sdaarchi SDA Architect What is Modern House Plan ? | SDA Architect

 

What is Modern House Plan?

The Modern House Plan  is clean-lined , sharp and crisp-edged using shapes that are sophisticated looking homes.and ,functionally focusing first and foremost and primarily using a modern material and exposing the structures or using the structures in a cunning way .

The modern house has a smooth and shiny surface ,everything ,maybe even white and balanced.

Modern homes are very elegant,neat ,sleek, precise and are constructed to the finest of a quality of workmanship which is a beauty by virtue of this attribute.Taking the cue from the motto,” God is in the detail”. It uses the most up-to-date techniques of construction and using new ideas of materials and inspiration from ;modern art and graphic and using equipment for constructability of modern forms.

Modern homes are greatly simplified taking the cue from the motto “Less is more”, giving way to a clean aesthetic where materials meet in simple, well-executed joints. Modern house was most typically using the concrete structures using a flat or broad low-pitched gable or shed roof.

Exposed structure, an expressive using modern materials such as single panel glass cladding, silicone and , and the incorporation of landscaped areas into the house and on the top of the house, Living roof concepts where landscaping are placed on the rooftop where it is extensively waterproofing to keep the roots from uprooting the waterproofing.

Modern Architects ?

In an architectural sense, Modern architects were Louis Sullivan & Frank Lloyd Wright( US), Otto Wagner (Vienna), Victor Horta ( Brussels), Le Corbusier (France) and Antoni Gaudi (Barcelona). The German Architects -Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe and Walter Gropius organized the Bauhaus School that was a great influence on the modern Architectural movement.

However, for the purpose of this article, we would like to refer to all homes that are presently being used as a Modern house .

modern house floor plans

Green and Sustainable House floor Plan

The features of Modern House Plan are:
1) cantilevered structure

A cantilevered structure is a feature that is typified in modern homes, It may be used as a counter balance. A concrete cantilevered structure slab extended from the house, without any support from a pillar or beam, is useful to provide effective shading. The modern house is a flat or broad low-pitched gable or shed roof and this roof may also be cantilevered.

2) Shape and Forms of Modern House Plan

Shapes and the forms of houses are based boxes shaped, or interlinked boxes and the vertical forms are juxtaposed against horizontal elements for dramatic effect and illusions effects.

3) Materials of Modern House Plan

Materials are often used in well-defined planes, Modern house exterior wood is also stained so that the texture and character of the wood can be expressed. some modern home uses of synthetic sidings added steel structural support.

Modern homes use traditional materials in an interesting way, where materials such wood, brick, and stone are simplified lacking the traditional ornaments, in ways where architecture reflects a modern aesthetic. Traditional horizontal clapboard siding is used as vertical board cladding used in large planes. Stonework and brickwork are simple, fascinating ornaments removed, and used in rectilinear shapes and extruded planes.

4) Symmetry of Modern House Plan

Modern home has Asymmetrical exteriors with curved walls or unusual angles and shapes.Forms may tend to be organic breaking away from the rigid, regular,symmetrical as there are studies that shows much benefits accrue from organic forms, read here.

5) Exposed structure forModern House Plan

Exposed structure and an expressive use of modern materials and columns exposed to draw aesthetic in the exposed structures.
Exposed concrete block, bricks, exposed wall are left bare finish to reveal the true character of the structure in lieu of a finished material.Concrete floors, plastered wall are stained and exposed, long-span steel trusses permit open column-free spaces, and service pipes such as also exposed.

Modern home adopt the new “skin-and-bones” architecture for their emphasis on steel structure and glass enclosure and vice versa.

6.)Net Zero energy Homes with Green and sustainability House plans

Comfort  with minimal use of energy such as Radiant heating systems enhances human comfort,   orientation with respect to the solar path, super insulation of the building, sensors to save energy, BAS to manage the building for maintenance and PV solar panel. Wind turbines ,geothermal energy and biomass energy to enhance the sustainability of the environment,

Modern home uses of large sheets of glass in effect bring exteriors of building’s site into interiors of the building, with dramatic views and introducing and harvesting natural daylight deep into the interior of homes

Modern home has natural and smart landscaping. The best modern homes are energy efficient. They are oriented to take advantage of natural forces to generate renewable for passive solar heating in the winter.

The cost of twitching you home to Net Zero Energy with Green and Sustainable house plans is minimal, check out with us today, call us

Check out our modern house floor plans as they are the best on the world wide web.

Prepared by Lydia of Saito college,  edited by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

What is a Cottage house,house floor plan!

Writing by Hee Guang Zhen of Saito College

 

Autosave_H33.1 River Point Cottage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s mean a simple a house with a kind of comfortable feeling. Cottage style homes are often evokes legends in storybooks and fairy tales, set deep in the country woods and surrounded with a fairy tales semblance filled by birds, domesticated animals, and beautiful flower garden, which are often thought of as small homes in idyllic surroundings where nothing goes wrong, as in a fairy tale. Can happen laying between a river and backdrop of hills, the air is filled with sound of flowing water, people living in the small courtyard, that’s the surrounding feeling of cottage house…

Cottage homes may be a vacation house plan or a beach house plan , fitting for a lake or in a mountain panoramic views as a setting.

It is wrong to refer to them as bungalows as bungalow mean a single storey house with a compound of surrounding land. Modern Cottage houses a re generally more spacious in different settings, but there is a distinct style and charm that reflects the rural lifestyle.

Cottage House floor Plan

Cottage House floor Plan

Historical Backgrounds to Cottage House

Cottage House ambiance takes you to the surrounding around the 18th century onward, when the rural area was influenced with the development of industry leading to the development of weavers’ cottages and miners’ cottages.

It was a house concept is popular on 19th century. The word comes from England where it originally was a house that has a ground floor, with a first, lower storey of bedrooms which fit within the roof space. It used to mean a small old-fashioned house.

In modern terms it is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, type of a rural setting ed Kingdom the term cottage denotes house that are designed to resemble traditional .

In the US the word cottage is often used to mean a small vacation home. Home designers like Andrew Jackson Downing brought this style of home into American favor by including building plans

In Canada the cottage-style dwellings are the term generally exists with no reference to size at all.

In Britain, traditionally, cottage houses were compact English farmhouses occupied by peasant agricultural workers which we now dream of a comfortable living homes.

Autosave_meditranian, spanish small,beach,mountain, vacation,cottage

Features of Cottage house

Cottage homes are often dreamed off as smaller sized homes with beautiful flower gardens and a quaint design with a feeling of a in peaceful rural surroundings, complete with cottage-style gardens bursting with colorful blooms.

The Architectural facade is a normal cottage house with a simple porches and fence, portico designs with simple columns and spacious and roomy covered porches.
Balconies with two-story house designs are some of the features of a cottage house.

The facades also have large bay windows.

Adding with it a Flower gardens bursting with colorful blooms are reminiscent of a cottage house that adds beauty and reminiscences of the old 18th century outlook.

 

 

Selection of color
cottage house avoid rich colors, use plain white where necessary or rather best use the material in its most natural colors.
The natural dilapidation of the old look brings honesty to the cottage and a rustic feeling to the cottage.

Cottage Style House with Wood Shingles
It is also a cottage houses more compact size and their asymmetrical exterior features.

Stone brick and timber are the main material using on cottage house. This structure reflects the gentle and natural feel. Stone naturally creates the rustic and cozy and comfortable sense of oldness to the traditional times.

small log mountain house

small log mountain house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cottage Style House with Stone Exterior

A Cottage style homes may be tucked away into the woods, located near the water, or otherwise surrounded by nature. They can also be blended seamlessly into local residential neighborhoods.

Small Log House Plan

Log House Plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Zero Energy Plans
Cottages in the outbacks, out in the mountains , by a small stream or by the rustic beach side can be designed for off the grid Net Zero Energy buildings with cottage homes ambient without losing the charm, of cottage homes or cottage style house typical of Cottages.The cost of doing so is very minimal, call us for further details.

Check out our Cottage house floor plans, click here

Click here Check out our cottage house floor plans, Cottage house. cottage home, cottage plans, Cottage Style House, house floor plan, house floor plans,

Click here Check out our Net Zero Energy Architect

Click here for checking out our small house plans

 

 

Carbon Trading

Green architect

 

 

 

 

Edited  by Net Zero Energy ArchitectPerumal Nagapushnam

Bio fuel

Biomass energy and Bio-Fuel

Biomass energy- Bio Fuel

Biomass Energy is derived from recycling the carbohydrates to liquids or gasses for energy.

Types of Biomass
– wood chips
– municipal solid waste
– municipal industrial waste
– forest waste
– animal waste
– agricultural waste

Disadvantages

The disadvantage of biomass energy is that when there is a demand for waste material the cost of waste escalates and the viability of installing a biomass plant becomes commercially NOT viable

Advantages of Biomass

Some waste  available in abundantly such as Industrial waste and Domestic waste.The waste produced in London is 8000 tons per day, New Delhi has a domestic waste about 9000 tomes, New York has 12,000 tons per day and KL: has 2000 tons per day.

Bio-Fuel saving as an Energy Efficient product and Net Zero Emission Product

As example of Bio-Fuel, an additive to diesel reduces the commission of co2 and other gasses and improvises the energy efficiency of diesel by 20%
Bio-fuel additive supplied by Bio-Fuel Sdn Bhd (M) has many advantages such as:
a) increased efficiency of diesel by 20% . it helps to reduce the diesel consumption by 20%.
b) The reduction of emission of the dirty dozen gasses such as Co2, N02, HC2 etc by 80% compared to diesel.
c) It increases the torque of the engine by 8%

Savings calculation of bio- fuel
Assumptions

  • Diesel price is RM7.80 per liters
  • The amount of diesel used is 1,000,000 liters
  • 1 Liter of Bio-Diesel B5 is RM2.50 per liter
  • 1aving in using Bio-Fuel Additive by Bio-Fuel Sdn Bhd (M)
  • 1 million liters of diesel(at RM7.80 per liters) used cost RM 7,700,000

1.)Saving  using Bio Fuel (20% savings)—RM1,540,000
Advantages( increase in torque, and 80% reduction in emission of Co2 and dirty dozens)

2.)Saving in using Bio-Diesel B5
1 million liters of diesel(at RM7.80 per liters) used cost RM 7,700,000
5% savings fuel—50,000litres are saved using B5
1 Liter of Bio-Diesel B5 is RM2.50 per liter, the Diesel price is RM7.80 per liters
and therefore the saving is RM7.80 minus RM2.50 equals RM5.30 and therefore the total saving for 50,000litres is RM 265,000

3.)Compare the saving is 1,435,000Million per 1000,000litres, RM1.435 per liter of diesel consumption. Contact us the supplier at 60172246801 for details or email at systemdesignarchitect@gmail.com

Hyper Green architect

Green architect

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect , Perumal Nagapushnam
Green Architect, System Design Architect,

Geothermal Energy

Harvard’s research reveals that the amount of Geothermal Energy in the earth , will suffice to supply electricity the US for 2000 years.
Some of the regions where energy is abundantly available are:

a)Yellow stone National Park
b) Ireland
c) Japan
d)New Zealand

Methods of Used to Harvest Energy from Geo Thermals
A shaft sunk into the subsurface streams reservoirs generates pressurized steams which is converted into electricity by a turbine. A heat exchanger is used to generate clean stream

Advantages of Geothermal Energy
1.It is clean energy
2. the life span is several decades
3.It does not use fossil fuel to generate electricity
4.It does not have waste disposal which is dangerous to the environment
5. It is available 24 hours of a day and night, and not dependent on the wind or sun.
6. The footprint for built up space for the buildings are minimum in comparison to other sources of energy .

Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy
1.It produces toxic gas
2.steam generates sound to the environment as the steam is harvested.
3. A few places in the world where the geothermal can be harvested economically although the world is a large heat sink.

Projects using Geothermal Energy

  1. California Geysers in the US
    This project generates 1,300MW of power with 200 steams wells.
  2. Eden Deep Geothermal Energy Project in the UK
    this project supplies energy for 4000 homes.

Prepared  by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam
C
heck out with us on our Green House Plan by our Green Architect

The amount of energy generated is a function of the type of Photo voltaic Panels, the tilt of the panels, the racking type of the PV System,the size of the panels, and the tracking of the sun’s by tilting the panels. This article advises on the types of Photo voltaic panel and related matter about its basis unit of construction and the calculation of the energy generated by panels.

Types of Photo voltaic Panels

Photo voltaic Panels makes use of energy from the sun  and the generated energy is called Renewable energy.Typically most of our energy that are generated by the burning fossil fuel. This energy is harmful to the environment. unlike Renewable energy. The use of renewable energy is good clean energy,no harmful by product are produced such as CO, NO 2, SO 2 and dioxin, Dioxin is a very poisonous gas that is detrimental to health. Dioxin is more poisonous that cyanide. Dioxin has a great affinity for animals and water.On in-taking of Dioxin, the Dioxin will remain in their bodies for a long time, as the chemical is a very stable compound.

Renewable energy is good for the environment because there are clean energy and does not foul the air. The total amount of energy that the world consumes per year is only about 0.015 % of the energy that is available in the earth from the sun.

Photo Voltaic system

Photo Voltaic system are Grid-Connected where the surplus energy is sent to the grid . The surplus energy is purchased by utility company and on a winter week where there were less energy produced by the system, you may be able to access electricity from the Grid.

There are 4 Types of Photo voltaic Panels(as per NREL of the US)

  • Crystalline Si Cells——————–24% efficiency is achievable
  • Multi junction Concentrators——-40%  efficiency is achievable
  • Thin Film Technologies————–18%  efficiency is achievable
  • Emerging PV————————–10%  efficiency is achievable

The attributes of Properties of Types of Photo voltaic Panels

  • Crystalline Si Cells

    There are 2 types of Crystalline Photo-voltaic panels-mono crystalline and poly-crystalline.Both of them are made of silicon crystalline cells. Mono Panels are more efficient than Poly Panels.Poly Panels are less expensive than Mono Panels.They are made of thinly sliced wafers. The types of Crystalline Si Cells are:Single Crystal,Multi crystalline.Thick Si film and Silicon Hetro-structure

  • Multi junction Concentrators

    a) Multijunction Concentrators, are more efficient because the wider spectrum of the light is used for generating energy.
    b) Hetrojunction Concentrators, are a hybrid of crystalline and thin film .It is more efficient as it reaps the benefits of crystalline and thin film technology. It is more efficient when the temperatures are high.
    c) Concentrating Photo voltaic, are concentrates the photo voltaic spectrum increasing the solar isolation and making the panels efficient.
    d) Photo voltaic Thermal, are panels that combines the thermal and photo voltaic energy of the sun to produce energy.
    e) The types of Multi junction concentrators are: 3 junction,2 Junction and Single Junction GAas

  • Thin Film Technologies

    It uses low heat and cost lower than crystalline panels.The thin film technology permit the panels to be flexible enough to be used on roofing material. glazing or wall panels. Thin films are more efficient with high temperatures.
    The types of Thin film technologies are :Multi-junction poly-crystalline,Nano poly-Si, Amorphous SiH(stabilized),CdHe and Cu(In GaSc2)

  • Emerging PV

    Some of the photo voltaic panels which are emerging and may make a difference and become a state of art panel are: organic cells,dye sensitized cells and inorganic cells

Best situations for the  Types of Photo voltaic Panels for Maximum Efficiency

  1. Panels should be tilted to face the sun, or facing south if you are located in the Northern Hemisphere and face north if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.
  2. Photo voltaic panels on Roofs tops,Car park Coverings and shading louvers reduces the cost of construction.The cost of Roof covering is reduced. The cost of shading devices reduce cost.The cost of roof cover on car parking covers are reduced. Covering of car parking structures help to reduce the heat island effect.
Types of Photo voltaic Panels

Types of photo voltaic efficiency by NREL

Efficiency of the  Types of Photo voltaic Panels

The Photo voltaic solar Panels efficiency ranges from about 20% to 45%, the more efficient the more costly it would be and may make the technology uneconomical or not affordable to use them. we soon found that the most important factor that influences the choice of PV panel is cost and area of space limitation.c) the tilting of the panels
Power generation will defend on the features such as :panels which track the sun,roof installation or open system and the type of the PV panels.

The STEPS for  calculation of PV panels sizes is

Following the steps if you are mathematically savvy, otherwise you could seek the help PVwatts supplied by NREL-check it at http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/. The PVwatts calculator assumes a Grid connected system, the Steps below assumes off Grid connection system. The PVwatts calculator will produce the comparative cost savings in the system( over the utility bills) and will consider the technology used (Thin film, Premium, Standard), Racking system used( Roof or Open Rack, axis tracking system,1 axis tracking system or 2 axis tracking system) and the Tilt of the panels.

Step 1 – Calculate the daily energy consumed by the light fitting.

Energy required= Lamp Wattage × Operating Hours per day
= 13 watts × 8 hrs/day
= 104 watt-hrs/day

Step 2 – Calculate the electric energy that the PV panels need to generate.

Assumptions: the battery is 80% efficient and the discharge efficiency is 60%
Energy PV generates = Energy required daily / (Electronics Efficiency × Battery Charge/Discharge Efficiency)
= 104 watt-hrs/day/ 80% × 60%
= 217 watt-hrs/day

Step 3 – Calculate the amount of solar radiation that the PV panels need to collect each day.

ESolar Radiation Needed = EPV Produced/PV panel conversion efficiency
= 217 watt-hrs/day/10%
= 2170 watt-hrs/day

Step 4 – Calculate the average. daily solar radiation at the location of lighting system for the season with the lowest amount of solar radiation

The 30-year-average of monthly solar radiation on a horizontal, flat panel is 2900 watt-hours/square meter/day. And on a flat panel tilted to an angle of latitude plus 15 degrees (facing south), it is 5000 watt-hours/square meter/day, San Diego in December.

Step 5 – Calculate the size of the PV panels required

If the PV panel is in a horizontal position:
Size ,PV Panel = ESolar Radiation Needed/Daily Solar Radiation
= (2170 watt-hrs/day) / (2900 watt-hrs/m2/day)
= 0.75 m2
= ~8.2 sq ft

Plus 15 degrees (facing south) for PV panel tilted at an angle of latitude :
Size ,PV Panels = ESolar Radiation Needed/Daily Solar Radiation
= (2170 watt-hrs/day) / (5000 watt-hrs/m2/day)
= 0.43 m2
= 4.6 sq ft

Guidance to selection of the PV Panels:

The factors one uses to select the panels depends on the following:
a) Space for the panels either on the roof or with the site such as car park sheds or other places, louvers, wall panels etc
b) The amount of energy to be generated
c) The tilting of the panel
d) The tracking system
e) Roof installation or open system
f)  The Type of the PV panels

Integration of PV Panels with the Building

The integration of the PV Panels with the building will have make reduce the optimum level of performance of the panels. The panels. Panels performance will depend on its tilt, orientation and the ability to rotate along the seasonal solar path .
PV Panels can be integrated with roof covering( but need to be cautious as working space by the side of the roof and the top has to allowed for future maintenance).Roof top installation of Net Zero Energy achieve the highest categories of Net Zero Classification. The PV panels may replace the Car parking roof covering.This has it advantages such as easy maintenance and accessibility for maintenance. Facades and the louvers of openings can be constructed by PV panels.

 

COST

Check out our supply cost of (CLICK HERE) PV solar panels

Hyper Green architect

Green architect

 

 

 

 

Prepared by Architect Perumal Nagapushnam
System Design Architect

Home

 

Site Analysis for Net Zero Energy and Green Building

Net Zero Building building site analysis

Green building site analysis

 

In carry our a site analysis the following considerations should be considered:

  • North direction- Solar Path

The North directions should be established for the site, as this will help the analysis of the solar path. This will help to study which of the side of the building is heated up and which part of the building need special insulation.

The setting sun during summer is the part that needs treatment (insulation or louvers shading for window). It is necessary to avoid the suns heating sun to fall on the wall as the heat is thermally conducted into the building. Winter setting sun is desirable as the heat gain is necessary to keep the building warm. In fact this is the side where a Trombe wall is placed to keep the building warm during winter.

The solar path is easily studied by using software’s such as sketch up and Revit’s Vasari and Rivet’s Ecotect or Design Studio. These soft-wares will help evaluate where sun is setting, but some of these soft wares evaluates the relatively hottest part of the building and even the amount of energy required for a specific model designed. And the solar path with these soft wares combined will help make design decisions.

 

  • Wind direction for Net Zero Energy and Green Building

The direction of the wind s and the   strength of the wind and the season of the winds will help you to understand for the following design considerations.

  1. Direction of winds can use in the cooling of corridors and courtyards and public spaces.
  2. Strength of the winds if is beyond 5m/s can be used to generate renewable energy for the clean energy in place of energy from fossil fuels.
  3. Obstruction to the use of winds sources have to be identified.

 

  • Thermal energy potential sources for  Green Building

Sources of renewable energy should be identified, such small streams, geothermal sources or wind energy and potentials for photo voltaic sources of energy.

  1. a) A small stream could generate hydro- electricity through out the day.
  2. b) Proximity to geo thermal ground can be used as a source for energy for building through out the day.
  3. c) The photo voltaic energy is limited to use only when the sun is visible, without clouds in the sky and not available at night.
  • The topography of site for Net Zero Energy and Green Building

The topographical features of the site is necessary such as the contours, valleys, slopes, cliffs, the locations of streams, the main roads entrances façade views and other features that may be potentially an advantage to the site. Connections of utilities such as telephone connections points, water supply connections, sewerage connections points and power connections points.

 

  • Vistas and view for Green Building

The location of good panoramic view and potential vista creations from the drive in and main entrances should be noted for designing purposes. The setting sun, rising suns in the morning views, or view of the beach, mountains or night views of the cities are the features you may want to look out for and if available they need to be identified.

 

 site analysis for Green building

view of site analysis for Green building

  • Adverse situations- smell, harsh winds for  Green Building

The harsh wind during the winter season should be diverted from the building using landscapes or wall, cold wintry winds can conduct the heat away from the building and this will cause the energy bill to escalate.

Forest in the Office AIr Quality conceptIf the site has poor air quality  especially if the site is confronting a busy main road , that eco-green architect would consider ways for the poor air quality to be scrubbed clean so that air quality is maintained. the ecological parts of the site could be maintained for air to be processed. read on why green design can process the air by ionizing the air and removes the dust in   the air and remove air pollutants such as the dirty dozens.

Prepared by Green Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

http://www.sda-architect,com/

cracks in homes

cracks in buildings,http://sandra-markle.blogspot.my/2011/03/writing-docudramaspart-one-i-survived.html

How to solve the Cracks in the Buildings

Cracks are common in buildings, one should not be alarmed to see cracks on the walls but sit back get the help by following these steps.

Cracks can be classified as  active or dormant.  Active cracks tend to get larger and changes with time.  Dormant cracks are those have settled and need no alarm , are of no danger, but should be not left not repaired as  moisture penetration may cause further  damages.

Cracks may be classified as structural cracks or non structural crack. If it is structural cracks, one has to take immediate actions to rectify the cracks and if it non structural cracks, you need to touch up the cracks. On may recognize the structural crack by the direction of the cracks.

Cracks can also be classified by  1) direction 2) width, and 3) depth of the crack.  They may be longitudinal, transverse, vertical, diagonal or random.  They may range in size from less than 1 mm (fine) to between 1 and 2 mm (medium) to over 2 mm (wide).

The following are some of the types of crack occurring in concrete:

1. Pattern Cracks:  Fine openings in regular arrangements which due to inconsistent volume of concrete which is lower near the surface.

2. Checking cracks:  Small openings which are  closely and  irregular direction and space .

3. D-Cracks:  Fine cracks at close intervals in a progression with  random pattern.

4. Shrinkage cracking:  Crack in unhardened concrete, which are straight lines parallel to each other.

5.Plastic cracking:  Crack in unhardened concrete, appearing as diagonal lines in the top of a slab, caused by rapid drying of the concrete surface when curing additives are added.

6.Settlement cracksCaused by local restraining  around re-bar.

7.Structural cracks:Cracks that are a result of corrosion of the re-bar or structural over stressing or due to under designing of load.

8. Tension cracks:  Cracks which appear in concrete which are  caused by the stretching  of the reinforcement which are subjected to tension.

9.Rust cracks:  A serious cause of  structural cracks caused by insufficient rebar cover. The cover may crack off and the exposed rebar are subjected to rust.

10.Thermally-induced cracks:  Cracks appearing from stresses created by the diurnal of temperature changes over the day or seasonal.

11.Hairline Cracks:  Small cracks and fine crack lines that are randomly placed.

 

serious structural cracks

structural cracks that needs to be resolved

Cracks in brick walls(CP 111)

Cracks found in 215mm thick brick walls   by more than 25mm wide in a stepped or slanting cracks are not a concern as invariably it is deem to carry the load, as shown in test at the Building Research Establishment in England( provided it was not accompanied by considerable transverse movement). Also note the strength of a cavity wall is approximately 20% less that that of a 215mm brick wall.

The reasons for cracks in brick walls may be:
changes in ground conditions,
inadequate consolidation of ground,
shrinkage-able clay,
fast growing trees,
unsound materials(brick, mortar joints)
frost
|corrosion of iron and steel,
shringakage and expansion of walls during cold and hot seasons,
climbers, ivy , climbing rose, morning glory,etc., may cause damage to the walls,
mining subsidence of the foundations.

Cracks, of 1.5 to3.5mm wide are called fine cracks and need to be repaired but has not structural impairment, the repair may be replace the brick or fill it with mortar(1:1:6)pointing and refinish with wall paper or paint etc.

Structural cracks

Structural cracks are large cracks and will be either vertical lines or 45 degrees line cracks or any cracks that runs between the vertical lines to the 45 degree line. Structural cracks are further characterized by the cracks where you can place your finger (when you can insert a large coin) within the crack lines. Further more these cracks would crack the structural member of the building, such as the beams, columns, lintels etc

 

serious cracks

Diagonal cracks- almost always are structural in nature

 

Minor cracks are hairline cracks which are superficial that have no structural members are affected by the cracks. A quick check can be done by hacking the plastered surfaces or the rendered surfaces and check if the cracks are merely superficial on the plaster or rendered surfaces or it has affected the walls within and the structural members, if the structural members are cracked, than you need to find out if it a hair line crack or deep cracks that affects the structural integrity of the structure has been affected.

Hairline cracks in structure and on finished surfaces are acceptable and sometimes beyond the means to control them. Hairline cracks on structural members are considered normal, it may be caused by the heat that is caused by concrete when it is curing at  the construction stages.

Hairline cracks on finishes may be due to the cooling ( air conditioning)and heating during the mid day may causes it, and fissure cracks appear is considered quite normal. It may be caused by an incorrect mix of cement and sand in the plastering and rendering during constructions  or excessive exposure to the hot sun, in case the walls should have been constructed with expansion joints and movement joints to reduce these cracks

Hairline cracks

The mere size of the crack as described in the above para will decide the seriousness of the problems.

hairline cracks

hairline cracks, a minor concern

Minor cracks should be repaired and observed for further development of crack.

Step 1 in the Buildings

Identify the causation of crack to solve, this is necessary so as to avoid redundancy of rectification, and this will avoid a repetition of cracks even after the rectification of cracks were carried out.  Cracks and the following may be the causation or reasons  of the structural cracks.

  1.  The causes of structural cracks may be due to the foundation may have been under designing of the structure .
  2. The structure may have not been built structurally sound and the failures in the beams or columns may be the cause of the cracks. These may even so for cracks in drains, walls, roof slabs or ground floor slabs.The shoddy supervision of work or the lack of  materials compliance as per the specification may have been short changed
  3. There may be s sudden shifting in ground conditions such as shifting of underground streams, which may result in creating a vacuum, causing earth to collapse and thereby affecting the buildings ground structure.
  4. there may be due to vegetation or trees in the close neighborhood which roots may cause the house to be lifted up or the absorption of water by the roots may cause building lift
  5. The supervision of the ground compaction may have not been done correctly; this may results in cracks in the ground, beams and roads.Poor compaction of ground or earth sub grade or sub grade of the road may cause cracking, the sub grade should be compacted to 90-95% FDT( Field Density Test). non suspended ground floor slabs may also cracks due to lack of sufficient compaction, often the apron of a building may be seen to cracking cos of lack of sufficient defective compaction.

 

cracks on the road

cracks on the road winter quakes

The cracks may appear due to differential compression and expansion of the building m such as walls or road, the wall need to provided with expansion joints to allow for the expansions so that cracks are minimized, in colder countries such as Wisconsin the roads are often cracked due to these reason, Provisions for expansion should be provided to reduce these cracks during the winter seasonal quakes.

measuring and monitoring thecracks

measuring cracks for increasing width of crack size

Step 2 to solve the Cracks in the Buildings

Monitor the increase of the crack size, and  note the changes in the crack width. if the crack width is increasing. if it increasing in size , call the engineers to review the conditions. if the crack size is constant and you are safe to conclude the night mare is over and you can rectify it and sleep soundly.

 

 

Step 3 to solve the Cracks in the Buildings

If the cracks are large and getting serious large and looks dangerous, get the advice of engineersA structural Engineer need to be called in, for inspection and for his advice should be sought on the nature of cracks and advice on the course of rectification action.Take the follow steps to resolve the cracks in your home.

Step 4 to solve the Cracks in the Buildings

Repair the major cracks and minor cracksThe existing cracks are be grooved widen along the crack line and filled up with a suitable sealant and closed up with fabrics mesh and plastered and repainted. A simpler method to repair hairline cracks is to fill it up with a filler and repaint the surfaces or redo the finishes of possible.

Step 5 to solve the Cracks in the Buildings

Watch out for the re occurrence of cracks, if the cracks appears, you need to evaluate the situation for reasons for these phenomenon.On repairing the cracks should be monitored for any cracks redeveloping in the future.

 

Prepared by Architect Perumal Nagapushnam,Eco Green Architect & Net Zero Energy Architect

http://www.sda-architect.com/

The 50 men who can save the world by Green ecological strategies

Haze in Singapore

Can Green and Sustainability strategies solve the Haze in Singapore and Indonesia

The Guardian on the 5th Jan 2008 published the 50 people who can save the planet earth and justified why they could save the world.  In  this  article  I  would  like  to  review  the  flawed  sensibility  of  that  article  published  by  The  distinguished  Guardian   focused on the Green ecological strategies  that could save the world as a watered down review of the serious matter. Six reasons reasons why this  is so.

1)Green ecological strategies

Firstly the people listed were mostly those who championed the green  ecological strategies to avoid the  destruction of  the world such as loss of trees,melting of the  icebergs, Green ecological Architect, extinction of whales , tigers  in  the  Eco  system and  the Eco city planned by English engineer.

The basis of argument forged seems presumptuous and shallow. In fact a reputable newspaper should not have attempted a shallow major undertaking of such without responsibilities.As these articles has been often quoted as if they were truth.

2)No Proof of global warming in Green ecological strategies

As of today the weather changes and the causes global warming caused by CO2 emission is still a not a establish fact, Scientists are divided on this matter and some has suggested the weather changes is another grandiose hoax.The reasons for deluge of calamities, inundating floods, disaster , diseases etc have never be connected to as a divine messages from divinity for the human discordance with divinity, was never considered or even trying to establish the reasons by scientific means of the reasons for the global issues. At least or perhaps   was  the  Guardian  should  have  attempted  to  establish the  facts by convergence of scientist instead choose to select  Hollywood ;s  Leonardo  Di  Caprio  sudden  awareness  of  the ecological disaster .

3.) Qualified men but no clout in Green ecological strategies

Thirdly the world cannot be saved by some burst of exuberance for Green ecological strategies of  some  unheard  school  child  raising funds ( USD7,600) of  the  extinction  of  tigers  in  India  or  African  Minister  preaching  the  planting  of some ten thousands of planting of trees or a Civil Engineer following a design brief , which in the first place which was not even his ideas but of the Chinese officials to building an Eco city in China and  as  if  the  prototype  city ,  will  take  be  an  example for all the world.For   now the success of the Eco city has yet to even been proven.

4.)Men of Green ecological strategies who have spurious agendas

Fourthly men such as the spurious Al Gore who made riches out of the global warming agenda, Leonardo Di Caprio who had a reputation for ecological destruction of a beach for the show The Beach, Green ecological architect Ken Yeang ”who has not arrived yet” of what he preaches  or an Indian school boy who raised USD7.600  and men who preach savings carbon emission but live a hypocrite luxurious heavy carbon foot print -are  be  able  to  influence  the  world  to  bring  the  changes   in  the  global  weather  changes . Do these men covered with deception and falsehood have sufficient clout to bring changes which may have no eventual  effect.

5.)Multi faceted strategies in multi faceted Green ecological strategies

Fifthly the Green ecological strategies  solutions  seems  is  the  only  solutions  to  save  the  world  from  its  impending  dangers. Should not there be a multi faceted combinations of many strategies ranging collaboratively from the sciences, computer technologies, ecological,engineering, urban planning, architectural ,innovations and modern technologies that will bring s solutions to our problems.

No one person or knowledge, skill or group will have sufficient clout to save the world, for instance the Indian had knowledge of the atom for thousands of years but thus singular body of knowledge was not sufficient to save the Indians from famines, hungers, floods and destruction they endured for many years. As such no  one  single  knowledge  is  able  to save   humanity and  no  ecological  strategies  alone  is  able to  save  the  destruction  that  is  so  imminent .It  takes  a  combine effort and combined human effort- the Net Zero Energy architects, Net Zero Energy town and urban planers, the ecologist, the environmentalist, the engineer, the innovation, scientist,medical discoveries, the financial systems, the bankers, the builders, every groups of peoples to come together to be aware of the failures and ring the changes in a concerted effort.

6.)Prejudiced Facade of Green ecological strategies

Finally the article indicates that that only 5 men from the US were qualified , as if this really mattered if it where these men were from, but it seems to matter most in this article matters it was a form of  whipping the US.for such a pitiable performance.. The whole article seems like a prejudiced facade .

Perhaps we can learn a lesson or two from the American Founding Fathers seeking in prayer.[1] for divine help after weeks of not being able to solve the constitution , they sought to prayer and all have attested o the fact they had received divine help. The leaders of the world could do this, humbling enough to find access to the above and find a solution to our problems. After all is it not that the 1% of inspiration of the 99% perspiration that constitutes a genius.

Even if divine help is not reachable, the disasters can be sustainable not alone by Green and sustainable solutions  but by our preparedness for the worst.And our only survival will also depend on how we are self reliant , not dependence on the utility companies or ecologist for saving the world, but our own preparedness for survival, we should be self reliant.  Where  w e  are  organically  dependent ,  which  is  Net  Zero  energy  strategies,  off  the  grid,  self reliant of water supply from the utility companies, Independence of waste water and sewerage disposal ). This should apply to us a building or as a city.Our cities should be Net Zero Cities, every building should be Net Zero Energy Building

 

.[1] Max Farrand, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. I, pp. 450-452, from James Madison’s Notes on the Convention for June 28, 1787.

 

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

http://www.sda-architect.com/

 

Green and Sustainability solutions for our Cities

All over the world the we generate much domestic waste from New York City to New Delhi, a call for reduction of waste should be in calculated by Architects. Buildings are the sources of waste and it should be reduced, reuse and recycled otherwise we will find ourselves living among the waste.

Waste designs failures

Failure of Disposal Waste designs by Green Architect

We can learn from nature how waste is processed. The spider eats up the waste webs , plants consume the Co2 we dump, and the bacteria consume our waste, the earth does not have a dump center. But our domestic waste is left to decompose and we are running our of land fills as the waste takes about 30 years to decompose and diapers takes 500 years to do like wise, to a stable conditions.

We generate much waste as the figures listed below reveal; Architects can do much to solve the problems.

  • New York City generates as much as 36,200 tones of garbage every day.
  • London city’s waste can generates 9,100 tones per day, equivalent power to power 2m homes
  • The amount of domestic waste( Municipal Solid Waste) generated is 2,400 tones per day in Kuala Lumpur
  • New Delhi generates about 7,000 tones of waste per day

In the absence of a comprehensive Integrated Strategic MSW Plan all over the world, Architect can forge a plan to reduce the waste at the source-the building, where 95% be recovered and recycling the aluminum and steel and the wet waste to be reprocessed composted for reuse. Or biomass waste power be generated and re-supplied into the grid.

Consideration by Green Architects  in Domestic waste( solid) disposal

As Green Architects our responsibility lies in designing for Waste Collections Centers (waste dumps) where rubbish is sorted out not dumped. Sorting should be done at every floor of the office tower so that it is not dumped at the waste dumps but easily sorted out early at the source.Sorting should be wet waste, paper, cans and bottles waste.Every waste dump at every residence, industrial buildings, resorts, hotels, commercial centers are
to be designed like wise for waste sorting.

Consideration by Green Architects  in Domestic Waste water disposal

As Green Architects we ensure the drains are built properly ,the collapsed drains can be a source of to breed mosquitoes. Bios vales may be considered to replace the external drains as the waste water can be recycled as portable water even for human consumption.

 

Consideration by Green Architects  in Wet Waste disposal

As Green Architects we should ensure the food waste ( wet waste)are not dumped into the drains which help to breed rats rampantly, liters in drains can encourage the rat population to breed.

Wet Waste mixed with the landscape waste, should be sent to the composting yard at every building which should be reused as compost manure which is a better manure for the landscaped areas as it stabilizes the acidity of the ground helping to maintain Eco balance in the ground, See the Edmonton waste center in Canada, an example where waste is recycled as manure. We can start small composting places at our every building sites . If it was a campus style development or a housing scheme where wet waste generated could be massive amount, a Net Zero Energy Architect would design for generating  biomass renewable energy from the wet wastes.

Consideration by Green Architects  in Construction waste disposal

Construction waste should be minimize by using construction systems that reduce wastes such as IBS system or waste is recycled within the site, ensure the contractor reduces waste in the first place. As architect it is our responsibility to design buildings as a waste sorting, reducing and recycling at the source than to shove the problem to city municipalities to solve green and sustainable issues before the waste sites swallows our living spaces.

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam Read more!

The common misconceptions about Net Zero Energy Building as reported by Wikipedia: A zero-energy building is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building yearly equal to the amount of energy created on the site. This is only partly true in the early day when this principle was first conceived. And to this day this is the common misconception among many .

In fact the energy (the energy pie) consumption is reduced to about 80% of the conventional consumption and then the balance 20% of the balance of energy is made up by the renewable energy, the renewable energy may be sourced from solar Photo Voltaic panels, geothermal, wind turbines or biomass energy.

This article is about the case for Net Zero Energy Building and why we should perpetuate this goal: There has always been some anticipation of imminent disaster that we need to be cautious about, such as the ones illustrated below:

  • Recently Bill Gates asked the, If some cataclysm, all scientific knowledge was destroyed, what is the one line fact that next generation of humanity needs to know!
  • About 50 years ago the question schools debated on was the earth was depleting its resources and the end is near.
  • Recently with the major obvious undeniable weather changes and so called global warming in the Arctic glaciers!

There have been many calls for Green Sustainability movement called -Going Green, thinking this is the solution to the impending juggernaut disasters. In reality the solutions in Green are really superficial and will not help very much with self reliance and self sustainability.

  1. When Japan faced the Fukusima earthquake that destroyed the Daiichi nuclear plant they experienced a power crisis that awaken to the importance of energy conservation and lead to the need for Net Zero Energy Building A new standard for construction was implemented to this end of 2020. We need Net Zero Energy Building for our future survival.
  2. One would think that even this should not be the goal would not suffice unless there was a total independence for electrical consumption and not be dependent on the utility company for energy consumption should be the ultimate goal, with Net Zero Energy Buildings which is off the grid. Net Zero Energy Buildings tend toward self reliance.
  3. Net Zero Energy Buildings reduced the waste in as much as 80% purely on the basis of passive strategies and shading, smart landscaping and other active strategies. The buildings are more efficient and low energy consuming where not wasting is reduced and resources and minimized;
  4. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you have clear conscious that you are  morally doing the right thing, stopping the unwanted wastage.
  5. By installing Net Zero Energy Building, you indeed saving money , which could be used meaningfully elsewhere, imagine the regular monthly bills amounting to USD200 could be used meaningfully else where.
  6. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you are responding responsibility to the climate changes demands that us undergoing world wide by reducing the foot print and closer towards becoming self sustainability for our future survival..
  7. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you have Value for your rent able space or value for property, Developers will find the Net Zero Energy Buildings as a marketing tool to bargain for higher rental compared to Going Green for certification. Green building do not receive higher rentals as tenants do no see the need to pay higher rentals for Green sustainability certified building.
  8. By installing Net Zero Energy Building, you secure government grants and benefits from most governments of the world.
  9. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you may receive taxation incentives
  10. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you don’t have to pay the monthly electric bill
  11. By installing Net Zero Energy Building you are making the buildings, cities ,world economies more efficient and  enhances the productivity of the  individual and collectively at large.

 

 

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect  Perumal Nagapushnam, Green Sustainability Architect

 

 

 

 

Haze in Singapore

Can Green and Sustainability strategies solve the Haze in Singapore and Indonesia

 8 valid reasons to go Green and Sustainability and the 8 valid weaknesses in the Green movement principles

Here we discuss the flaws in the Green and Sustainability movement that is catching on so rapidly world wide.

Reason 1- Sustainable planning
The cities and buildings are planned well for reduction and recycling of waste , energy efficiency, cleaner air within the office, and clean water for consumption, The green architecture is sustainable-sustaining the existing the environment for high quality of life well planned for the sustaining of life

Weakness of this
It is a weak attempt to solve the larger problem such as domestic waste, improve the life in urban living, improve the air quality or improve the poor water quality as they portend to improve. It should be aggressively attend to the issues rather to tend to it superficially, for instance” Can the Green and Sustainability stop the haze into our homes”

Reason 2- Waste
It will reduce outlandish waste in our environment, which is a serious problem as the land fills are full and the waterways are polluted by the landfills which return into our consumable systems dangerously affecting our health.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
Waste should be removed all together and not reduce, but reused and recycled completely. In nature what waste we produce as CO2 in the air from our breaths is converted to O2 by the green landscapes. All waste from domestic and industrial waste should be like wise treated completely obliterated or reprocessed to useful matter.

Reason 3- Energy Efficiency
The buildings are energy efficient and installed with higher performing systems to reduce the energy consumption.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
The Energy consumption should be Net Zero Energy Building and not a weak attempt to reduce energy consumption. And more importantly removed the dependence on the Grid. Wind turbines should complement with solar PV panel and combined with geo thermal energy. When there is no energy from the sun at night the wind will compensate for supply and when both fails to supply in case the eventuality of a disaster, geo thermal could be the alternative supply of energy.

Reason 4- Air quality
It helps to keep high air quality, which controlled and regulated which is improves healthy living environment but does not improve the haze or reduce the dust in the air.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
No air quality is really improved; it is a real attempt to temper with air quality. The air is polluted with CO, NO2, SO2 or dioxin should be cleansed for consumption. There are no real attempts to even address this problem.

In the event of a Haze,( as in South East Asia by the recent burning of trees in Indonesia, or volcanic dust in the air etc) Does the Green building cleaned the air that we breathe in! No! It is not. One should reprocess air to remove the dusts, the pollutants, the hazes and bacteria and Viruses, in the air for use.

Reason 5- Water quality
It helps to reduce the wastage of portable water but not improve water quality, As much as high air quality the water quality will have a direct effect on the health of the residents.It focuses on the rain water harvesting.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
Portable water is reduced, rain water is harvested but water in the pipe is contaminated, the water should be harvested for consumption, water from the underground for consumption should be considered as an alternative sources as supply in an eventuality of a drought of off seasonal weather changes affecting the water supply.

Reason 6- Reduces Energy consumption, Saves Resource, Reduces Waste
Every person is conscious of reducing consumption, waste and a new life style of economy. Material made from recycled Waste material is favored .Domestic waste is reduced, paper is not throw away, but either reused or avoided from being used.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
Waste is reduced but not totally eliminated. It is said that the spider eats up the web waste and in nature there is no waste. Organic matter is recycled into inorganic matter,which is consumed again into the system.

Reason 7-Innovation
Creativity to think out of the box is granted some point for qualifying for the green certification.

Reason 8-Reduces long term cost of living
It does not cost much for now and it will eventually reduce the cost in the future and some propose that cost should not be factor; the cost of human life should be saved at all cost, as future of human life depends on sustainability.

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
In reality there is no reduction of cost in the future as the cost of sustainability is always higher and this is a cost already into the future and therefore the cost does not reduce in the long term. The argument that sustainability saves life to justify the high cost now is a fallacy.
In reality there survival of the human race does not depend on rainwater harvesting, pv solar panels etc but by eco biodiversity, net energy building off the grid and total self reliance as in the biometric of nature.

Reason 9-Sustains Environment for the future
In reality all the above principles as and the argument has been flawed

Weakness of this Green and Sustainability principle:
Green and landscaping not an essential feature of Green and Sustainability Architecture

  • Issues not considered in Green and Sustainability Architecture
    The ecological balance is not considered as we live in a eco system and the environment has taken a bitten and if it fails our survival will be at stake,
  • Sewer waste is not at all in design consideration. Sewerage and domestic waste is processed and recycled into the environment as in The Edmonton Composting Facility – Canadian recycling plant where human waste is recycled into manure for the city use.
  • Waste waster should be recycled as it is done in Singapore for human consumption.
  • The Net Zero Energy calls for total reduction of energy consumption which is not merely touching on sustainability, but attaining higher levels of Green and Sustainability. If we are able to be off the grid our sustainability will be even better still as self reliance is attained.
  • How can the Green and Sustainability help in the smog that polluted south East Asia with the recent spate of burning in Indonesia. In the light of the haze that is not considered, haze is a serous issues in China ( pollution from the industrial waste, in Singapore, Malaysia a result of burning in Indonesia)
  • If a disaster like a Tsunami where the power grid was destroyed, or a volcanic exploding dust in the air cutting of the suns rays for months, a blizzard of rays from the sun hit the world how can we survive this independently and be self reliant in the midst of catastrophic disaster.
  • The forest is sustainable and self reliant where no human care for treatment with pesticide or insecticide or regular watering is needed but it is self reliant surviving on the natural rain water unlike our farms where pesticide, manure, insecticide and regular watering is needed for its sustainability. We can learn from the nature’s Green and Sustainability as it is because of its biodiversity where one depends on the other and so should we live together with nature’s ecosystem. Read further on why green landscaping can help our sustainability.

 

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

How to use House Architecture in designing your dream house plans

 

An Architect is one who designs your house but an Architect unless he has a great burning passion and a great love for his work and the people he designs for, can he realize the house into a home. This creation of a home from with love is refereed to as  house architecture. The house architecture constitutes of the following aspects of architectural design

  1. A) Styles

The architectural house style adopted today have a storey to tell of the past. It tells the evolution of styles with time due to changes in our society such as development of new material and sciences of construction for instance:

  • The architectural house style available for selection are of the
  • In choosing a style you may want to choose from the past as they were and modernize the styles and layouts, to suite the availability of material and skilled craftsman that may have long lost.
  • The houses of the Founding Fathers in the America had water-wells outside the home. The slaves will fetch water from the well for them to take cold showers.*1
  • Any attempt to recreate the buildings of the past may be skilled labor cost prohibitive. For instances the windows of building of the past are highly ornamented but present day houses are simplified to a great degree.
  • Today’s design is less simplified during the industrial revolution which warranted mass productions. New motto “Less is more” to describe his aesthetic tactic of arranging the numerous necessary components of a …”by Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. As such houses are designed with less pediments and ornaments on the facades of building as they did in the past.
  • Buildings today are built with a purpose, rather than to copy fully from the standard building of the past
  1. B) Layout – Cultural and Lifestyle for house architecture
  • A good layout is one that best suites your lifestyle and what you can afford.
  • If you love the river views, than design your architectural house styles to optimize the views from the Living, Master suite, etc.
  • If you love the summer heat provide a patio, balcony or terrace to sun bathing.
  • If you love to party outside have a great BBQ set with a large indoor and out door dinning space.

The house layout is best described by your love for life and your taste.

  1. C) Comfort for house architecture
  • Home and the Cottage –two words most suggestive of comfort in the English language…
  • Comfort is not relative and fleeting. Homes, well designed can be comfortable and removal of stressing with the sound of birds, the water fall, the ruffles of the winds should be employed to distress the stressed mind.
  • Design your dream house for comfort, read on..
  1. D) Landscape for house architecture
  • The landscape well done, weathers comfort and even a sense of comfort to the eyes.
  • As Andrew Jackson Downing, a cottage prominent American architect said. “… no architectural decoration however beautiful or costly can give the same charm of truthful decoration to a cottage as flowering vines and creepers…vine on a rural cottage always express domesticity and of the heart”.
  • It reduces the perceived scale of the house, it reduces the heighten effect to a comfortable on.*3
  • smart landscaping reduces energy consumption in homes and buildings.

In choosing a house plan choose well with the above consideration, you may want to check out – by http://www.sda-architect.com/

for some great house floor plans and house architecture.

Check our some great house architectures we have created within our web site at: log house floor plans, cottage house floor plans, Modern house plans, Malay house floor plan, log house floor plans, etc…

 

Appendix

*1 pg. 20 ,”Houses of the Founding Fathers “ by Hugh Howard and Roger Straus III

*2 Willian H Rantett( writing in The Architect “, 1851)

*3 pg. 228 “The New Cottage homes “by Jim Tolpin”

 

Prepared by Net Zero Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

http://www.sda-architect.com/

What is House Architecture?

House Architecture is the spaces within our houses, in which we live in. This is architecture.

Some define architecture as ” Architecture is “, others define it as “Architecture is Frozen music ”

There is some truth in this in a broad sense but in a practical sense it is limited only to the shell and the simple relationship that it creates within and around. It is not everything.. as to say “ Architecture is”, because it is encompasses all  sciences, psychological happenings and hence it is not “IS”.

Traditionally Architecture of the house design is derived from the Architecture of the Temples, Cathedrals, churches, and places of worship.

As King Solomon built a House for the Lord (Temples), he like wise built a house for him self in a similar manner of the simpler version.

Our houses in almost every culture derived it shapes and form from our places of worship. The house was a type of place of worship deity.

 

conventional layout

conventional layout

 

House Architectural design is the placing of the Living room, Dining, Kitchen, Bedroom, Study, Library, Music room, Visitors, Baths and Garage in good space that make it beautiful and which gives :

”         Comfortable, Functions to what we do.

”         Durability with time

”         Reasonable Cost to the house.

If any of these are not found in your Architectural designs, it may because of a deliberate omission. As to achieve all, may be difficult and some times impossible. For instance the most beautiful building may have terrible structural design and incurring a high unreasonable cost.

So a good Architectural designs -is all about balancing one for the other.How to make a design a wonderful house floor plans with great architectural designs?There are many concepts in house plan design (nothing to do with styles) such as:

  • The Traditional Layout, which for today needs are obsolete, but these layouts are remodeled with modern utilities, such as the layouts of house of the Founding Fathers remodeled.

 

 

compact layout

compact layout

  • Courtyard Layout such as Courtyard centered layout. Where all views and vistas in the house plan is centered on the courtyard. see link for samples of courtyard design: http://www.sda-architect.com

This is rather pleasant in respect of views of the courtyard, which could be a feature of greenery, garden, breeze way, corridors, patios and of course which can calms the stressed mind, even contributes to fresh supply of oxygen leading to healthier residents.

layout House Architecture

courtyard layout House Architecture

courtyard layout House Architecture

  • Compact Layouts

Cozy tight spaces for small houses, especially in Cottage, Log houses, Vacation Houses and Beach house where the ambiance of a cottage is necessary, for no pretense of grandeur. see link for samples of compact design http://www.sda-architect.com/

Where on parking his car in the Garage, one walks through footpath along the garden to the kitchen and the kitchen views towards the garden with features such as swimming pools. There may be even waiter falls, a naturally running stream or specially designed garden. The rest of the rooms are rather conventionally designed. See samples design of this layout in http://www.sda-architect.com/

MODERN HOUSE ARCHITECTURE; LAYOUT

MODERN HOUSE ARCHITECTURE; LAYOUT

  • Apartment’s layout is rather confined to a small space. Where the layout are packed to the minimal and the best of the design comes out of creative use of little spaces, nook and corners. The best of the apartment in the great view overlooking the hill and the cityscape and the common spaces such as open garden where you could go down to relax.
  • Open Layouts, where Living, Dinning and Kitchen are simply in one big space.
    • This give flexibility to function such as party, there is sufficient space for big gatherings,
    • Flexibility of space for other use
    • Overnight room space for sleeping over for large families
    • Play area for children within the house, instead of being cooped in.
  • Conventional Layout

Conventional Layout is where the entry is made at the Hall by visitors, whose visit is kept barred within the Living room, and formal dinning.

  • The owner makes a Garage entry via the mud room into to the kitchen.
  • Groceries can be unloaded direct in to the kitchen fridge from the garage after shopping.
  • Kitchen, Living and Dining are placed together for convenient movements that take place among them.
  • Bed room all clustered together for privacy and convenience

Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

 

Conventional Layout

The Victorian Architecture is refereed to the architecture during the reign of Queen Victoria.

potrait of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

The Victorian period is the time when Queen Victoria ruled Britain from 1837 to 1901.During this period new inventions in Railway and manufacturing process made building materials manufactured available more abundantly every where in England because of cheaper cost of transport..

This helps industries develop, due to rising demands and building material were    made available cheaply, to all over England, such as timber, bricks and slate. This is the era which Charles Dickens describes the city of London with vivid details in the Tale of two cities ( London and Paris) and in The Great Expectation.

The working population in the countryside was still living in tiny cottages, hovels and shacks .. In urban area, the poor people lived in terraced houses.Terraced Houses were made of brick walls  and simple brick sills and chimneys with window that constituted the  architecture of that  time.

 

Victorian Architecture
Terrace housing during the Victorian era

 

the Victorian Architecture
Villa reflecting the Victorian Architecture

 Victorian Architecture

public housing in town reflecting the Victorian Architecture

 

The wealthy people in Victorians preferred villas ( not the same as Roman villas), The middle classes lived in superior terraces with gardens in the rear of the house and in the front of the houses. What where the character tic features of Victorian Houses, Villa.

The Terrace House which was propagated widely as an acceptable  mode of housing  in the countries ,which Britain were ruled all over the world were a derivative of the Victorian era.  It constituted the following character:

  • Red face Brick
  • High window with stone borders
  • Pediments over the window
  • Arched doors ways

It should be noted it was during the Victorian Era the British empire expanded all over the world and the inhabitants of the British empire imbibe the Victorian education, which help to spread the knowledge of laws, English, Christianity,sciences, geography, engineering,land surveying, town planning, public administration. etc which educated the world at large. Roads and railway Infrastructures  were constructed which helped to develop the nations such as Singapore, Israel, Middle East, India and Africa. After the World War II it retracted from governing the Empire and Independence given to all the Commonwealth nations, it had shrunk being a super power.

Design of houses and building are primarily a composition of ornaments borrowed and in traditionally were religious significance of a meaningless object of beauty today because the meanings have been lost..

The architectural house layouts are different from location to locations varying only because of the difference of lifestyles.

The roof tiles used were of distinctively characteristic of the Chinese architectural house styles. It was a small tile which lapped over well. The small sized tile allowed the roof to arch in both directions to allow the characteristic Chinese roof style. The last row of tiles was held up firmly with a cemented ridge..The view of a Chinese ornamented roofs, lighted, unusually brilliant at night.

 

Chinese home

Chinese home

Here is a classic modern design where use of the exposed roof tiles from the interior which with the light radiating from the edges creates a wonderful design with a pleasant ambiance copied from the Chinese architectural house styles.

The windows used in traditional architectural design styles are similar to the Georgian or Asian styles. They must have been influenced by the cross border trades that occurred among them influencing the architecture as well

Here are some great large timber decorative doors used in Chinese design.

ELEMENTS IN THE HOUSE Chinese home


ELEMENTS IN THE HOUSE Chinese home

 

 

Chinese courtyard typical of the way small Chinese enclaves lives with a central courtyard which held the community together for utilities at the center for the courtyards. – the water well were located in the center of the courtyard. The courtyard was also the place of meeting and functions.Courtyard houses are enclosed, without any windows on the external walls, and with a main entrance to the enclosed buildings with in the compound.It may be noted with caution the courtyard is typical of Indian homes and the source or origin of courtyard homes are still not yet established.

 

Chinese home interiors

Chinese home interiors

These Chinese architectural layouts designs provided privacy for the family and security from thieve. The courtyard houses created a protection for the family life from the outer world.

 

Ornaments in Chinese home

Ornaments in Chinese home

Chinese artifacts made the wall and entrances with traditional religious symbols and marking or family stamps were typical of Chinese architectural house styles.

Chinese home had family awards and pride displayed in the center of the house to see, much similar to the Japanese display of family artifacts.

Chinese hardware for door entrance were designed specially to ward off the evil spirits away. This is a way to keep save the people residing in such quarters.

Pre modern Chinese homes held much in common among both rich and poor Chinese people; they used similar techniques, such as foundations of pounded earth, timber framing and brick and tile facades. Though there are regional variations–China is a very big country, after all–and few houses from ancient China remain, scholars have isolated basic principles of traditional Chinese architecture. These centuries-old principles include emphasizing the orientation of the house, the layout of rooms, and the importance of symmetry.

 

 Orientation

Chinese house design requires that the front of the house faces south. This tradition stretches far back in time, as archaeologists have found evidence of many rectangular houses with a door facing south from the Neolithic era in China.

The oldest Chinese houses that are still extant date from the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644 C.E.) also tend to face south, as do later houses. The north-south orientation of Chinese houses, outside of issues related to sunlight, probably had much to do with wind direction (colder winds generally blow in from the north).

 

Feng Shui

The importance of orientation eventually developed into the Chinese architectural theory known as feng shui. Feng shui literally means “wind and water” and its concepts dictated the placement of rooms dedicated to certain activities, as well as the types of materials used in buildings. Designing a house according to feng shui concepts was thought to direct beneficial energy to the household.

Foundation and Roofs

Most Chinese houses had pounded earth foundations. Builders pounded dirt and soil into the shape of a foundation or into bricks. Earth was also used for the walls in areas where wood was rare.

Traditional Chinese houses had roofs made of clay tile. However poorer households in certain areas made roofs of thatch and bamboo.

Wood Framing

In areas with enough wood to make its use affordable, builders used wood to frame house walls and provide roof support. The wood framing system was standardized during the Ming dynasty, and while ordinary people could often do much of the rest of their house construction, they often had to hire experts to construct the framing.

In the study of traditional Chinese house architecture, the consideration of wood framing is important. In Chinese architectural theory, the basic building block of a building is “the space between,” or the bay; that is, the space defined by the vertical posts that support the roof.

Prepared by Net Zero Energy  Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

 

 

Beach House Floor Plan

 

There are many designers claiming to have designed good beach house designs, but what a good beach house floor Plan should constitute. I think fundamentally the good beach houses designs should have these considerations:

 

  1. First and fore most Beach House floor plans needs to be designed as a resting abode, after a stressful working time. It should be a place where ones nerves are calmed settled.
  2. Secondly the plans need to be designed for recreational activities such as games by the beach, a BBQ by the patio or terrace etc. The idea of a beach house is also to get together for some fun.
  3. View of the beach from the living, dining and the bed room is essential feature. Create a warm spectacular view of the beach, jetty and surrounding landscape. You may achieve this by having large glass window panels for visibility but carefully shaded for energy savings. Read on smart landscaping on how you can achieve Net Zero Energy building by smart landscaping.

 

Beach house and cottage house

Cottage Beach house, 1*

 

  1. Use a courtyard with landscape within the beach house as it creates a world of the beach within where views are not permissible or even a swimming pool to relax within when it is not comfortable at the beach.

 

 

I love the design of swimming pool in the design of Equis House*2 by Barclay and Crousse. The view of the swimming pool is in the path of the blue ocean. The blue pool is built lifted up in the air that is seen with the blue ocean as the background from the beach house . Where the beaches are scares but merely rock out crops-“a spacious terrace, designed as a man made beach, extends to the horizon line via a unique narrow swimming pool. This area is characterize by its relationship with the sky and the water”*3

 

 

Beach house with a swimming pool

Beach House- Equis House 1*

  1. The beach house shall be a comfortable place- shaded from the heat or cold winds and designed for your specific needs- a sun bathing summer sun or winter views.

 

  1. The floor plan for house need to take the harsh weather beatings- the salt spray in the air would rust down metals and any metal that is not protected well will be rusting away very quickly. So the houses need to be protected well against the weather extremities. And the house needs to be well detailed to serve these purposes.

 

  1. The floor plan for house , should keep the sand out of the foot ware, where it is NOT needed. A good design should to care of this. Sand and dust in the air, can also minimized by a good landscape design to cut of these elements.

 

  1. Don’t forget the context of location. Beach house floor plans need to be designed for the surroundings .If you are in the tropic use the coconut palms as a good element for design. Palm trees make great landscaping for the house. If you are in the Mediterranean Sea use the natural stones, that are richly found in your house design so that it sits comfortably in these settings.
Beach House- house by the sea

Beach House-Play house by the sea

 

 

 

If you are perched on top of a stone outcrop, design for the winds, the great sun sets or sun rise for great vista of the horizons. Remember you can install a wind turbine to harvest wind renewable energy where you can earn money when you are not there. Wind energy harvested well can make your home a Net Zero Energy building, where you can sell your net zero carbon emission as money earner.

 

  1. If you run out of ideas, visit us at http://www.sda-architect.com for some great design. Enjoy your visit. These designs have great visuals for floor plan for house.

 

  1. In modern floor plans for great flexibility the open house plan concept is also an option as it provides spaces for privy and wide open space for children to run around within and to have great indoor functions with wide spaces.
  2. Net Zero Energy Architect

It is pertinent that homes are designed for Net Zero Energy building where there total power consumption is reduce to zero over a period of 1 year. A beach house has plenty of sun and wind these resources will contribute much renewable energy. It is a shear waste of resources in the light of the Net Zero Energy building favored by the Department of Energy in the US (DOE). Ashrae 2020 envisioned that all building tends towards Net Zero energy building by the year 2030.

  1. Should you need advise kindly call our Net Zero Energy Architect in our website at http://www.sda-architect.com
  2. Our Net Zero Energy Architect will attend to your needs as soon as possible to your satisfaction
  3. Lastly have fun in your venture in seeking for Net Zero Energy building plans.

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix

*1 pg.85 “The New Cottage homes “by Jim Tolpin

*2 pg.52. “Beach House” by Hauser Am Meer, Maisons En Bord De Plage, Huizen Aan Zee

*3 pg 54 “Beach House” by Hauser Am Meer, Maisons En Bord De Plage, Huizen Aan Ze

*4 pg.66 “The New Cottage homes “by Jim Tolpin”

 

 

The Amazing Beauty of the Traditional Malay House

The Traditional Malay House is a special dwelling distinguishing form western dwelling.  The Traditional Malay House  are dwellings which evolved over time. It was  influenced by the Ethnic Malay styles, Indonesian styles and the memorial cultural events which were celebrated then. The construction skills for traditional houses are being lost over the day. However the architectural forms, such as tropically roofs and proportions with decorative elements are considered by some to still have relevance.

Constructions

Traditionally materials such as timber, bamboo, attap, zinc roof, rattan were used to construct the Malay house. Pre cut holes and grooves were used to connect the columns and beam. This gave flexibility and strength to the house. In Some homes Rattan ropes were used to fasten the members.

The roof is made is made of attap( a local thatched roof), laid over timber trusses. The roof may be curved to represent the shape of bulls horns as in case of Seremban Malay houses. The roofs may also be constructed of zinc sheets.

The walls are fixed with timber planks horizontally or vertically.

The flexibility of homes was essential to make shift from one place to another easily. Hence the use of nails was used to fix window and door. The advent of nails was rather a latter invention which was used rather moderately.

Design

Traditional Malay House in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak were built on stilts raised above the ground to keep animals and floods away as to survive in the remotes of the Malayan Jungle. The raised homes also provided ventilation from below and thus keeping the house comfortable.

The roof overhangs also provided cover from the tropical heat and heavy rainfalls.

Traditional Malay House

Veranda of Traditional Malay House

Veranda of Traditional Malay House

 were design with a Rumah Ibu, Rumah Dapur and Serambi. Rumah Ibu is the house proper, Rumah Dapur is the kitchen annex and the Serambi is the veranda.

The windows were constructed of adjustable window timber slants. The windows allowed wind to move into the home, and cutting the heat off, with the panels in a closed position.

Decoration
The staircases are molded, the roof fascias are highly ornamented, carved timber lattices. This timber lattices are used generally at the floors to decorated the facades. The Gable ended roofs are similar to the Japanese, Thai, Cambodian and Sumatrans Roofs.

The houses in Malacca were influenced by the Portuguese Colonial Masters. The staircases are decorated with colored tiles

Please see our Traditional Malay House  designs in our websitehttp://www.sda-architect.com/

Prepared by:Architect Perumal Nagapushnam

How to build a Log House-Part 3
Foundation Lesson 3 (Perimeter Foundation & Full Basement Foundation)

This  article on how to build a Log House-Part 3 is the last part of the session, which deals on the subject on how to build a Log House in totality from the foundation to the roof.

Perimeter Foundation:

  • It can be made of concrete, concrete blocks or concrete faced with stones.
  • If made of concrete it can be Single pour and Double Pour (footing and foundation).

Single Pour Footing/Foundation:

  • It’s not used as much as the separately poured footing and foundation.
  • However it simplifies the task and cut down on time.
  • Lay out the outside dimensions of the footings, the wall thickness and outside boundary of the wall on the batter boards using the house floor plan.
  • Then position the builder’s string to show the dimensions.
  • Excavate the footing and construct the forms.
  • Bring All Service pipes in below the footing and frost line before pouring the footing.
  • Make sure any low spots under the edge of the footing are filled with stones

Double Pour Footing/Foundation:

  • The footing is usually poured separately from the foundation.
  • If the soil is stable, the footing is poured directly in a trench dug without forms.
  • If the soil is less stable, forms must be constructed to hold the concrete in place.
  • The forms must be leveled by using the carpenter’s level and stones are used to fill up the holes around the form to keep the concrete from running out
  • If pouring without forms drive small wooden stakes into the soil at the bottom of the trench where their tops should be level with the height of the footing.
  • Pour the concrete and smooth more or less to the height of the stakes then pull the stakes out and fill the holes with concrete and smooth over.
  • Form a key in the footing to help hold the concrete foundation in place and it can be done by using a beveled 2”x4”. However in the tropical countries water stop is need to be added to prevent water seepage.
  • Reinforce the footing with two to three reinforcing bars spaced about 3”-4” off the bottom of the trench.
  • Make an inspection after the form for the footings are completed.

Pouring the Foundation for the House Plan:

  • After the footing has cured for 5-6 days the foundation can be formed.
  • Remove the footings forms and construct the form for the foundation.
  • Individual sections of forms should be nailed together from the outside.
  • Set up the outside forms first and level it by using the carpenter level and then do the same on the inside forms.
  • Higher and larger foundation walls should be poured slowly to allow the concrete enough time to set up.

Basement Foundation:

  • Basement foundation has the same fundamentals of the perimeter foundation however its has additional features such as:
    • Foundation drains.
    • Insulating the basement.
    • Basement floor.

Foundation Drain & Basement Insulation:

  • A drain should be placed around the foundation to help carry off excess water that collects at its base.
  • Put a 2” layer of gravel around the outside of the bottom edge of the footing.
  • Then put clay drainage tile or perforated plastic on top of this around the outside of the footing.
  • Throw from 2”-6” of gravel over the clay drainage to extend it up over the top edge of the footing by at least 2”.
  • If you need insulation for the basement, install 4” thick batts of rigid foam with moisture barrier below the concrete floor and on the gravel. It can be installed on the outside of the foundation wall as well.

Basement Foundation Floor:

  • Usually poured after the foundation forms are removed.
  • Before pouring the floor first position the drain as needed.
  • The floor drain should be ½” below the surface of the finished concrete floor.
  • Pouring basement floor should be done with a fast pace to prevent the concrete from setting up before you can get it all finished.
  • Check out for some great Log House Floor Plans at :

http://www.sda-architect.com

 

How to build a log House-Part 2

This article on How to build a log House-Part 2 is part of a 2 other articles on this subject of how to build a Log House from the foundation to roof in totality. On hard ground where bedrock is close to the surface, buildings usually require only a minimum foundation.

The Types of foundation generally used in a log house:

1– Pier foundation:
Its the simplest and least expensive, where concrete or flat stones are mortared or laid dry.

2– Slab Foundation:
The Slab Foundation for a home plan is, of the simple kinds of foundation where a concrete slab is used as the foundation.

3- Perimeter Foundation for a house floor :
Its made from concrete, concrete blocks, or sometimes stones. Follow the architectural Floor Plan very closely with respects to the dimensions as this will cause the finishes to look tardy, if it is not correctly followed. The ceiling lines, the tiles finishes and the wall straightness will appear tardy if the dimensions of the Log House floor plans are not strictly followed.

4- Full Basement Foundation:
This is the most complicated type of foundation, Its made of poured reinforced concrete or concrete blocks
Note: Regardless what type of foundation is chosen a proper footing is needed to be placed slightly below the frost.

How to make the foundation for a log house?

Step One: Establish the Boundaries.
1-Establish the exact outside boundaries of your home using a 2”x2” stakes, nails & a rope.
2- Make one end of each stick sharp to be able to drive it into the ground easily.
3-After placing the sticks hammer a nail into the upper center of each stake
4-Once the stakes are placed in position use a rope and connect it to the nails on top of each stake
5-Once three stakes are connected you will able to outline an approximate 90 degree between two walls.
6-Make sure that the angle between the two walls is a perfect 90 degree angle using a triangle with proportions of 3:4:5

Step Two: Erect Batter Boards:
1- The batter board is made by driving 2″x4″ stakes into the ground in an L shape around the corners
2- Nail, a 1”x4’ or 1”x6” batter board, to the stakes to create a right angle and it have to be set back at least 4 feet from the outline stakes and the height is minimum 18″
3- Make sure all batter boards have been installed on all corners at the correct height.
4- Tie weight to builder’s string and drop them over the tops of the batter boards and drop a plumb bob where the two strings cross.
5-Make sure the plumb bob falls exactly on the nail head in the corner stakes this locates the outside boundary of your foundation.
6- Use the same method to locate the inside boundary but by deducting the width of the proposed foundation.

Check out for some great and handsome architectural floor plan for Log house at:http://www.sda-architect.com

Prepared by Architect Perumal Nagapushnam