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The 2009 British Homes Awards challenged the industry to
design a house that can adapt to different life stages. The participants were
asked to rethink the construction and design of individual homes, so that
they were easily adaptable to less mobile inhabitants, and also to create
communities in which ageing occupants could continue to enjoy shared
amenities. The top design also had to be attractive to its potential buyers,
because the competition was put to the public vote. The winner, gaining
12,000 votes from Mail on Sunday readers, was the strikingly modern
SunnySideUp, designed by Kosi Architects. Here are its three main features:
1. Upside Down House
The architects took as a starting point the accepted norm for a house
– rows of houses facing onto streets crammed with cars, with living rooms on
the ground floor and bedrooms above. Then they scrapped it. They ended up
with the living room, dining room and kitchen on the top floor where they can
benefit from the light and views, and maximize energy efficiency. And they
put the bedrooms on the ground floor where the garden aspect gives
inhabitants increased privacy, and a cool temperature is maintained
throughout the day. The two floors are linked by wide, gentle gradient
stairs, which are designed to allow for a stair lift to be fitted if
necessary as owners’ age.
2. Concealed Parking Spaces
But the feature that, according to Warren Rosing, one of the Kosi architects
responsible for the design, was particularly popular with the public, is
actually the parking. In a SunnySideUp development no one has to look out
onto a street full of cars, or worry about their kids being run over, because
the terrace zone at the first floor level link all the homes and is a
car-free zone. Vehicles are tucked away on the lower floor, leaving safe and
pleasant spaces outside the houses for people to meet, and kids to play.
A lift takes people directly from garage to living area, so that all
residents, including the elderly and those with heavy shopping, can move
comfortably between the floors. The natural feel of the front area is
enhanced by the planters that are placed outside the kitchens at the front to
encourage residents to grow vegetables and flowers where they can be seen. The
idea is that not only would they look pretty, but they would be a talking
point, encouraging interaction between residents on the terrace area outside.
3. Flexible Spaces
But it’s the fact that the space is designed to adapt to the changing needs,
including the fluctuating income of its owners, that makes it a
thought-provoking, as well as a winning, design. The idea is that owners can
get some extra money to pay for their mortgages during the first years. And
later in the future, those bedrooms can be used as a granny flat, or an
office, and can easily be converted into a separate one-bed flat if your kids
won’t leave home. And if more space is required, as well as the usual loft
that can be converted, there is potential for a gallery floor to be inserted
in the living room.
4. Where can you get one?
At the moment the SunnySideUp house is still just a set of drawings. But
Warren Rosing says, “We are hoping to have it built.” The organizers are in
talks with builders, but due to the economic climate it may take longer than
we would like. “We’re sure it will be worth the wait” they say.
Retrieved
December 27, 2019 from https://www.test-english.com/reading/b1/welcome-home-future/
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