Courtyard versus Bar Block on a Hostel Plot
An 18 m wide × 30 m deep plot faces a 9 m road on its south edge. Neighbours are 12 m high on the east and west and 15 m high on the north. A girls' hostel for 60 beds is proposed, with a programme of 1,350 m², a maximum ground coverage of 45%, a height limit of 15 m, and setbacks of 3 m front, 3 m sides and 4 m rear. Summer breezes come from the south-west; the road facade reads about 65 dB. Scheme A is a six-storey bar along the north boundary with a south courtyard. Scheme B is an L-shaped block along the west and north boundaries with a south-east courtyard. The client wants daylight in all rooms, a quiet outdoor space, and a clear entrance from the road.
1. Calculate the maximum permissible footprint and the minimum footprint needed to house the 1,350 m² programme in six floors. Does the scheme fit?
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Buildable rectangle after setbacks: width = 18 − 3 − 3 = 12 m; depth = 30 − 3 − 4 = 23 m; area = 276 m². Coverage cap = 0.45 × (18 × 30) = 0.45 × 540 = 243 m², so the cap governs. Minimum footprint for 1,350 m² over six floors = 1,350 / 6 = 225 m². Since 225 < 243, the programme fits, but the margin is only 18 m²; after walls, lifts and stairs the scheme is tight and may need a basement or a seventh floor, which the 15 m limit probably rules out at 2.5 m floor-to-floor.
2. Compare Schemes A and B for daylight and summer breeze, and explain which courtyard is quieter.
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Scheme A puts the bar on the north edge, so its south facade faces the courtyard and receives good daylight; the south courtyard is also sunny and the south-west breeze can cross it into the rooms if openings are on that side. The penalty is road noise. Scheme B puts wings on the west and north; the west wing shades the courtyard in the afternoon and blocks part of the south-west breeze, while the courtyard still opens to the noisy road. Neither gives a quiet courtyard because both open south. Scheme A is the better daylight/breeze scheme; quietness needs a separate barrier.
3. Give a massing recommendation with dimensions and explain the trade-off you are accepting.
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Use Scheme A but insert a 1.5 m high landscape berm plus a 3 m high cycle/store wall along the south setback, with a 6 m wide entrance gap on the axis. Keep the bar 12 m wide and about 20 m long (240 m²), leaving an 8 m deep south courtyard. Put the stair and wet cores on the west party wall to buffer heat and free the south facade. Plant two canopy trees at the courtyard's south-west corner to filter noise and summer sun without blocking winter sun. This accepts a slightly noisier courtyard than a north courtyard but preserves daylight and breeze.