The design of the house interior is quite a complex and specific task. It is highly dependent on the existing building standards and the preferences of the house tenants. Accordingly, the designer should clearly understand which elements of the housing design can be transformed according to the requirements of clients, and which ones are required to be performed in a specific form. The main requirements to the design of the living house and the buildings with other purposes are security, comfort, and effective interconnection of the premises.
The characteristics of stairways in the modern buildings should be defined according to the general features of the building itself. Therefore, two main characteristics of the stairways are the width of the stairs and the rise to tread ratio. The classification of the stairways is presented in the research by Neufert and Neufert. According to it, the dwellings with no more than two flats should have the stairways with the following characteristics: stairs width 0.8 m and 17/29 rise to tread ratio (Neufert and Neufert, p.191). For the stairs that are not covered by the regulation requirements, the specific characteristics are the following: stairs width 0.5 m and 21/21 rise to tread ratio (Neufert and Neufert, p.191). For the stairs that are covered by the regulation requirements, the corresponding characteristics are stairs width 1 m and 17/28 rise to tread ratio (Neufert and Neufert, p.191). Other most important characteristics of the stairways that are common for all types of buildings are the length of stairs, which is from 3 to 18 steps, and the landing length that has to be defined according to the concrete formula (Neufert and Neufert, p.191). The specifics of stairways organization from the point of gaining height should correspond to the requirements for each separate stairway in the building (Neufert and Neufert, p.192). The optimal slope degree for the ramps according to the American Disability Act is 30 (Neufert and Neufert, p.192). Importantly, the special attention should be paid to the organization of the stairways that will be used for the emergency evacuation cases.
Standard types of stairways are presented in Appendix 1. Here, the images describe the straight run stairs, 90-degree winding, L landing, 180-degree U landing, and spiral type stairs respectively.
The ramps are designed to guarantee people with movement issues the comfort of transportation. According to the standard requirements, the staircase with the ceiling aperture of 210 cm is allowed for the family houses, and 260 cm is appropriate for other types of buildings (Neufert and Neufert, p.194). As for the stair railings, they should be fitted in steel, wood, or Plexiglas (Neufert and Neufert, p.194). The ramps and railways are supposed to provide complex services of safe transportation for people with prams or wheelchair users. The main types of the ramps and railways are presented in Appendix 2. In this way, it is important to notice that the railways, ramps, and stairways should be organized in the most effective way to guarantee the safe and effective transportation of people across the city and inside the buildings.
The main task of the kitchen is to create the conditions for the realization of four main functions on the territory of the room cooking, storing, washing, and preparation (Neufert and Neufert, p.254). The kitchen territory should correspond to the needs of adequate lightings and sound isolation to provide the most comfortable working conditions for people. At the same time, the design of the kitchen can be premised on the functions of the room according to the familys preferences. Thus, the kitchen can be considered simply as a place of cooking, a dining room, or even the place of important family meetings. According to such specification of kitchen types, it is important to develop the adequate design of the room.
First of all, any kitchen should face north-west or north-east (Neufert and Neufert, p.254) to guarantee adequate natural lighting in the room. At the same time, the room should look out on the garden gate, house door, childrens play area, and the patio (Neufert and Neufert, p.254). The triangle rule of kitchen organization defined the following distribution of room area for specific tasks: preparation 18%, storing 20%, washing 20%, and cooking 18% (Neufert and Neufert, p.254). Also, the kitchen should be situated in tandem with the pantry, dining room, and utility room in the house to provide conditions for effective movement of tenants in the territory of the house.
It is also important to pay attention to the positioning of the elements inside the kitchen. It should allow the tenants to reduce the required amount of walking and guarantee the presence of free movement facilities for one or more people working in the kitchen (Neufert and Neufert, p.254). At the same time, the designer should pay attention to the organization of the kitchen environment in the way to reduce the probability of work in an uncomfortable position. The gradation of kitchen area varies from 5-6 m2 for a small kitchen, 8-10 m2 for the normal kitchen, and 12-14 m2 for the normal kitchen with a dining area (Neufert and Neufert, p.254). The typical schemes of a kitchen are presented in Appendix 3.
The organization of the kitchen fitting should be performed in the way to increase the area for effective work of the tenants. The placement of the fitting should reduce possible inconvenience to the client. The materials of the fitting that are allowed in the kitchen are wood, plywood, chipboard, and plastic (Neufert and Neufert, p.252). Floor and wall-mounted base units are used for the storage of cooking materials of the tenants. Sink units, cookers, and refrigerators are positioned on the kitchen floor to guarantee sustainability of these elements. At the same time, it is highly recommended that the designer positioned the extractor above the cooker to reduce the fouling of the atmosphere in vapors during cooking. In this case, the extractor systems are more favorable than the recirculation systems. The main types of kitchen fitting are presented in Appendix 4.
The bathroom is an important element of the house that can be used for cleaning and health aims. In fact, the bathroom should have a size that will be suitable for the tenants (Neufert and Neufert, p.263) and effectively connected with other rooms in the house. The standard models of bathroom vary in size from 1.15*90 cm to 1.7*2.35 cm. The bathtub area requirements are varying 80-170*75-80 cm. For master bathrooms with shower, the area norms are 2.35*2.5 (Neufert and Neufert, p.263). Moreover, it is important to take into account the clients preferences about the use of the bath or shower cubicles in the bathroom. Though the bath provides better healing opportunities, shower cubicles are usually preferred by the younger tenants of the house. The best location for the bathroom is near the bedroom (Neufert and Neufert, p.265). In addition, the territory of the bathroom can be used for positioning kitchen fittings such as washing machines.
