Cosy Residential Houses: Outdoors is Yours:-Alfrescos and Balconies.

Cosy Residential Houses: Outdoors is Yours:-Alfrescos and Balconies.

Alfresco

An Alfresco is a room that is within the main house but is completely open on more than 1 side. This room is a buffer zone between the living room and the outside. In this room, a fireplace can be fitted in so that people can get warmth during cold nights.
An alfresco creates a very cosy place to relax that is outdoor and yet in close proximity to the living room and also protected from the elements of weather.
For outdoor lovers, this is a very cost-effective architectural design inclusion that effectively brings the outdoors into your house while still maintaining privacy.
A good example is the design of a residential house in Kugeria, near Ridgeways, Kiambu below:

From Residential House,Kugeria, near Ridgeways,Kiambu

Balconies.

These are spaces designed to project or indent from a room that is above ground level. Balconies have a wall that is 1.2 meters high which can also be made of steel grilles.
Balconies offer perfect panoramic views and are designed to capture the best views from a house.
These do not offer a very high privacy level so for the extroverts, this is a must-have feature for your house.
Balconies are a great place to relax as you watch the outdoors. Mot tourist class hotels especially the ones located in scenic places such as along Indian Ocean, Game reserves such as Maasai Mara, this is a must-have feature since due to the position above ground level, and this gives a very good view point that is desirable to relax.

Human Conditioning.

Human beings are at some point conditioned like wild animals in their best positions to relax after a hard days work. After a good kill, most canines will climb atop the nearest tree in solitude and rest. From this high point, they are sure to be safe from any attacks and can also survey their surroundings to keep abreast with the latest developments. The same way, humans feel secure and are also able to monitor their surroundings when perched above ground level. This subconscious attraction to high view points is what makes balconies a very desirable feature.
In the early days, castles were positioned at the highest pint due to the same reason.
The direct opposite of these spaces is the basements which are designed for very different reasons altogether. .

Recreational Facilities.

A good example of this is the design of Nomad Hotel in Kitengela by www.a4architect.com.

From Hotel Nomad, Kitengela

The first floor lounge area has a long balcony on all three sides. The balcony has been designed to give customers the desired scenic views and sub-consciously attracts more people due to the high quality of space. On any given day, there will be more people on the first floor than the ground floor. These people will almost certainly be sitting along the balcony. This design feature has resulted in the Nomad Hotel, Kitengela attracting very many customers resulting in good profits.
The same concept also works for residential houses.

Frank Gichuhi.
www.a4architect.com
+254 721 410684