How to design a Duplex? | Architectural Design

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Guide to designing a Duplex

Duplex is a term used for a household with different unit configurations. This term is used in different countries to convey different meanings. In densely populated areas such as Manhattan and Downtown Chicago, it refers to a single household unit spread over two floors. This is the category of Duplex design we will focus on in this article.

There are two major steps in designing a Duplex

  1. Conducting a casestudies of Duplexes
  2. Designing

Designing can be further split into three phases:

  1. Conceptual Sketching
  2. Developing Single line plans
  3. Developing Double line plans

Four things you would need for the design of Duplex:

  1. Willingness to do the live casestudies of duplexes
  2. Online research
  3. Paper, Pencil for conceptual sketching
  4. CAD software

We need to conduct case studies of individual duplexes or apartments that house duplexes. You might wonder, why is that required? Let me remind you that case studies are the backbone of our design. When we design, we begin with listing out requirements. For example, if we are designing a building and have no clue about its requirements, we might have difficulty getting the functional aspect of the design right.

Following aspects have to be studied whilst conducting a case study of a Duplex:

  • study the circulation,
  • the requirements,
  • calculate the number of people it caters to;
  • calculate the areas of individual spaces such as bedroom, bathroom, Hall, Dining, Kitchen, Utility etc.

Studying the above mentioned aspects will help you with understand the requirements for Duplex design.

Also, the study of connectivity of the spaces is very important and has to be done in order to get the functional aspect of the design right.

“Efficient connectivity is the soul of any design”.

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Technology and Sustainability

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Should we rely on Technological innovations to achieve Sustainability?

Sustainability is very complex a subject to understand. If it is taken literally, it feels so simple but is very deep in its meaning. It has varied contexts ranging from macro to micro contexts. It has its roots in every field possible, ranging from fashion designing, product designing, Architecture, Urban Planning etc. each field being so different from the other.

How do we think of technological innovations when we think of sustainability? The way world changed in the past 100 years is because of the technological innovations that took place. How dependent we really are on technology? To be honest, the quality of life became better, our life styles changed after the industrial revolution after which our societies have been continuously changing and evolving and taking a step higher and higher with regards to lifestyle changes. The amount of resources we used up in the past 100 years is enormous and we are aware that we can never reverse the cycle.

So, it is important to think, if we should continue on the same path. We all feel trapped because we know that we are heading towards a natural resources crisis that could bring our lifestyles to a standstill. Inspite of the awareness, we still continue to use the resources ruthlessly without giving a thought of what might happen to our future generations. How would they survive if we were to use up all the resources on earth?

The most important question is, “Can we still rely on the technological innovation to give us solutions on how to live sustainably without having to compromise on our current lifestyles?” Should we still place our faith in innovation? Would it be the right thing to do?

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Recycled OR New Modern Furniture?? | Sustainable Design

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Step-wise procedure for conducting a research on Furniture Design

In this article, we will discuss the steps for carrying out a research on the proposed topic. This research will help us evaluate if the concept of recycled furniture is workable and whether it could be profitable as compared to the New modern furniture made from new materials.

Step One:

Study the process of making recycled furniture. This would include studying the materials for the furniture, the factories, the energy resources required for the manufacture, amount of skilled and unskilled labour and finally the costs.

Step two:

Where have they been used? Study the successful examples of the use of recycled furniture in various countries and analyse the reasons behind their success.

It is also important to consider the negative aspects of the same. It is important to know why people wouldn’t want to prefer recycled furniture and that should be very clear.

Dining Table | New Modern Furniture
Dining Table | New Modern Furniture

Step three:

Remember for any venture to become a success, it has to be profitable. If it is not, then nobody will care to pay attention towards it. This applies for both the consumer as well as the manufacturer.

Analysis of the profit and loss for a company manufacturing recycled materials for the furniture has to be done. It is important to know whether these run in loss or in profit which will give you an idea of  the interest that people show towards using recycled furniture.

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Problems in the city of Brighton | Sustainable Development

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 Sustainable Urban Development in the United Kingdom

Movie Dialog:

Mr. Henry (the old man): Hello Benazir! How are you?
Architect Benazir: Hello Mr. Henry! I am good. Nice to meet you.
Mr. Henry (the old man): I am so glad that you are an Architect! There are some important issues to discuss. I was looking forward for a discussion with you regarding the so called eco towns.
Architect Benazir:Oh great! I would love that!
Mr. Henry (the old man): What are eco towns?
Towns which are ecologically sensitive are called eco towns.
Mr. Henry (the old man): Does that mean we have to compromise on our lifestyle?
Architect Benazir:Well, I do not know if you would call it compromising your way of living but its entire intention is to make human life more comfortable and save it from destruction.
Mr. Henry (the old man): Alright!That sounds good. So, how different are eco towns from our conventional towns and cities?
Architect Benazir:Ecotowns will fully support pedestrianization and cycling activity and focus on enhancing public transport.
Mr. Henry (the old man): Pedestrianization and cycling?? Hold on to that. Aren’t we having enough of it at Brighton right now?The streets have been narrowed down by drawing 2D cycle pictures on the road making it uncomfortable for cars and buses.
Architect Benazir:I don’t understand what you mean? Could you give an example?

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