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Ryan and Brittney,

My apologies for taking so long with this, but I think I finally have this distilled

to a few good options for you to consider. I’ve titled this ‘Site Analysis +

Programming’ and that is what we call this part of the design process, collecting

as much information as we can about the site and about your needs for your

house. This is really just the beginning, and any additional information you can

share about your land or about your needs is most helpful. You may not have ever

thought much about how you live your life each day, but this is your opportunity.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and questions about the information

included here. Much of the site information you will already know intuitively

from having lived in the area for many years, but it is helpful to me to quantify

things, especially when working from a distance.

Hopefully these are self-explanatory, but if not, please let me know and I can

answers questions by email or phone. If one or more of these plan configurations

appeal to you, we will begin to develop the plan(s) in detail, showing the locations

of walls, furniture, fixtures and other amenities.

From there, we will start to explore the exterior of the house, where windows and

doors are placed, and how the house fits into your site. You have a beautiful site

and good instincts about where the house should go, and that is a great start.

Thanks for trusting me and beginning this process together.

The site is located at the corner of Mt. Bliss Road and Garner

Road near the Jordan River in Northern Michigan and features

mostly gently sloping topography, with its highest point near its

southeast corner. Much of the site is cleared with an existing

grove of apple trees, many of which are still productive. The

northern third of the site is densely wooded, with a ravine and a

seasonal pond. There is also a continuous stand of trees along

the main road to the west at the lowest point of the site. Several

neighbors have houses and farms nearby, suggesting utilities

are readily available.

SITE DESCRIPTION

Fortunately the site easily supports an ideal building orientation,

which is to have the long side face south, with shorter ends

facing east and west. Sun control is achieve through the height

and shape of the roof edge on the southern side. Summer sun

will be limited, while winter sun will be allowed in for additional

daylight and warming effects.

ORIENTATION

A humid continental climate is typified by large seasonal

temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid)

summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Humid

continental climates tend to be found above 40 N latitude,

within the central and northeastern portions of North America,

Europe, and Asia.

Precipitation is relatively well distributed year-round in many

areas with this climate, while others may see a marked reduction

in wintry precipitation and even a wintertime drought. Snowfall,

regardless of average seasonal totals, occurs in all areas with

a humid continental climate and is more common than rain

during the height of winter. In places with sufficient wintertime

precipitation, the snow cover is often deep. Most summer rainfall

occurs during thunderstorm s and a very occasional tropical

system. Though humidity levels are often high in locations with

humid continental climates, the "humid" designation does not

mean that the humidity levels are necessarily high, only that the

climate is not dry enough to be classified as semi-arid or arid.

CLIMATE

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VIEW

FALL/SPRING SUNSET

PREVAILING WINDS

FALL/SPRING SUNRISE

SUMMER SUNRISE

WINTER SUNRISE

SUMMER SUNSET

WINTER SUNSET

SOUT

HWES

T

SOUT

H

SOUT

HEAS

T

EAST

SUM

MER

SUN

RISE

SUM

MER

SUN

SET

SPRI

NG/F

ALL S

UNRI

SE

WIN

TER

SUNR

ISE

21 DEGREEINCLINATION



VIEW

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WES

T

NORT

HWES

T

NORT

H

NORT

HEAS

T

SPRI

NG/F

ALL S

UNSE

T

WIN

TER

SUNS

ET

Due to the location of the site in Northern Michigan, every effort should be made to ensure the available sunlight reaches the various rooms of the

house, especially in Fall, Winter and Spring. The configuration of the site allows for direct sunlight to reach the house throughout the year and

throughout each day, with the exception of the summer months, when sunlight early and late in the day may be interrupted by trees nearby.

The panorama below indicates the cardinal directions, as well as the locations of the sunrise and sunset as well as the height the sun reaches at

different times of the year. The design of the house should provide ample daylight to reduce energy use and promote a connection to the landscape

and healthy lifestyle. For these reasons as well as more complicated ones regarding the topography and complexities of grading, a full basement

is not recommended.

SUNLIGHT

Based on the spaces provided in the original house plans, a list of

rooms and rough potential sizes is provided and drawn roughly to

scale based on a 4’ grid on the following page. Service spaces

such as bathrooms, closets, storage, and mechanical are shown

in gray. In order to keep construction costs down, the overall

square footage is limited to 2,500 square feet or less. During the

design process, we will continue to try to reduce square footage.

If there are specific features in any of the rooms, please provide a

detailed description so they can be incorporated into the design.

PROGRAM

Rather than draw fully detailed plans, plan diagrams are provided

that indicate the relationship between spaces. Each have certain

benefits and drawbacks, but each is a viable arrangement for

your house, keeping within the overall square footage goal while

addressing the features of your site.

Three basic schemes are shown and each is given a name, just to

help keep them straight. A list of the features and advantages

of each plan diagram is provided as well as any limitations. In

each plan, North is towards the top of the page, so that side faces

the woods. The driveway comes from the East, so you will notice

the garage is located at the east end of the house in each case.

PLAN DIAGRAMS

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garage

mud room

mechanical

bedroom 1

bedroom 2

bedroom 3

bathroom

half bath

entry

kitchen

living

pantry

DINING

PORCH

MASTER BEDROOM

MASTER CLOSET

MASTER BATH

STUDY

garagemud roommechanicalbedroom 1bedroom 2bedroom 3bathroomhalf bathentrykitchen

dininglivingporchmaster bedroom

master bathroomstudy

sf

576

space size

9664

192192192

643264

192pantry 96

128192192

2498

192

96master CLOSET 96

96

The ‘Long Bar’ provides a relatively narrow plan to allow for

ample light and view in every room of the house as well as

natural ventilation. The straightforward arrangement of rooms

allows for a very simple foundation and construction which will

in turn be economical. The children’s bedrooms are located in

the east end of the house, while the master bedroom is located

at the west end. Since your children are old enough to enjoy a

degree of independence, the separation between the bedrooms

can be considered.

LONG BAR

The ‘Split Bar’ essentially takes the plan of the ‘Long Bar’, splits

it in two and overlaps it, thus reducing the overall length of the

house, making rooms closer together and thus more connected.

The principal drawbacks to this arrangement are a more complex

foundation and the difficulty in getting natural light to the

eastern side of the house where the ‘bars’ overlap. The latter

issue isn’t necessarily a problem because the spaces on the

eastern side of the house are primarily the children’s bedrooms

which likely won’t be occupied during the day. The porch does

help get daylight and natural ventilation to the children’s’

bedrooms.

SPLIT BAR

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garagePORCHPORCH

MASTER BEDROOM

mud room

mX

STORAGE

bedroom 1bedroom 2bedroom 3

bath1/2

pantry

CL CL CLMASTER CLOSETMASTER BATH

STUDY

kitchenliving

DINING

entrygarage

kitchenliving

PORCH PORCHMASTER BEDROOM

DINING

mud room

mX

STORAGE

bedroom 1bedroom 2bedroom 3bath1/2

pantry

entry

CL CL CL

MASTER CLOSETMASTER BATH

STUDY

LONG BAR

SPLIT BAR

The ‘Short Bar’ provides a compact plan that once again has a

simple, rectangular foundation. Two versions are shown, with

slight variation shown in where the porch is located on the

southern side.

Version 1 uses the porch to separate the living room and the

master bedroom, while Version 2 has the porch closer to the

garage and uses it to set up the entry to the front door. In

Version 2, the porch is also used to get daylight and ventilation

to the children’s bedrooms.

There are many ways to organize the various rooms within either

of these schemes; in fact there are many more, but these are a

good place to start the discussion.

The previous schemes allow for the garage doors to be on the

North side of the house, facing the woods, so they aren’t the first

thing you or your guests see when arriving. Even though this is

incredibly common in American houses, there are better ways

to have your house greet its visitors. If you are interested in

this scheme, the location of the garage will be something we

continue to develop.

SHORT BAR

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kitchenliving

DINING

entry

garage

PORCH

PORCHMASTER BEDROOM

mud room

mX

STORAGEbedroom 1bedroom 2bedroom 3bath1/2

pantry

CL CL CL

MASTER CLOSET

MASTER

BATH STUDY

kitchenliving

DINING

entrygarage

PORCH

PORCHMASTER BEDROOM

mud room

mX

STORAGE

bath1/2

pantrybedroom 1bedroom 2bedroom 3

CL CL CL

MASTER CLOSET

MASTER

BATH STUDY

SHORT BAR v1

SHORT BAR v2

book residence programming + site planning

Documents

Transcript of book residence programming + site planning