7 tricks I use to make houses feel bigger - thread

Let's see them work in my latest project for a sustainable village, the first & most important:

1. Windows on multiple walls:

This pattern alone helps make spaces at least 20% bigger, it evens out light both in space & time.

2. Walking towards light

If you look closely, almost every circulation direction faces a window.

Sometimes just a small nieche for a flower and a sliver of light, but makes a big impact in how do we perceive space.

Self-building or managing building your own home with a design of your choice or completely custom has many advantages over buying a home on the market:

- customisation
- cost control/savings
- quality control
- health & energy efficiency
- pride of ownership

- a short thread 1. By self-building you can customise

- size of home
- exterior design, materials, style
- window sizes and orientation
- degrees of intimacy
- interior finishes
- equipments
- cabinetry
- phasing out different stages on the timeline
- cashflow
- and everything else

How to build better with the most conventional & affordable structure?

Timber Frame megathread is here!

I'll present you traditional framing ideas, the popular stick built and some cool evolutions that can be used especially in solar timber frame builds.

Let's dive in

↓ 1. Post n beam

- the simple classic timber framing style that uses thick timber posts, beams and rafters held together primarily through mortise & tennon joints fastened with wooden pins.

It grants an air of timeless stability and safety.

Source: Hand hewn by Jack Sobon.

13. Farmhouse kitchen

The kitchen is the most important public space of any home, the true family room, the center of activity.

Must the bright, spacious, fully equipped to handle all cooking, not separated from the rest of the house but in the center of it.

https://twitter.com/Solarchitects/status/1610023094244065280

14. Spa bathroom

Cleaning up is only a small part of bathing, bathing involves a whole host of other activities we forgot in our quest for modernity.

Those pleasurable, therapeutic activities that clean our mind and senses can only be enjoyed in a proper bathing room.

https://twitter.com/Solarchitects/status/1610023157112471553

A framework to create buildings that are alive.

The most important evolution for my practice was discovering Christopher Alexander & his work, specially his Timeless Way of Building & A Pattern Language books.

Here are my favourite patterns defined by him:

{29th thread of 30} 1. A thousand independent regions

"Wherever possible, work toward the evolution of independent regions in the world; each with a population between 2 and 10M; each with its own natural and geographic boundaries; each with its own economy each one autonomous and self-governing"

You live up north and want to build your energy-independent eskimo hut for the 21st century?

Buckle up 'cause here's my thread for better buildings in cold & arctic climates.

28th thread of 30.



Here's a map with climate zones so you can identify where you belong:

Cold - light blue
Arctic - pale blue.

Temperatures are determined by many factors, but it is very important to know your latitude because it determines the travel of the sun in winter & potential heat gains.

Homes built inadequately for hot climates can be unbearable without Air-Con and can bring a lot of adverse health effects.

Here are my tips for houses in hot dry & humid climates.

First here's what an ideal home needs in any hot climate:

{27th of 30th thread}

1. Tall ceilings

The hotter the climate, the taller the ceiling must be. This is by far the most universally applicable but forgotten principle for any hot climate.

As a rule of thumb I recommend min. 10' / 3m for mild-to-hot and 11-12' in very hot climates.

Become the Zillow wizard you deserve to be.

Here are my 21 tips for prospective homebuyers: 1. Go prepared

- have an open discussion in the family what things you want to see in your ideal property. Write a list of 10 things everyone agrees on.

Often you realise you’d wanted something of your new den but forgot at the heat of the bidding war.

99% of homes are worth saving and improving.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚁𝙾𝙵𝙸𝚃 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍

Here are the most helpful ideas for an existing build to get more sunlight, fresh air, winter warmth, summer cool and bills that you need magnifier for.

25th of 30 A saying we use: "we're too poor to buy any kind of crap."

The big mistake in a retrofit is not planning the max improvements you can do on your building, even if it is carried out step-by-step on a longer timescale.

Affordable retrofit = step-by-step, careful battleplan

In the market to buy a land for a forever home in 2023?

In this thread I detail the most important factors to look at when looking for a good quality, low risk land to build on.

Solar land buying thread

Read on.

{19th of 30} A good plot must have:

- road to north / garden to south
- fresh water within 1km
- 25m / 75ft street front
- soil test before buy
- children nearby
- other plots to plant friends into

Must have not:
- gas and high voltage lines nearby
- high speed road
= shady zoning laws

The beginners guide to off-grid buildings

The definitive OG Thread.

{17th of 30} The first step is to assess and reduce overall energy consumption.

This can be broken down to 3 main parts of the total energy demand:

1. Heating/cooling demand is around 45% of total energy.
2. Hot water generation is ±30%
3. Household electricity is ±25%

Quality outdoor spaces around a home are vital for a healthy lifestyle.

Some examples to start with:

Outdoor kitchen & living
Detached home office
Workshop/shed
Teenage cottage
Courtyard
Garden room

In this thread I share why they are awesome additions...

{11th thread of 30} We are living increasingly detached lives from nature by building more conditioned rooms than ever and living inside more than ever.

It makes us sick, depressed, tired and antisocial.

Only way to reverse this is to build smaller buildings with many functional outdoor spaces.

https://twitter.com/Solarchitects/status/1480909495807193094

9 Important lessons I learned from at least as much mistakes & missed takes in 9 years of architecture:

1. It always takes more time, money and complexity to finish your dream house than you think at the beginning.

⟱ {4th thread of 30-day challenge} 1. No one can foresee all the hidden details & fast decisions that will pop up in construction

Yes you can build a home in 6 months, if all goes well. But does it ever?

Also, it is best to assume 15-30% buget overshot & prepare to mitigate it during the build phase.

⟱

3rd thread of 30

How to design a great solar window?

The definitive step by step guide to elevate every room's atmosphere to the highest level.

Step 1 - Punch a hole in the wall.

Keep reading to find out the next 15 steps...

⟱ Step 1 - Punch a hole in the wall.

Most contemporary buildings have random holes in their walls without any tasteful, thoughtful consideration.

The aim of this thread is to show you the 15 steps that can craft a window that brings sunlight, fresh air and beauty in a home.

2nd/30 - Mass timber megathread.

Everything I can tell you about the structure I use in most of the new-builds.

It is structural
aesthetic
- insulates 25x more than concrete & 400x more than steel
- highly durable
- grown in nature & by the sun.

Read on for more.

⟱ Mass timber is based on the cross lamination techniques experimented at the beginning of the 20th century. H. Brosenius' beam is a good example:

Cross laminating lumber elements to form a very performant beam. Connection of individual pieces can be done with glue or nails.

1st/30

We spend 2/3rd of our time in our homes & neglect the effect they have our health.

Lack of sunlight, fresh air and spaces not adapted to your life are grinding you down every day.

Improve your life by improving these key factors in your home & environment.

Read on

⟱ 1 Sunlight

We spend up to 95% of our time indoors in very, VERY badly sunlit spaces. In the last 100 years we turned our face from the Sun with our modern buildings.

The Sun shines with 120.000 lux. Your living room lets in at most 1.000 lux, at the window.

⟱

Let’s talk about building form-factor!

Before any sunlight analysis, energy balance or insulation types,

we have to define the thermal envelope that wraps around the heated home’s indoor area.

The simpler, smaller form it is, the less heat loss the home has.



I always start designing from the inside, from defining the home functions and life-patterns.

Secondary and unheated spaces like garage, storage, workshop or outdoor kitchen should be clearly separate from the heated home via the thermal envelope = the insulated walls.

commonedge.org/an-ode-to-the-…

A fantastic piece of writing about wood by @duodickinson I just re-read the third time. ...Wood uniquely shows time. Everything gets dirty and visually changes. Paint fades, concrete weathers, steel rusts, copper, brass and bronze oxidizes.

Wood takes light, inside or out, and the light’s energy transforms its color, darkening, lightening, bleaching...

7 lessons I learned in

7 years of practice as an architect & builder.

☀️thread☀️

VVV

1. Architecture & construction is a trust based business... Architecture & construction is a trust based business so...

Every promise and handshake has its weight.

Homebuilding is intensely personal therefore very emotional business.

It is only understandable when someone trusts you with their lifetime of savings or mortgage payments.

A 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑳𝒀 𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑬𝑵𝑻 home

is the best response to the climate in every culture and every epoch.

We did not conquer nature, we just adapted to it.

Houses are built to temper the effects of weather and seasons in any given location.

⇩⇩⇩ Thermal resilience in the north means we build massive structures - regurarly mass timber or brick, + proper insulation.

The insulated mass retains heat in the winter and keeps the summer heat out.

⇩

The first question I ask every client:

What are your expectations of your new house?

The top 3 replies:

☀️Functional

☀️ "Cozy"

☀️ Lots of natural light

Are your current living quarters satisfying these criteria?

I'll try to shine a light on them below

↓↓↓ 1. Functional

Past: My gr-gr-grandparents lived in a 3-room cottage with their 9 children.

Present: Currently houses are bloated, full of big, useless rooms filled with stuff.

Proposal: Design & build small spaces with overlapping uses (not separate rooms for every activty).