When some people think of architecture, they imagine big buildings and grand mansions. They don’t normally realize that architecture—specifically, residential architecture—is directly connected to their lives. The priority of residential architects is to draw up plans for a home where you can relax and feel comfortable.
These days, that doesn’t just mean ensuring that your architectural stairs are space-saving. Innovative home designs are popping up all the time and can add some modernity to your dream house. Check out some of these trends below.
Stairs for Health
The active design uses health research in planning to positively impact health outcomes. Innovative stair designs play an important role in encouraging physical health, an opinion that’s been held by architectural experts for years. Staircases are a must for any home—why not make them prettier?
Multipurpose Rooms for Modern Homeowners
Aside from having health and nature-driven lifestyles, there is an increasing need to have multi-purpose rooms. Busy homeowners just need homes that can be used for more than one function. Multi-use rooms can be as simple as guest rooms that double as offices, kitchen and dining room combos, or staircase voids as nooks for couches.
A Literal Wall of Greens with Vertical Gardens
The amount of greenhouse gas emissions homes produce depends on the residents’ habits. One way to reduce your household’s carbon footprint is to engage in home gardening. Vertical gardens are a good way of cultivating as many greens as possible without taking up too much space. They can be built inside and outside your home and can be easy to maintain.
Vertical gardens are also gaining popularity as part of the biophilic design, a design principle that seeks to merge nature with human spaces. Workshops are being offered for the new design trend, which is seen as a solution for challenges posed by urbanization. So, why not have your architect include space for gardening in their plans.
Prefab is Fabulous
Finally, you may consider architect-made and approved prefab homes. Slowly gaining traction in the U.S. and other parts of the world, prefabricated homes are built much faster than regular homes, can be made to be sustainable and energy-efficient, and cost less in terms of labor.
Whether you decide to pursue these innovations or not, make sure the architect you’re entrusting your home with is experienced and can find the solutions you need. Good architects or architectural firms can work according to your budget, schedule, and personal preferences. Like any other business, an architectural firm can be family-owned or incorporated—what matters is if they can build the house you want.
After choosing the right people, dig down and find out which features you really need and can maintain. Having a vertical garden may look refreshing at first, but if you can’t maintain it or hire a gardener, that wall of greens will look sad very soon and end up emitting more greenhouse gases than before.
Your home is where you’ll spend most of your life. Make sure it’s well planned and built according to your needs and preferences.
