House plans begin from a single roomed unit to a bedsitter to a 1 bedroomed,2 bed roomed, 3 bedroomed,to more complex plans as requested by a client .

Single rooms are usually a minimum of 3meters by 3 meters. This size is tied to the size of an average bed, 2meters by 1 meter. They are common among the low-income housing sector for rentals and around Universities and tertiary colleges which will need to house students.

These are not described in the current Building Code as residential units however, some councils in Kenya such as Nakuru Municipal council have passed bye-laws allowing for approval of these units.

Bedsitters are much larger; roughly 3meters by 5 meters and include a larger space which fits a small kitchenette and a living area.

One-bed roomed units consist of the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. They are usually at a minimum of 30 meters squared floor area. These and 2-bedroomed units are very common for rental units.

3 Bed roomed units and above are not common as rental units due to lack of demand. Another easer method of selecting these kinds of house plans is to search for house plans on the internet and then asking your architect to customize the plan to our area Building Code and Kenya Local Authority regulations.

The Kenyan Building Code describes minimum sizes and dimensions of habitable spaces. For bedrooms, the minimum dimensions are 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters. For Kitchens, the dimensions are 2 meters by 2.4 meters.
The minimum floor to ceiling height is described as 2.35meters for a habitable space.
Once all the minimum floor plan dimensions are met, the house plan is approvable by the local authority.

Your architect ensures that the house plan meets all the minimum requirements as set out in the Building Code and from here, you can describe to him any flamboyant shape as you may desire.

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This House is located in Szymbark,Poland . The house is owned by Businessman Daniel Czapiewski.
Due to its unique design, it attracts thousands of tourists keen to see this bizarre specter.
The house is a normal conventional double storey wooden house literally inverted up side down with the roof touching the ground.

In this scenario, we can see how an Architect’s decision during the design process can have a profound effect on the commercial viability and profitability of a building-in this case, the design uniqueness attracts thousands of tourists to the site every year. The designer modified the conventional house and put it upside down .

The cost of putting up such a house is relatively the same as for putting up a house the same size and design on the right –side up. The cost-benefit of putting up the house up-side down far outweighs the opposite i.e if the house was conventional. Just imagine-if the house was the right-side up, no tourists would have visited it and the tiny village of Szymbark would not have found its place on the map.

The use of wood for construction eases the flexibility in constructing the house at a few degrees slant. Wood is also light in weight hence easier to suspend and cantilever.From the pictures, notice that the curtains also open upside down to emphasize on the up-side down effect. The suspended cantilevered side also helps to drum in this effect, with the chimney used cleverly to act as support to the ground. Bituminous felt is used as a flat roof on top.

This house will forever be etched in the minds of many and will be true testimony on how creativity can increase a thousand-fold the commercial viability of Real Estate at no extra cost.

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