What is this called?

Steph A

last year

Hi everyone, I was just hoping to understand a bit more about the design shown in the photos:

What is it called when the side of the house (part way down) is indented in a u shape as shown in the photos?
What is the purpose of this / why do people do this?
If it is to allow more light to come in, how big would the space need to be to lighten up the rooms either side of it if it’s on the south facing border of the house?
I appreciate this design choice would add to the cost of a new build (custom knock down rebuild which would otherwise be in a simple rectangle shape). However, does anyone have a sense on whether the additional cost would be in the realm of a few thousand dollars or much more significant than that?

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Comments (4)

oklouise
last year
last modified: last year
the indent could be used to allow for windows into rooms where windows can't be placed on side walls... there can be a limit to the length of side walls and the indent breaks up the length... sometimes it's to provide extra privacy from neighbours' ... sometimes the indent could be to create a linking space between an original building and an extension... and the space could be called a courtyard or lightwell and worthwhile size and costs depends on the result you want to achieve but, if the indent creates a better design to suit the location, that would add value rather than costs and savings can better be made on decorative features that can be added over time

but, if you could share your basic design and siteplan HOUZZERS could be more specific about how an indent might be useful (or not) for your new home
littleswamp
last year
Our council requires walls more than 10m in the same material to be broken up by an indentation of at least 1m x2.5 m as a design requirement in the planning process
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Paul Di Stefano Design
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Plenty of reasons why per previous comments........the example in your photo could have also maxed out their building footprint % allowed on the site and depending on the layout / orientation sometimes a better and more interesting design solution to implement a break up in form / private light court... without knowing the site levels it also furthermore be potentially to do with managing/mitigating overlooking to neighbouring private outdoor space from a habitable room by for example consolidating a bedroom window/outlook to the private court to meet lighting & ventilation requirements without having to conceed using a high level window with sill above 1700mm
Steph A
Original Author
last year
Thank you very much everyone, your answers have been really helpful. We’re still in the early stages of designing the floor plan so you’ve given me plenty to think about! Thank you

What is this called?

Comments (4)

oklouise

littleswamp

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