For many of us, buying or building a home will be one of the most significant things we do in our lives. It’s likely the space where we’ll spend most of our time and make some of our most important memories. But we’ve all seen poorly designed buildings and how that can impact its functionality and lead to problems later down the line. That’s why it’s so important to ensure your designer knows what they’re doing.
But if you’ve had little experience in architecture and design, you might be asking how exactly you’re meant to spot the work of a bad designer. Here, we’ll explain some of the tell-tale signs to help you avoid frustrating, and likely costly, issues later down the line.
Useless spaces
Whether it’s too much empty space in a large room or weird nooks that don’t have a clear purpose, keep an eye out for useless space. Alcoves, extra corridors, and oddly dimensioned rooms are the first sign of a lazy designer, and likely means that you will be paying to build, maintain and heat more space than is necessary. To keep an eye out for this, imagine how you would use and furnish each and every room, and highlight all the useless spaces. If you’re unsure about anything always check with your designer and if they can’t give you a good explanation for their choices, it may be a good idea to go elsewhere.
Complicated design
Good design should flow seamlessly and work just the way you need it to, without you necessarily noticing. In an attempt to get attention, designers often try to reinvent details that already work or use unusual materials in a complicated way. But these overly complex designs and uncommon materials often require excessive time, effort and cost during construction. If your designer is pushing for a complex design, like large cantilevers or detailing that hold no value for you, it’s probably a sign that value for money is not a top priority.
Working against the site
Basic first principles of design should include detailed consideration of the views, slopes, solar access, construction limitations and streetscapes. For a sloped site, it’s desirable for the design to minimise cut, fill and retaining to save costs. Solar passive design means that the living areas should then be placed where they can best take advantage of northern sun. Ideally, windows shouldn’t be placed to the east and west of the home, unless there are views or effective shading. If a design doesn’t follow these basic rules, then it’s likely the designer hasn’t properly considered the site and your potential home will be much less efficient than it should be.
Longevity considerations
Homes should be designed with adaptability and longevity in mind. Whether you plan to sell the home in a few years or hope to live in it for a long time to come, it’s a good idea to think about how it can adapt to different lifestyles, ages and physical abilities.
If your designer isn’t considering the possibility of changing household circumstances, there’s the risk that your home won’t suit your future needs or appeal to future buyers. Some things every home should include are a toilet and master bedroom option on the ground floor, a home office solution and a bathroom with a step-free shower recess and reinforced walls to support the potential installation of rails.
Materials
There are four things a designer should consider when choosing a material: aesthetics, cost (of the material and its installation), climate suitability and longevity. It can be easy to get distracted by aesthetics, but the three other factors are just as important, if not more so.
Cost can seem simple initially but it’s often more complicated when installation is considered. Fibre cement cladding, for example, appears cheap but can cost as much as good quality timber when installed on the wall with expressed joints.
It’s also important to consider the climate where your home is, as your choice of material can significantly impact temperature fluctuations and breathability. Unless requested by a client, most designers should steer clear of concrete roofs as they retain heat in summer but lose it in winter.
Then there’s longevity. Most houses will stand for 50+ years, but material choices and accessibility will have a significant impact here. As most building materials will need maintenance at some point in their lifespan, it’s important to ensure that all areas of your home are relatively easy to access. And, while durability should be an important factor when choosing all the materials for your home, it’s particularly important for those in hard-to-reach locations.
Make sure your designer is considering all these factors when choosing materials, and if there is a compromise that needs to be made, they should give you all the options.
Weathertightness
It sounds obvious but a scary proportion of buildings leak due to poor design. Look out for unnecessarily complex roof shapes, box gutters, balconies over living areas and paving that meets the internal floor area (allowing water to creep inside the house). If a house smells musty it probably has poor airflow, water ingress or mould – all things that indicate poor design and will be difficult to fix in the long run.
No passive design principles
Whether passive house design is your priority or not, all designers should understand its principles and offer the option to implement them. This will make your home more comfortable, efficient and healthy. Basic passive house principles include high levels of insulation, thermal bridge free construction, high performance windows and doors, airtight construction and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. If your designer hasn’t offered any passive design options or doesn’t know much about them, you might end up missing out on some great money saving options.
If you’re looking for a designer to work on a new build or renovation, we here at Leanhaus can help you create a home that fits your aspirations and budget, all with passive design principles.
Words by Ellie Prober with Ben Caine