This is Day 212 of the Slow Home Project and we need you to join us in our quest to evaluate the design quality of houses in nine North American cities in nine months.
It’s Thursday, August 19, 2010 on the Slow Home site and we have lot’s to do today! For today’s “In Detail” episode, we are reviewing bathroom spaces in apartment/ loft projects and all of our examples were from the Chicago area.
We need you to look through the Slow Home Project plans from Chicago and post examples of what you feel are both good and bad bathroom designs from the apartment/loft units, as well as your comments as to why. When you are ready, you can click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on both good and bad bathroom design in Chicago’s apartment/ loft projects!
We have to say that in general the bathroom design in Chicago is pretty good – the main issues seem to be in three areas:
1. Poor location in plan – the bathroom is not located in both a private and an accessible location (right next to the kitchen for example would be considered accessible but not private).
2. Too much floor space – the bathroom is too big relative to the size of the unit.
3. Too many bathrooms – do we need a guest bathroom in a small, one bedroom unit?
To zoom in on the examples from the tutorial, click on the images below.
1. This is a well designed bathroom layout. Both the master bath and main bath are well laid out. Note the vestibule location of the the main bathroom in plan – this is both private and accessible.
2. The main bathroom is well designed but in a bad location in plan – it is too far from the second bedroom and basically in the entry. The master bath is poorly laid out with the toilet in line with the door and no space to stand in front of the sink.
3. This bathroom is badly located in plan – it is well laid out but open to the kitchen so it is not private.
4. Both bathrooms in this plan are well laid out, but the main bath is again in a poor location in line with the kitchen.
5. This bathroom is poorly laid out and the 45 degree angles and addition of the laundry make it impossible to create a functional arrangement.
6. These bathrooms have too much square footage for an apartment/ loft. Note the main bath is almost the same size as the second bedroom.
7. This bathroom is well located in plan – note the private but accessible condition – but has too much floor space.
8. This unit does not need a guest bathroom – it is a 2 bedroom unit and should be designed so one bathroom acts as both the guest bath and main bath.
9. This one bedroom unit is seriously compromised by the addition of a guest bathroom. Note how the door to the bath almost hits the opposite wall and the kitchen is tiny to accommodate the unnecessary bathroom.
10. This bathroom is only accessible if you walk through the master bedroom and closet. This would be awkward for guests to use and this condition should be avoided.
11. This is a rambling bath layout that is more a circulation route rather than a functional or efficient design.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Apartment/ Loft Project in Chicago! Also, we will be posting the best Design Projects from Wednesday and announcing the Slow Homer of the Week!
