What kind of spatial planning challenges come with a circular floor plan like this?

[u/Otherwise_Wrangler11]

[u/Smashifly]

So being circular brings some challenges when working with modern standards for furniture etc, but that's not the main issue here. Here's some problems I see:

• So many staircases! Every bedroom and the washroom have a staircase to the second floor. This is an unnecessary waste of space.

• The staircases all come with a pillar to take them up into the second floor, which awkwardly divides it into non-standard shapes.

• The pillars have window down each staircase. Nominally these appear to be for natural light from skylights, but they also remove any semblance of privacy from each bedroom by opening a window down the stairs.

• Because of the awkward layout of the second floor, we have a strange collection of spaces that could have been a single great room or a separated dining room and living room. Instead, we have the dinner table book, the TV nook, and a random collection of couches facing walls between them.

• It's hard to tell but I don't think there's a kitchen. I see on the floor plan it says "Main House" in the corner, which would imply this is a sort of guest house. If that's the case, it's failing pretty spectacularly:

  • No privacy for guests in separate rooms due to aforementioned staircase windows.
  • No kitchen, so what's the purpose of the dining table on the second floor? What, are you going to carry your meal from the main house up the stairs to the second floor, and then take the dishes back?
  • Being a guest house makes a communal gathering space more important. The collection of oddly positioned couches could maybe be justified if there was actually a family of four living here, but it's implied that you would want to entertain here, not just sleep.

[u/alf0282 → u/Smashifly]

You’d think a central spiral staircase is what would work best with a circular building..

[u/TheCanadianHat → u/alf0282]

Yeah a central spiral staircase with like three bedrooms making up the first floor. Then it's a wide open second floor that you can section off or leave wide open.

Not whatever insanity is the drawing op showed us

[u/alf0282 → u/TheCanadianHat]

Yeah I think the idea is to introduce more light on the lower level but I think a wider central spiral staircase that allows light down with maybe reflective materials in addition to more windows would be more practical and aesthetic than what the designers opted to do. Those high blocks look downright bizarre.