DOI article:
Jones, Sydney R.: On the designing of cottages and small houses
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41874#0026
ON THE DESIGNING OF COTTAGES AND SMALL HOUSES
OI.D STONE COTTAGES AT FARNHAM, YORKSHIRE (PAGE 34)
may form the true basis for later operations. The final result, with houses
standing in pleasant roads or surrounding open greens (such as is shown
by the illustration opposite), needs to be pictured in the mind con-
tinually. A great deal of useful information has already been accumulated
for guidance in designing lay-out and development schemes. Much of
this, together with technical and suggestive matter, has been published
by the Local Government Board. It is proposed, for instance, that under
ordinary circumstances the number of houses should not exceed twelve
to the acre in urban, and eight to the acre in rural areas—a recommenda-
tion deserving every support. The Town Planning Act of 1909 also pro-
vided certain machinery for developing towns and areas not built upon.
Consequently, certain schemes have been completed, and others are in
course of preparation. But it seems necessary to supplement and extend
the powers given by this Act if the present problems of housing are to
be solved.
The ground plan of a cottage can be designed in a hundred different ways.
Its purpose is to provide the exact accommodation required for health and
convenience by the people who will live in it. The conditions necessary
for health are generally accepted, but views on accommodation differ
greatly. In view of this diversity of opinion, the most personal results
would be obtained if each one designed the plan of his or her own dwell-
ing. Each plan would then bear the stamp of individuality, and accord
with particular ideas. But such a course is not a practical proposition, for
technical knowledge in building belongs to few, and is only gained by
14
OI.D STONE COTTAGES AT FARNHAM, YORKSHIRE (PAGE 34)
may form the true basis for later operations. The final result, with houses
standing in pleasant roads or surrounding open greens (such as is shown
by the illustration opposite), needs to be pictured in the mind con-
tinually. A great deal of useful information has already been accumulated
for guidance in designing lay-out and development schemes. Much of
this, together with technical and suggestive matter, has been published
by the Local Government Board. It is proposed, for instance, that under
ordinary circumstances the number of houses should not exceed twelve
to the acre in urban, and eight to the acre in rural areas—a recommenda-
tion deserving every support. The Town Planning Act of 1909 also pro-
vided certain machinery for developing towns and areas not built upon.
Consequently, certain schemes have been completed, and others are in
course of preparation. But it seems necessary to supplement and extend
the powers given by this Act if the present problems of housing are to
be solved.
The ground plan of a cottage can be designed in a hundred different ways.
Its purpose is to provide the exact accommodation required for health and
convenience by the people who will live in it. The conditions necessary
for health are generally accepted, but views on accommodation differ
greatly. In view of this diversity of opinion, the most personal results
would be obtained if each one designed the plan of his or her own dwell-
ing. Each plan would then bear the stamp of individuality, and accord
with particular ideas. But such a course is not a practical proposition, for
technical knowledge in building belongs to few, and is only gained by
14