GREEN VISTAS
Designing a green and well-lit porch for your home
R. RAGHURAMAN
PLANNING THE SPACE: Utility and aesthetics should be combined for the garage
WHEN DESIGNING porches for independent houses, the first factor one needs to address is the space availability. In small houses the porch will have to be reoriented to provide additional built-up space.
A large porch designed to accommodate two or more cars will be definitely over 300 sq. ft. in size. It is practical to locate a bedroom above the porch at a mezzanine level as this will provide additional floor space. Smaller car parks can be converted into sit-outs or a compact study.
Again, you can extend a car park by building a wooden or concrete pergola abutting the roof of the porch. This can be seen as an integral part of the facade and can be left bare or turned green by using a creeper, possibly a flowering one, that can also provide for some shade.
A porch in a larger house built in a plot of about four grounds can afford the luxury of having its roof converted into a terrace garden. Be it a concrete one or a pergola, the architect can design an entirely green porch. This would be more than welcome in designs where the built-up structure comes very close to the front boundary, leaving little room for incorporating a lawn.
A large bungalow can afford the luxury of turning the porch into an independent garden space.
Parking space within the porch can be cordoned off for individual cars by creating a small courtyard within the porch or on its periphery which will double as a view garden for one of the rooms on the ground floor, preferably the living or dining, and a bedroom can overlook it from the first floor. Creating small alcoves with granite tops can double as seating areas for the drivers who would otherwise be found squatting along the drive.
When choosing lighting for porches and drives, what is of importance is security and utility. Elaborate light fittings might not be practical as they tend to gather grime in days, if not hours.
Again, while the lighting should be sufficient to use the porch space even after the headlights are turned off, they must not be so loud that the rays stream into the house.
For the garage, utility is the only consideration. It is best to go in for fluorescent fittings.
Provisions for fitting of focus lights and adequate number of plug points at low level should be provided for carrying out minor repairs in the garage.
The porch lighting needs to combine utility with aesthetics. It would be possible to go in for yellow light option as this may not penetrate the living spaces of the house. One could go in for roof- mounted or wall-mounted varieties depending on the design of the porch. As in gate light fittings, the overriding feature must be easy maintenance.
The size of gate fixtures mounted on gate pillars depends on the size of the gate. The wattage of the bulb would depend on the location of the property. In crowded city streets it would not be advisable to go in for heavy lighting as it is likely to move across the road into your neighbour's territory.
The author is a Chennai-based Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner
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