House design metrics and standards

House/room space is one of the main factors that makes homes comfortable for those who live in it. Everyone needs a space to store their possessions, to cook and eat, private space to study, work and rest, etc. The lack of space could have an impact on family relationships, well-being and health. However, the new built houses in the UK are much smaller than the standard houses few decades ago. Also, to compare UK new house space with European houses, the results would be shocking. England’s new homes are the smallest in Western Europe (more details can be found here)

At the moment there is no specific standard for home space in the UK. As in 1980s the government gave all the rights to the market on deciding about the house size. Nevertheless, some architects/builders build the houses according to Parker Morris space standards which been published in the report ‘Homes for Today and Tomorrow’ (1961). ‘It should be stressed that Parker Morris did not lay down minimum areas for rooms. The report simply stated that the dwelling had to be furnishable with a specified amount of furniture’ (Chown, 1969) and had a storage space. In other words, in all bedrooms there should be space for bed, table and wardrobe.  Moreover, it should not just simply fit in there but have a space to easily open the wardrobe or get in/out of the bed as well.  

Recently new space requirements were published by the Greater London Authority (GLA) which mostly applied for homes in London. The population growth in London is getting higher every year as well as the new homes development. However, people need not only quick built houses, but homes which ‘are comfortable and functional’(Roberts-Hughes, 2011). So that is why GLA set a minimum standard for gross internal floor area according to number of bedrooms and people. 

Case study

I found this house plan on the online seller ‘selfbuildplans' website.

It is 2 storey, 3 bedroom quite attractive house. The buyer is able to choose between few different elevation styles. But the number which shows the floor size is not as impressive as the pictures. Total floor size is 82sqm (887sqf).

According to the GLA requirements 2 storey, 3 bedroom, 4 people house should not be smaller than 87sqm. However, the floor plans show that there is 2 double and one single bed, which means that the maximum number of the house occupiers could be 5 people. In that case the minimum floor size should be 96sqm according to the table above.

Also, it is easy to see from the floor plans that none of the bedrooms have space for study (desk and chair), bedroom 2 & 3 even do not have a bed table, there is no toilet on the ground floor, there is no storage, there is no possibility to fit a bigger breakfast table in the kitchen in case the house would be occupied by 5 people, lounge is design for 4 people as well. 

Taking everything into consideration, maybe it is cheaper and faster to build a smaller house, however, overcrowded homes with no personal and comfortable space to relax or study could have a huge impact on our health and education.

References:

* Chown, I., 1969. 'Metric handbook. Planning and design data.' edited by David Adler, 2nd ed. Oxford: Architectural Press.

* Roberts-Hughes, R., 2011. ''The Case for Space: the size of England’s new home', RIBA.