8 Things to consider before planning a House

House Plans

House plans are the set of working drawings which shows each and every details for the execution of the building project. The working drawing provides foundation plan, plan of different floors, roof plan, elevations, structural details, details of doors and windows. The usability and functionality of house solely depends on the planning of the working drawings and its execution. So plan twice to build once. Before starting the planning of house these 10 things must be considered to finalize the plan:

1. Aspect

Aspect refers to the positioning of the building in a particular direction to receive the proper sunshine, air and natural breeze. To ensure the desirable movements of air indoors the room should be planned in the direction of prevailing winds. The opening of the room i.e., windows should have opening directly to the external air. The height of window should be such that to allow flow of wind at level of occupances and use. The windows should be arranged diagonally on alternate wall for proper ventilation. In case of hot climate sunshade should be provided over windows to allow proper sunshine entering the room for less warmth and better illumination. In case of cold climate the sunshade should be eliminated for maximum warmth and sunshine.

2. Prospect

Prospect refers to the outside view of the surrounding environment. The outside views when looked through windows and doors(if opening in external wall) of a room should be pleasant and cheerful. The opening of the balcony or verandah should be such that one can enjoy the proper sunshine, natural breeze or moonlit night while enjoying the view of pleasant, cheerful and healthy atmosphere outside. So, the prospect of a building keeps you healthy, energetic and cheerful. A good prospect can be created by planting trees, flowers and proper gardening.

3. Grouping

Grouping is the assembling of all the components of building. Let us consider a residential building. What it contains? A residential building comprises living room, bedrooms, kitchen, dinning, bathroom, verandah, etc. 

Living room: Living room is for general purpose so it should be accessible for everyone and should be nearer to the entrance.

Bedrooms: Location of bedrooms should ensure its privacy. It should be spacious and opening of door should not allow the passerby to get the view of the bed. Attached toilet and bath may be provided if the room is used to accommodate guest to give them their own space and privacy.

Kitchen: Kitchen should be accessible from dinning area and adjacent to the dinning room.

Bathrooms: Common bath and toilets should be easily accessible from all the rooms.

Verandah: Verandah should be well ventilated and it must have one opening to the external air.

The minimum number of furniture should be used efficiently to avoid blockage and provide sufficient space for passage. 

4. Economy

Economy is very important because the plan should be prepared according to the amount of money going to be invested in order to execute the building plan successfully. A square shape building is most economical as it provides more floor area and less wall area. Maximum number of common walls should be used, few rooms of bigger size should be provided instead of more number of small rooms to reduce the cost of construction. The number of doors and windows should be kept minimum without effecting the lighting and ventilation of the room. The foundation should not be constructed unnecessarily strong by assuming large volume of loads. The local and easily available construction materials should be used to reduce the overall cost of construction and maintain economy  of the project.

5. Roominess

Roominess refers to the effective use of  rooms to maximize its utilization on one hand and keep the cost of construction within economy on other hand. A rectangular shape room can be used instead of square shape for better utilization of the space. The number of furniture used should be minimum. A bed, dressing table and built in cupboard or storage should be adopted to keep the room spacious for circulation or passage.

6. Circulation

Circulation is the space provided to move freely within a house from different rooms to kitchen, dinning and toilets without any obstruction. Minimum number of furniture should be used in the entrance hall and verandah for easy movement of people in the house. The vertical elevation like staircase should be designed properly for accessing one floor to other without any difficulty.

7. Flexibility

Flexibility refers to the ability of the building to be easily modified or extended . It is very important to consider if your present budget is low so that in future you can extend the building structure. It is also important for a family if the number of people residing in the house may increase in future. So in that case a plan should be made with the provision of future extension.

8. Elegance

Elegance refers to the external enormous beauty and the stylish architectural appearance of the building produced by a good elevation. So, the external beauty and appearance of a building lies in a good plan. If the building plan is made with the perception of stylish architectural visualization the elegance of the building will be pleasant and striking to the eye.