7. Locate Permanent Architectural Elements
Every house and apartment has various architectural elements that either function as structural components of the building or serve as a decorative and/or historical part of the home. These range from period moldings and windows to bearing walls that support upper floors. Its important to locate and identify these elements so that you can make informed decisions about their future use or removal. As discussed earlier, moving a wall or doorways after construction starts can have a serious impact on your budget and schedule. Take the time now to identify these architectural elements now on paper before you consider moving or using them in your design. In Chapter Six we’ll be looking at using these elements in your final design to enhance your space, maintain architectural integrity with the rest of the home and to determine how your new kitchen will flow within the traffic patterns of the house.
Bearing Walls
Removing and relocating walls and widening openings in walls are often major aspects of both kitchen design and construction. The freedom to change the actual size and shape of the space you’re working with can make the difference between a cosmetic refinishing of an existing kitchen and a truly functional improvement. While budget is a significant factor in making these kinds of choices, this is an area where even a basic kitchen can be upgraded without breaking the bank, as long as you plan ahead and design carefully to make the most out of your changes.
Before you can exercise freedom of choice architecturally, you have to learn what exists now and how it interacts with the rest of the house. Sometimes removing a wall involves nothing more than careful demolition, other times it involves re-engineering the building’s structure to ensure integrity and safety. It’s important to understand that just because a wall is a structural or ‘bearing’ wall, it doesn’t mean it is immovable. Builders move all kinds of walls all the time and architects and engineers have devised many ways to compensate.
This is a good time to have a designer or contractor take a look at your space and help you determine which structural elements can be easily moved and which require more planning. With their help, you can mark the non-bearing walls on your plan and identify any important considerations of the other walls such as load and span that will effect the decision to move or remove them. Outside walls are always structural unless there is some kind of other structure, such as a porch, that supports the upper part of the house.
Windows And Doors
Perhaps the most common architectural obstacles to good kitchen design are doors and windows, especially in older homes. Because the kitchen really was the hub of these houses, it is also a place where numerous entries and passages converge, often resulting in a room with one or more doors in every wall. This preponderance of openings can restrict your ability to create continuous work space, develop work triangles and cause a confusing elevation of cabinetry, openings and appliances.
Windows present a similar problem and an opportunity from a design standpoint. Older homes often have windows located too low on a wall to put a cabinet and counter in front of them, requiring you to raise them or cover them up, a common sight in remodeled kitchens. moving and adding windows offers the opportunity to add light, frame views, improve air flow and enhance the overall ambiance of the kitchen. the price however is significant because windows ca be expensive and there is considerable carpentry involved in both framing and trimming them out. This may outweighed somewhat by the increased energy efficiency and improved operation of modern windows.
On your sketch, add in windows and doors, add in connecting rooms and outdoor areas and consider how moving, adding or removing them might change the space for the better. You can increase both usable space and the spatial feeling of a room by using bays or a rectangular bump-out with windows on three sides. Doorways can be widened and opened up to the ceiling to make a connecting space more open and to add a sense of spaciousness to a room.
