable in elevating your lifestyle ... of taking the 30 year mortgage you're about to wage on this bet of building a home, of taking this massive investment, and turning it into a physical building that is your heaven and haven, your place of sanctuary and inspiration. They expand your vision, interpreting both what you say, and what you don't, into a result that is beyond your imagining. That's why you hire them - because you can't do what they can, and you need them to bring your dreams into life in a way that's better than you could have ever anticipated or created yourself. As a client, you have a responsibility to brief them well, trust them to do their job, be open to their ideas, and be guided by their expertise.

The not so good architects and designers are simply drawers and documenters. They 'convert' your brief, your expressed wishes and shopping list into a floor plan that fits, and can be built, but that's simply it. It's a house, not a home. It functionally will do the job, but it never reaches its full potential. And so your life in it never reaches its full potential. You unwittingly compromise, never truly aware of how different, how much better, things could have been. The catch is, you've made a massive investment, and created something that will outlast you and become someone else's home too. So the impact is generational. Your responsibility as a client to these architects and designers is to understand the difference, and ideally not work with them - not unless you can show design leadership yourself.

Work out which one your architect is and make a decision. Trust them to do the job properly for you (and give them the ability to do it), or walk away and find someone else.

Regards
Amelia Lee
Undercover Architect
www.undercoverarchitect.com
amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

Once again UCA very informative i wish i had this wealth of information prior. You have provided a clearer understanding of when choosing the appropriate Architect.
When initially selecting an Architect can you request for concept design prior engaging the final architect and getting into a contract.

Hi Yarnos

You are welcome.

You can always request partial services from an architect as a means of 'testing the waters' - both in what is possible for your home and budget, and in qualifying the architect and your relationship with them.

Be sure as part of your agreement that once you pay for that concept design, you own the license to use it. Architects always retain copyright of their design work, but license you to use it for your site (based on your agreement with them). You generally just have to attribute them as the designers of that work (as per Australian copyright laws).

Certainly being clear about your brief and budget is a helpful first step in achieving a concept design efficiently, and working well with your architect.

Regards
Amelia Lee
Undercover Architect

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