Make the case for orientation of new build

jag7

Just looking for some help and possibly reference ideas for something involving a new build we are in the planning stages of, at the moment.

We had a pre-planning meeting and seemed to get a positive response on most issues - with the exception of the orientation of the house. I had asked the architect to orient the house in the direction I had seen recommended on one of the reference ideas on the site here - a little compass diagram showing the best location for the different rooms in the house. However the planner asked us to re-orient the house facing the entrance lane, rather than approach the house from the side (the entrance is on the southern end of the site).

When we mentioned that the orientation we put forward would maximise the natural daylight and make the internals work better in the house, the planner suggested we could make the case for that with our planning application, but she was not very positive about it.

Our architect is very helpful, but because the orientation idea came from me, he's not really pushing ahead with putting a strong case for it, and I would like to put some details together on it myself to at least try to get the house the way we want.

By the way, overlooking or boundaries aren't really an issue - the site is a 20 acre farm with an entrance off a lane, away from the main road.

I'd be really grateful for any help or reference material, links etc. anyone could recommend.

mossysheehan

jag7 wrote: »

I had asked the architect to orient the house in the direction I had seen recommended on one of the reference ideas on the site here - a little compass diagram showing the best location for the different rooms in the house. However the planner asked us to re-orient the house facing the entrance lane, rather than approach the house from the side (the entrance is on the southern end of the site).

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here... Does your architect not know the advantages of good orientation himself?

The idea of orienting your house in certain directions are an advantage in two ways:
1. People might prefer having morning/evening sun in a kitchen/sunroom for example.
2. You can take advantage of heatgain from the sun.

Point 1. depends on a persons own preference really.
Point 2. you should aim to have a high proportion of glazing in the southerly direction (up to 20% of floor area). You should aim to have as little as possible in the Northerly direction. In a passive (or close to passive) house you will have trouble with overheating in the southerly direction during the summer unless properly designed shading is in place.

Mono25

hi jag 7, im actually looking for ideas for which bests suits where to place rooms with the back of the house facing north, do you remember where you got your idea from cos i cant find anything.

cheers

Mellor

Make the case to the council, that its for enviromental/eco reasons.
Heat gain, less power, good for the environment. It should help your case.

As for actual orientation, as above

jag7

The source for the room aspect guide is in the thread 'Ideas For Reference Material' (sorry - I'm not tech enough to provide the link!), on page 2 - post no. 23 titled 'House Aspect Planning'.

Thanks for the replies - if anyone has any modern source material I could point to or draw more info from I'd really appreciate it.