Simple design is the key to a long life building. I am going to discuss the five advantages of the simple design.
①Less Chances of Waterleaking As building envelop design becomes more complicated, the risk of failure in weathertightness increases so simple home design provide less chances of waterleaking. For example, E2 Risk Matrix, which is a table provided by MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT and allows the calculation of a risk score for weathertightness failure by the allocation and summing of scores for a range of design and location factors applying to a specific building design, states that complicated design has much higher risk score than simple design. The simple design in Figure 1 has only the total risk score of 2 while the complicated design in Figure 2 has the total score of 22.
(Figure 1: Simple home design. Adapted from “Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods: E2 External Moisture; MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT ”)
(Table 1: Adapted from “Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods: E2 External Moisture; MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT ”)
(Figure 2: Complicated Home Design. Adapted from “Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods: E2 External Moisture; MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT ”)
(Table 2: Adapted from “Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods: E2 External Moisture; MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT ”)
②Easy to fix, easy to maintain Simply designed houses are easy to maintain. It is easier to find a problem that needs to be fixed than complicated building and easier to fix the problem so less maintenance cost is expected.
③Easy to renovate in the future Complicated design requires more structural element such as beams, load bearing walls and bracing. This is a potential obstacle to future renovation such as adding a bedroom or a bathroom. There are many unexpected events happen in the future so flexibility for future renovation should be considered.
④Simple design never gets outdated
There are many new homes nowadays in big cities with sharp and complicated design feature that attract lots of new home buyers. However, these design future coulc be outdated in 10-20 years of time while simple home design never gets old (Figure 3).
(Figure 3: Simple design does not get outdated)
⑤Strong against wind and earthquake Simple design tends to be stronger against wind and earthquake because the building structure is balanced to withstand with these forces. However, the complicated building structure sometimes has a week point where external force is concentrated on, leading to structure failure.
Figure 4 &5. Example of Simple Design (Designed and Built By Japan Homes in 2018)
When designing a new home the owner’s decision for the design is very important. Please consider these points above and work together with your designer to achieve a simple and beautiful home that will last over generations.