What do people care about the most while constructing a house? It could be a layout design, construction materials or façade but the thing which stands above all is ‘building orientation’.
What is orientation? What role does it play in construction?
Building orientation is the process of angling a structure in a way that it could allow appropriate entrance of light and air in the house. A renowned architect in Pakistan sets the orientation of a building while keeping various significant factors which together support an environment-friendly and cost-effective construction.
Usually, the orientation involves every aspect, including a building’s exposure to sunlight, windows’ placement, flooring, designing and various other aspects. Orientation standards are not the same for all kinds of constructions; rather these vary with respect to the location and environmental conditions of an area.
Keeping the specific angling, an architect can minimize the construction blunders which would otherwise create several undesirable problems later on. The most important factor which compels homeowners to have a well-oriented house is ever-increasing energy cost Pakistan, which is the reason that architects are orienting the homes in a way that these could let in maximum sunlight in winters and cool breezes in summers. An ideally angled house allows appropriate light passage in winters and in cooler areas ultimately saving energy consumption, which in-turn cuts down the high utility bills. The same applies for the warmer areas, where letting cool breezes inside a house is the main purpose.
“The success and failure of a layout design depends greatly upon its orientation, a well-balanced positioning is made while keeping the directions and environmental conditions of an area,” says Amer Adan, the CEO of Amer Adan Associates ®.
Constructional Aspects Promoting Well-Oriented Buildings
You need to plan a design layout that allows frequently used areas of your house such as a kitchen, a living room towards southern side. This is because in winters the dwellers will prefer sunlight to combat the freezing cold; whereas in summers they would want these rays to change the direction. The hidden areas like patios and decks should be built on the south side of the house, so that the direct sunlight could allow maximum working during the day and more days during a year. In the similar way, the areas like laundry room, which are not used as frequently, could be situated at the northern part of the house so that fighting with the cold winter winds could become easier.
Hilly Area’s Construction Technicalities
Have you ever noticed that homes in the hilly areas vary with respect to the ones created in the level zones?
Hills and mountains give a varying effect of sunlight and even in the same area you would witness the different climatic changes from one place to another. The house located on the top of a mountain would surely be constructed differently than the house at the bottom. Usually, if a house is located at the top, then angling it in an appropriate order becomes a bit critical as it is more exposed to sunlight.
Either you plan to purchase an existing house or going to construct a new one, never ignore the orientation factor as it may even fail the beautifully constructed homes.