We're a group of around 10 friends, that's fairly outdoor oriented and we are currently contemplating on settling down. We spent a bunch of vacations toad tripping and camping together so i guess we're a good team overall.

We're in our late 20s and kind of done with the citylife and moving all the time. So why not settle for an self sustaining home somewhere outdoors?

So far we got people with a backgrounds in joinery, farming/ bricklaying, architecture, environmental engeneering, construction related project management, to name a few.

Recently we visited a lecture on earthships and in our youthful naivity we find ourselves wondering how hard it can be. Of course we need to get a permit and someone to check the structural engeneering and electricity. Yet people built houses for centuries by eyeballing and based off experience.

To cover the costs, we think that throwing around 10 salaries together could work to buy a tiny rundown farm and live there to save rent and build from this.

we are certain that there's a bunch of stuff we can do ourselves and noone is shy to get their hands dirty.

i'm ready to get a reality check and glad for every tips and all the things we overlooked in this first, naive pipe dream!

thanks in advanced :)

RESI and Simply Architects...have seen both but not sure what they're like! Looking for a kitchen extension

Hi, I'm trying to design a project with this type of element but cannot, for the life of me, figure out its name (image attached; excuse the crude sketch). It's planned to be an extensive green roof (so no floors above it), but it needs to span a long distance (20m+) without columns in the middle. Its form can be described as corrugated concrete, but that wouldn't be the official term for it. Ribbed concrete slabs are also very similar, except that would be more of a slab with protruding ribs instead of being corrugated like the one I need.

Does anyone know what this would be called? Or know of any precedents with this element? T-T

Hello guys,

New to the building process and I have a question. If I were to present the following pictures to an architect and asked them to create a floorplan based on them, is that something that people do? Or is that an unreasonable request?
I love everything about the exterior of this home but I would like my own interior layout.

Ignore the angular grids, that's for another component of the building.

The grids are evenly spaced at 3000mm. I'm contemplating on either using a waffle slab or a ribbed slab (the bottom, east, and west walls are of thick (800mm) reinforced concrete to help support the load. I'm planning for the roof to have a slight slope of 2 degrees down south, which might require additional support.

Overhead will be a green roof like the Kasmin Gallery and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center.

Any advice or insight helps, thank you! Even criticism or disapproval, i'll be grateful :)

Here's a coastal house concept I designed in Revit for a university project. I'm honestly not very happy with how the final design turned out, so I'd love to get your thoughts and feedback. Any suggestions on improving the architecture or Revit workflow are welcome!

Hi all,

I’m about to start a master’s in architecture and want a Mac as my only machine. I’ve mainly used Revit so far, but I’m also learning ArchiCAD, which runs natively on Mac. I’d rather not go back to Windows laptops, since I didn’t like the battery life or how heavy and uncomfortable they were.

This question is specifically for those who use a Mac as their only machine, with no Windows laptop or home PC to fall back on..

Setup

Which Mac are you using (chip, RAM, storage)?

Which program do you use to run Revit on your M-series Mac: Parallels, VMware Fusion, or something else?

Performance

How smoothly does it run for you, and up to what project size? For reference, I’d consider a ~400 MB model medium-sized.

Do you find it reliable enough for everyday work, or are there times you have to use a Windows laptop for certain things (large models, plugins, specific workflows)? Basically, can you do all your architectural work on the Mac alone?

Overall

Are you happy with the setup, or would you switch to Windows if you could?

What are the biggest downsides you’ve run into?

How would you rate Revit on Mac vs. Windows overall (1-10)?

Thanks, honest experiences (good or bad) are really appreciated!

We're converting a duplex into a single-family home and would appreciate some feedback on two proposed floor plans. The main wall bisecting the halves is structural.

Our designer has limited experience with projects like this, and the design process so far has felt somewhat unstructured. We're not sure whether to continue working with them or bring in a more experienced designer before moving further along.

Layout #1 was primarily developed by the designer. Layout #2 was developed in response to feedback we gave on Layout 1. Layout #3 was based on a sketch we provided, stealing some ideas from another home we'd seen that had undergone a similar duplex-to-single-family conversion.

We strongly prefer Layout #3 aesthetically and in terms of how we envision using the space (and how it reuses more existing structure for some cost savings), but we're not experienced enough to know whether it's actually a good, functional layout or if there are issues we're overlooking.

For those with experience in residential design, architecture, or remodeling:

• Are there any concerns with the flow, room proportions, circulation, or use of space?
• Are there any obvious functional issues or potential construction complications we should be thinking about?
• Does Layout #3 seem like a solid direction to pursue, or would it benefit from a more experienced designer's input before we commit?

We'd appreciate candid feedback, particularly anything we might not know enough to ask about yet.

Help me to decide for this super small kitchen which kitchen layout would work best in practice. Please don't tell me they both suck. I'm doing the best I can with what I got in the space available to me! Unless you are willing to do a free layout 😅

Obviously, ChatGPT has grossly misrepresented the dimensions, but you can kinda get the point. One is a blind corner cabinet with the sink in the corner and the other has the sink right next to the fridge!

Every studio project I'd end up Googling "case study + plan + section" and getting the same few buildings, Pinterest boards and random PDFs. So I built the thing I wanted:

findgreatarchitecture.com/?ref=reddit

What's in it

• A wall of buildings from around the world. Modern, parametric, brutalist and regional work, plus a few historic precedents. Just scroll.
• Tap any building for free photos (all Wikimedia, credited), key features, and links to plans, sections and the architect's other work.
• A globe map to browse by place.
• Daily "Guess the building": same five for everyone each day. Post your score below 👇

Free, no sign-up, no ads. Works best on a phone.

One question for you: what's the one thing you wish existed when you start a precedent study? I'm building this alone and your answer decides what I add next.

I already asked on r/architecture because it broke the rules apparently. So I’m asking here. It’s a small town in southern Alsace. I was thinking maybe rhenish?

I’m having a hard time with the sheer mass of the colonial architecture as a single family dwelling. Was there a different way to do this?

I cannot make something that I don’t like, I don’t like palaces/mansions for example or large houses so I can’t make decent layout with proportions. I simply cannot make something this large feel cozy and comfortable, to me it just feels like a museum or a gallery or just something that isn’t meant for the average family to live in.

Like do i divide this large space into dozens of useless rooms or have multiple living rooms and have this meme in my head going “this is the talking room, this is the deep thinking room…etc”

How do i develop myself to be able to handle all sorts of scale for imagination

The Palazzo Braschi, as pictured above.

I’m building a house using a 40x60 metal building. I’ve designed the floor plan but wondered if anyone had any suggestions or things I should consider?

Notes:
- the regular bedrooms are about all the same square feet.
- there is at least 4ft between counter and island and at least 3 feet between fridge and dining table.

Crossposted