New Compact House Designs: 27 Award-Winning Plans, 1,250 Square Feet or Less

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Houses of the future will be smaller, more energy-efficient, and better suited to their environments. And intelligent design solutions can help expand the scope and livability of a compact house, making it elegant as well as practical.

In 1990, Storey Communications sponsored the Compact House Design Competition, a juried contest open to architects, designers, and architecture students. From the numerous entries that were received from all over North America, professional architects Don Metz and Peter Woerner selected the best and most innovative designs to include in New Compact House Designs. Although the top three designs received cash awards, all 27 of the designs in this book are winners -- and each design illustrates a classic or contemporary approach to living gracefully in a small house.

The basic guidelines were clear: design a single-family house with a minimum of two bedrooms whose gross floor area does not exceed 1,250 square feet. Aside from these stipulations, almost anything went, and the broad spectrum of designs included in this book reflects the geographical and stylistic diversity of the winning entries -- from a classic New England farmhouse to a sophisticated postmodern design, from a New Mexican desert hacienda to a fanciful house with Elizabethan overtones.

The perfect idea book for current and future homeowners, New Compact House Designs will also appeal to anyone interested in architectural design. Each entry included in the book features a site drawing, floor plans, elevation and section drawings, judges' comments, and a complete description of the project. Addresses for architects and designers are also provided for readers interested in obtaining scale plans or more information on any particular house.