Streets, home design: Residential architects.

Streets

STREETS AND COMMUNITIES

When you choose a home you are also choosing a street and a community. A street is more than a collection of buildings and trees. Well-designed and cared-for streets encourage connected, inclusive, supportive and safe communities.

A good community consists of diverse elements, which blend into a vibrant, functional and well connected whole. Diversity of age, ethnicity and means are all essential ingredients. In the same way, a good street consists of houses that have their own character but fit together in a complementary, respectful way. A good street improves quality of life in numerous ways:

* Promotes community interaction.
* Provides a safe environment.
* Enhances the character and comfort of the neighbourhood.
* Encourages people to walk for short trips.
* Increases property demand and resale value.

How to enhance the quality of your street:

Understand the character of your local neighbourhood and design your home or addition sympathetically.
Face houses towards streets, parks and open space to improve visual access and security. This needs to be balanced with good orientation for passive heating and cooling.
Set garages and carports away from the house frontage to minimise their visual impact.
Limit the width of driveways and use shared driveways where possible.
Plant trees to enhance the quality of the street.
Avoid high walls and hedges on the street boundary as they isolate the home from the neighbourhood.
Be a good neighbour and respect your neighbours privacy, sunlight and views.

COMMUNITY, STREETSCAPE & PLANNING

When designing a new home or addition there are a number of ways to contribute to an improved community identity.

Understand the character of your local area, and design your home or addition sympathetically. Your home should look like it belongs in the neighbourhood. Use characteristic attributes (for example building height, street setback, form and materials) to compose your innovative design solutions.
Face houses towards streets, parks and open spaces to allow improved surveillance and access. This encourages better use of public space, promoting safety and community spirit. The orientation of the house should still account for solar access considerations and compromises may be necessary, particularly on west facing blocks.
Limit the width of driveways and share them where possible. This allows more of the street frontage to be landscaped and provides a better environment for pedestrians.
Present the house rather than the garage to the street. Generally, set garages and carports beyond the house frontage to minimise their visual impact. Where possible, use secondary streets or rear lanes for car access. This allows more landscaping at the street frontage and establishes a direct visual connection between the house and the street for security.
Plant trees to enhance the quality of the street. Good tree cover increases property values and provides improved shade, habitat, windbreaks, air quality and appearance.
Avoid high walls and hedges on the front boundary as they isolate the home from the neighbourhood. They create a perception of isolation and impede observation of the street.
Accommodate your neighbour's field of view. Utilise appropriate building setbacks and building height to retain your neighbour's view while maximising your own.

What to Look For In a Street

Your street should be a place where neighbors meet and children can play.
The houses should be unique but no one home should dominate the street or stand out.
Trees planted along the boulevard will make the street unique and provide shade and colour.
Landscaping on individual properties that fits in with the street planting helps to connect the neighborhood.
The street itself should not be wider than is necessary to accomodate the local traffic.
As street that encourages foot and bike traffic discourages speeding.
Fences at the front of the properties should be consisitent in height and style.
Surfaces that absorb rainwater are desirable over hard surfaces that create more severe runoff.
Clear sight lines between house entrances and the street, providing visual surveillance of the street to maximise neighbourhood safety.
Underground services, as this removes unsightly power lines and does not impede street tree growth.

STREETSCAPE'S VALUE

Pleasant, well planned streetscapes raise property values and demand for homes in the area.
The street should encourage interaction between the residence and provide a feeling of community. Non desirable behavior is discouraged when people feel a sense of belonging.
Sidewalks and landscaping invite pedestrian traffic and use by residents which results in increased security.
It is advisable to have one of the main living areas with a passive view overlooking the street to disourage crime.

Good house design allows individuality without detracting from the character of the street or the amenity of neighbours

Visit your local council for guidelines specific to your area. Council planners understand the features that give a precinct its individual character and are trained to help you find solutions that meet your needs without destroying that character.

Solutions include:

Complementary materials and colours.
Roof pitch to maintain consistency with the neighbouring houses.
Bulk, form and height sympathetic to the character of the street
Passive visual surveillance to discourage crime. Provide outlook over the street and public space from at least one room other than a bathroom or bedroom.
Consistent street fencing, which does not isolate the house from the street. New fences and walls should balance privacy requirements with the need for a visual connection with the street.
Low walls to integrate mail boxes and shield bins and recycling facilities from the street.
Landscaping to enhance the quality of the streetscape. Plants can be used to screen or direct views, provide shade, clean the air and give visual identity to a street.
Garden planting which considers the rhythm and proportion of existing street planting (intervals between trees, height and spread). Plant fewer big trees rather than many small trees.
Planting species that won't damage footpaths, structures or drainage or invade adjacent bushland.
Planting native species which require less water and provide a habitat for native animals. Many local councils provide lists of local indigenous plant species.

Streetscape is the term given to the collective appearance of all buildings, footpaths and gardens along a street.

The streetscape is the visual identity of a neighbourhood and plays an important role in facilitating interaction between residents and creating a community.