Circular Plans in Contemporary Housing Architecture

Abstract

Residential buildings on the central plan are not constructed too often, however they are a part of architecture since prehistoric times. The aim of this article was to study already constructed contemporary single-family houses on circular plans (and circle derivatives) to create and systematize the typology of such buildings and to determine the methods for shaping the space of residential interiors as well as to investigate the reasons for using such a building shape. The study was carried out by analysing technical drawings, plans and sections as well as photographic materials. 24 buildings constructed in the last 8 years (after 2010) were examined. During the study, 7 basic types of buildings were defined, distinguished on the basis of the manner of their layout arrangement (1. Circle, 2. Deformed circle, 3. Circle with cut-out, 4. Circle with add-on, 5. Multiple circles, 6. Negative, 7. Arc, and also 4 ways of organizing the living space (O Orthogonal, R Radial, C Circle in circle, NP No partition). The following features of residential buildings on circular plans were noticed: most of the examined buildings are houses with a large living area, mostly located within the landscape or suburban area with low development density, the main reasons for using the plans in the form of a circle in the examined cases were: maximum outdoor view, fitting the building in the surrounding landscape and saving energy.