Staged Construction of a large project

[John Raabe]

Traditional farmsteads and country homes were often built in stages that were composed of simple structures sited in such a way as to work together and provide the flexibility needed to meet changing needs.

The more modern expectation of building the trophy big house is a relatively recent by product of suburban developments and marketing.

Here are two ways of planning a staged construction project using easy to build modules of simple design to produce a larger more integrated compound over time. This file is in PDF and may take a minute or two to download if you are on a dial up connection.


http://www.countryplans.com/Downloads/sitepln-2.PDF

[conohawk]

John,  this is exactly the founding concept for the complex that I am designing and building now on my fifteen acres of south-facing hillside.    

Depending on my free time and resources, I will  complete the family and combined kitchen/bath/mud buildings this summer.  I hope to have the private (sleeping) area closed-in as well before the autumn monsoon season.

My ideas for the connectors (valves) are still poorly formed.   I am continually on the prowl for photos of enclosed walkways, long porches, and any other suitable connecting structures.  

Those of us with small children and a nearby population of cougars and other predators can appreciate the increased safety of the commons.