1500 sqft Low-Rise Condominium, California

Posted on: March 23rd, 2009 | 8 Comments

1500 sqft Low-Rise Condominium, California (PDF)

  • http://www.thirdstone.ca Louis Pereira

    This plan is just plain awful.

    Even if you reconfigured the interior almost entirely and started only with the perimeter walls, you’re still relegated to using the 45 angle due to the configuration of the Terrace. I suppose you could remove the patio doors to create a squared SE corner but i’m certain not without the approval of the Condo board, as this would likely have an effect on the exterior appearance of the building.

  • John Brown

    Louis,
    Good point. The unit is badly affected by the 45 degree corner terrace. This was probably decided early on in the project, when the team was working on the design of the exterior. While this may make sense at the building scale it has a very dramatic negative impact on the functionality of this unit.

  • John Brown

    Hi Everyone,
    This is the drawing that Louis emailed me this morning. It demonstrates how effectively you can neutralize the negative impact of the rotated geometry.

    I am using it as the first post of an image to the comment section. Everyone now has access to this feature so post away!

    [img]2_wwwth5_markup_090323.jpg[/img]

  • Ersi

    I really like what Louis has done with this and I’m hard pressed to suggest any changes. After looking at his version, it’s difficult to understand what drove the initial design, except perhaps to allow a glimpse of the balcony to visitors as they first entered? Anyway, two small things I will mention: (i) it’s a bit weird to me to have the linen closet open to the living room and, (ii) the stacked washer-dryer configuration is not the most comfortable to use: given all the space, I would try to make them side-by-side. That also provides space above to store the supplies. Following on this, and noting the wonderful balcony right next to it, I have a general comment: I know many people are averse to the air-drying of laundry (the condo board would probably nix the idea out of hand because of ‘aesthetic’ reasons) but I think perhaps a revival is due and one can mix the two to save a little energy. Just a thought…

  • Grace

    Great revision! My only quibble is with the door to the bathroom opening directly to the living room–believe me, kids will never close it after exiting. I would forgo the linen closet to make a right angle turn into the bathroom.

  • Louis Pereira

    ^ Ersi | Grace. Excellent suggestions!

    I agree the Linen closet could have easily opened into the Bathroom rather than towards the living room. Another thought is you could mirror the Bath layout, making the entry less apparent while affording more wall space for artwork along the wall facing the Living Room.

    A simple fix concerning the W/D was borrowing about a foot of space from the MB. The result is now an “L” shape kitchen -this time with full counter – anchored by the side-by-side W/D on one end and Fridge on the other.

    See attached revision for the Bath and Kitchen.

    [img]1_wwwth5-rev_090324.jpg[/img]

  • John Brown

    Louis,
    This is good revision. Thanks for your work on this. Now if only we could convince the condo board to let us change the 45 degree wall to the terrace…

  • Louis Pereira

    Haha…indeed!

    I also wanted to point out that one of the reasons i go through this exercise is to illustrate the ease of construction in terms of framing, drywalling and taping compared to the developer’s plan. Surely this would be easier to build and perhaps less costly?..As well, you could easily incorporate an ortho structural grid and set of columns which would likely be necessary considering the size of the condo unit.

    The original plan would seem like a nightmare to any of the above trades and therefore it is likely reflected in their cost to build. Developers too often try and woo a homebuyer with a succession of ‘features’ – the 45 degree angle is just another one of those superfluous excesses. As a result, the homebuyer pays dearly, yielding not just their money but much of their delight that a well designed house can deliver.

    BTW, thanks for setting up the website for posting images – It’s so simple to use.