U-Shaped House Plans

U-shaped house plans provide a unique opportunity in the design of traditional and modern house plans alike. U-shaped house plans create a central courtyard that can be used as a grand outdoor space or the location of a pool accessible from many points within the house. A major benefit of the design of the U-shaped house plan is the ability to get natural light to majority the spaces from multiple sides. A major distinguishing factor between a poorly designed house and a well-designed house, such as those featured on base plans, is how the design incorporates natural light into the interior spaces throughout the day. A well-designed home will incorporate windows to bring in natural light to locate them in such a way that heat from the sun during the summer is minimized. In warm climates this means placing large expanses of glass on the north elevation of the house while shading windows located on the south side.

Ranch style homes have a tradition of taking on a U-shaped house plan. The charm of these structures comes from the simplicity of their forms combined to create a much larger house. The simplicity of the U-shaped translates well into modern house designs and was thoroughly studied by modern architects in both America and Europe.

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U-Shaped House Plans Benefits

• Natural light from multiple sides
• Creation of outdoor ‘rooms’
• Separation of public and private zones
• Optimal use of site

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Architect Richard Neutra incorporated elements of a U-shaped house plan into his historic modern design, the Kaufmann house. The layout of the Kaufmann house separates various programmatic elements from each other creating a series of courtyards and outdoor rooms. The effect of this is quite dramatic as it becomes hard to distinguish between indoor and outdoor spaces. That is the ultimate goal of the U-shaped house plan as the exterior spaces have the ability to flow seamlessly between interior and exterior. All house plan designs featured on base plans incorporate years of study and learning from historic and modern architects alike. The home designs are thoughtful and incorporate elements that are elegant, luxurious and easy to construct. The most important thing for a U-shaped house plan is not the expense of the finished materials but the flow of the house, access to the outdoors, spatial relationships between rooms and the overall volume of the structures.

Our U-shaped house plan designs feature a strong open concept between kitchen and living room spaces. The social area, being the public areas the house – living room, kitchen, dining room, visually flow to the exterior with operable doors and windows to blur the line between inside and outside. It is important to have key exit materials or colors read through from interior to exterior to really blur the perception of space. U-shaped house plans are perfect for this technique as the wings of the house which create the U-shape have the potential to have the exterior siding material run through the glass to the interior of the house at the bottom of the U in the U-shaped house plans. The importance we place on design allows your U-shaped house to become more than just a place to live, it becomes your respite from the world. These house designs blend function, form, design and constructibility in a cohesive way to provide you the best home possible.

The major limitation of U-shaped home plans is the size of the overall footprint the design. This becomes an issue on small lots as lot dimensions and setback requirements dictated by the local government keep a U-shaped house plan from being feasible. Because of the we have a house plan for narrow lots available as well which incorporates our favorite features of U-shaped house plans in a way that reduces the overall width of the structure while maintaining a great design, layout and use of natural light in a reduced floorplan footprint.