What make a good house to build and to live in?
Good to ask this question before meeting a good designer,
not to give a hard time to the designer, so you know what to want and what to
spend on. The owner can make an informed decision. Comparing between a new
house and an existing house is just like comparing a new car and a second hand
car. A new house can be designed for you and your family. In addition, it can
be a good design. This means even a cheap house can be a very good house. An
old house maybe a good house if it has the right criteria but a brand new house
can be clear of everything, if the land is good too, beside superstitions. New
houses can achieve desirable qualities with modern scientific methods.
A good house has the qualities of a good house, not the
quality of land or the quality of fittings, although they also make a house a
good house. There are books that explain about a good house and its qualities.
The composition of a good house is the good quality of the overall structure
and its functional performances.
Functions must lead the design forms. Form must follow
function… in an assignment, I wrote:
Build Form of this new building is very conventional. Form follows
functions, aesthetic, natural features of site, orientation, light, wind,
weather, materials and structural possibility & limit. Form follows function and nature for the benefit of user experience. Function
follows brief, user experience, and practical sequences. Site features and the surroundings dominate overall idea of form. Functions
(programs) dominate interior spaces. Site and function become overall building
design. Aesthetic function is fulfilled with building features and user
experience.
The brief from the
owner is very important for the designer. Actually, it is the starting point. An
informed owner will meet a good designer not just to order a design but also to
construct a brief. An informed owner can make a good brief with the designer, feedback
and recommendation, and positive criticism to reach the final design of a good
house. An informed owner can involve in design development constructively. A clear
vision of a new house, how it will look like when finish, may be developed with
a strategy to get there.
Consider the following for a good house:
I am paraphrasing from somewhere I read.
Building Life Cycle Environmental Impact,
Building Performance, and Energy Performance are parts of a house: These three
are related directly; however, they must be considered separately and carefully;
this is first part. Liveability, Usability, Enjoyable Interior, Acoustic
Performance, Lighting, Air Flow or ventilation, Structural Aesthetic, Security,
Easy Access, and Escape are also parts of a house; this is the second part.
Favouring the first part can reduce the performance of the
second part and vice versa. For example, window is where cold and heat easily
penetrate into a house, but a house needs enough light and enough air. Glass is
generally poor insulator, so it demands more energy for cooling and heating. It
is good not to prioritise either part but it depends on how much one can afford.
Nevertheless, the balance can be better in long term. That is generally how a
good house is designed. Life Cycle Costing stated by NSW government is “the
total cost throughout its life including planning, design, acquisition and
support costs and any other costs directly attributable to owning or using the
asset".
Building envelop, interior, room location, circulation,
floor styles, decoration, cultural style all can be designed within the good design practice. BASIX assessment is mandatory so
generally all house designs that passed this assessment are equally good.
However, the difference appears when compare the designs in other aspects.
A house might need to be accurately tested for energy rating
for different reasons. There are AccuRate
assessors available for this purpose, during design stage. AccuRate is a good software developed by CSIRO.
The same aspect is also known as ESD
Environmentally Sustainable Design can be
read on a government website.
It is also good to think about future extension – start from
a small house and make an extension later or build the whole house with many
bedrooms. This depends on the budget. However, later extension is far more
expensive than building whole house at once. If Extension is to be made later,
good planning is necessary for this intention – at least to know where to and
how to extend.
A house is not just for living, but can also be investment
for next generation, or for resale. People do move to different locations in
their lifetimes. A good house is a good investment if it is designed properly.
At least its value should be enough to buy another house in the new location
where the owner wants to move.
Before building a house, all of these things can be considered
carefully.
After all the considerations on design, the owner should be
able to make an informed decision in choosing building designs for themselves. An
informed decision does not base on a designer or a design farm but the designs
themselves.
