Ariel Baleli is a CEO of Everlast Construction. After receiving a degree in business management from the University of Haifa, he logged time at the Building Performance Institute.

1. Residential planning
Ariel Baleli 1
ArielBaleli

2. Space Planning
Two basic kinds of knowledge
are needed:
1. Knowing what things
need to be included
(partitions, rooms,
furnishings and
accessories)
2. How to organize those
things to achieve a
functional and
perceptually good
solution. 2
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3. Space Planning
•Fixed architectural elements
are typically given and cannot
be changed, (structural
columns)
•Interior architectural elements
(doors, partitions, etc.)
•Furnishings (FF&E) (lighting,
equipment, etc.)
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4. Concepts of Accommodation
Accommodating humans and their needs is a complex task.
Seven universal concepts related to the arrangement of
people and their environments
•Insider / Outsider
•Hierarchical Arrangement
•Individuals vs. community
•Invitation vs. rejection
•Openness versus enclosure
•Integration vs. segregation
•Combination vs. dispersion
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5. Individual / Community
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6. Invitation / Rejection
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7. Openness / Enclosure
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8. Integration / Segregation
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9. Combination / Dispersion
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10. Anatomy of a Space Plan
• Producing a good plan is not
an easy task
• Requires trial and error and
may refinements
• When asking someone “what
do you see” they will state
the obvious – kitchen, size.
• Designers note more: such as
Efficiency, flow, correct
placement of rooms, shape of
rooms, etc.
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11. The Good Room
To design a good project, you need
to design good individual rooms
that are functional, with adequate
space to support the furniture and
equipment.
1.Envelope
2.Contents
3.Connections
4.Flow
5.Scale 11
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12. 5 Principles of
Room Design
• What size and shape
should this room be?
• What furnishings and
accessories are needed?
• How should these be
arranged?
• How should people enter
and move through the
room?
• How should the room
connect to the exterior? 12
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13. Shape & Proportion
• Not many shapes and
proportions will produce a
good room.
• Rectangular rooms are the
most common.
• Avoid overly long and
narrow rooms.
• If the length of a room
exceed its width, the
proportion becomes
uncomfortably narrow in
relation to its length.
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14. Windows
• Always consider the
windows when
placing furniture
• They provide views,
natural lighting, but
can also cause
glare, too much
heat or a bad view
• Decide on a case by
case basis
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15. Circulation
• Entry point
• Main space
• Clearances
• Exit points
Strive for efficient, fluid
and discrete paths that
allow multiple furniture
configurations
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16. Circulation Principles
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17. Residential Zones
• Social: public area and
most used portion of the
home. Comprised of the
entry, family room, living
room, media room, game
room, etc.
• Private: Areas such as the
bedroom, bathrooms, etc.
• Work: Kitchen, laundry,
HVAC, storage, office, etc.
Most of these areas should
not be in direct view of
guests (except the kitchen). 17
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18. Evaluating the plan
 Traffic patterns
 How do you move from room to room?
 Does traffic flow through the conversation areas?
 Does traffic flow through meal preparation area?
 Does guest traffic flow through private areas?
 Is there a good flow from a service entrance?
Note: when evaluating a plan or home, don’t let the beauty of
the architecture, furnishings and accessories distract your
judgment.
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19. Evaluating the plan
 Look for poorly located doors, windows and closets.
 Are they conveniently located or do they interfere with good
furniture arrangements and traffic patterns.
 Is there adequate storage space inside and out?
 Is the plan effectively oriented on the site?
 Climate control
 Privacy/views
 Garage door openings (to side)
 Look for adjacencies of rooms.
 Do they function in relation to each other?
 Is the space appropriately allocated?
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20. Common traffic considerations
 Kitchen, garage, mud room
 Dining room to kitchen
 Kitchen to service entrance
 Laundry to bedrooms
 Bedrooms to bathrooms
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21. Considerations by area:
Entry: Provides the first
impression.
 No direct views into the
private zones or work
zones from the entry.
 Should have a coat closet
 Should not open directly
into living area
 Approximately 35 sq. feet
 Ability to view visitors
 lighting
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22. Considerations by area:
Living areas, dining rooms, home offices
can be viewable from entry.
 Should have a focal point
 Good traffic flow – not through
conversation area
 Access to a guest bath or powder
room
 Should have ample wall space for
furniture placement
 Should not have direct view into
private zones - should have a corridor
that leads to the private zone
 Should not have direct view into work
zones
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23. Considerations by area:
 Kitchen
 No traffic through the work triangle
(sink, cooktop and refrigerator)
 Garage access is nearby
 Appliance doors and cabinet doors
do not collide
 Panty is provided
 Kitchen should not be viewable
from entry
 Storage:
 Recommended 10% of total sq.
footage
 Location is convenient
 Separate closets for men and
women – walk-in ideal 23
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24. Considerations by area:
 Dining Rooms should be
near the kitchen for ease of
clean up
 Surface, sideboard for
utensils, food etc.
 Consider how family eats
 Formal sit down
 Informal sit down
 Buffet style
 Meals on the run
 Young children
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25. Consideration by area
Bedrooms (1/3 of our lives is spent in bed!)
 120 sq. feet desired, minimum of 70 sq. feet
required by code 90 sq. ft. allows for a
single bed, 120 allows for a double bed.
145 square feet
 Must have an operable window
 Closets can act as sound barriers –
minimum closet size is 24” deep by 5’ wide
 Locate remotely as possible from social
areas for privacy
 Sound insulation needed in walls if adjacent
to social areas
 Adequate wall space to plan furniture layout
 Door swings against wall
 Split plans are ideal
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26. Considerations by area
Bathrooms (ideally a 3 bedroom should
have 2 full baths)
 Located in private zone, close to bedrooms
 Use back-to-back plumbing
 Compartmentalize in family bathrooms
 Consider privacy in regard to windows (not
on front of house
 Look at door swings – shouldn’t hit anyone
standing at a vanity
 View into the bathroom ideally should not be
a direct view of a toilet
 Nearby linen storage needed
 Master suites often have separate tub and
shower
 Minimum size is 5’ x 7’
 FYI: Water closet is another name for a
toilet 26
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27. Considerations by area:
Laundry room
 Venting access (25’max)
 Out of view
 Acoustic insulation
 Drain and tile floor
recommended
 Utility sink and clothes rod
 Ironing station
 Folding area
 Can serve as a mud room
 Freezer storage
 Clothes drop in 2-story
homes or second floor
laundry room 27
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28. Traffic pattern pitfalls
 Rooms that act as hallways
 Door locations that force circulation through
conversation areas
 Spaces that are too small to plan
 Traffic pattern through work areas that tend to be messy
 Hallways less than 3’ (ideally 3’-6”)
 Doors should open against a wall.
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29. Floor Plans
 Open plans – concept developed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
 Less expensive to build
 Space seems larger
 Flexible layouts
 Ideal for accessibility
 Lacks privacy
 sound
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30. Floor Plans
 Closed Plans
 Spaces walled off and
have doors
 Provides more privacy
 Creates chopped up
plans
 Can control HVAC to
areas not used often
 Not easily accessible
 Less flexible for furniture
layouts
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31. Types of Housing
 Single family detached:
represents a house with a yard –
requires more maintenance and
yard work. Examples: Ranch, 1 ½
story, two-story,, mobile home
 Attached dwellings share walls
with other residences and usually
don’t have a yard. Row houses,
town houses, garden homes, patio
home, apartments. Usually
windows and doors are placed on
front and back only.
 Multi-family such as high-rise
apartments. Lacks privacy, limited
on parking and usually no outdoor
space
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32. House sizes
 Small: up to 1,500 sq. feet
 Medium: 1,500 – 3,000 sq. feet
 Large: Over 3,000 sq. feet
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33. “Tiny House”
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34. Ways to save money – through design
 Smaller sq. footage
 Two-story homes
 Back-to-back plumbing
 Stacked fireplaces
 Reduce number of dormer windows
 Use simpler foundations (less jogs, simple rectangle)
 Use standard sizes and finishes
 Plan long-term and easy maintenance
 Reduce cubic feet (lower ceilings for heating/cooling)
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35. New Construction vs. Remodeling
New Construction: (advantages and disadvantages)
 Location and orientation can be selected
 Customized
 New technology and building materials
 Don’t have to live in the construction
 More expensive
 Takes longer
 Travel time to oversee construction
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36. New Construction vs. Remodeling
Remodeling (advantages and disadvantages)
 Relocation not required
 Work can be completed in stages
 Less expensive than new construction
 Living in the mess
 Subcontractors in your home
 Finding surprises
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37. Economic Considerations
 Economy is an important consideration in planning space.
 New construction and remodeling will have limitations (maximum
that can be spent) dictated by financial institution or by
homeowner
 What is affordable? 2 times the annual family income although
many people go up to 3 or 4 times the annual income.
 Interest rate, length of loan (15 yr vs. 30yr)
 $250,000 @ 4% = $78,000 for 15 years
 $250,000 @ 4% = $168,000 for 30 years
 Location
 Building materials used
 Labor rates
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38. Square footage vs. Material and labor
 Quick way to estimate is
using the sq. footage
method based on the
average price in the
neighborhood. Not as
accurate as using a
materials and labor quote.
 Material and Labor quote is
more accurate
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