Contemporary home design can be simply defined as the next step in 20th century modern home design style with the latest twist. It is challenging to define contemporary home design without a discussion of modern home design first. Modern home design was introduced in the early 20th century and has evolved into what many call contemporary home design. Contemporary design is generally considered a “now” design theme or stated differently, the most trending design features in architectural design for any design theme.
Modern Home Design
Modern home design was introduced to break away from traditional styles of architecture like Colonial, Victorian and European designs. As the industrial revolution and technology exploded with new methods and materials, architects like Frank Gehry and Franklin Lloyd Wright explored new design boundaries.
Modern home design is known for the use of such materials as glass, steel and concrete. Its trade mark is making the exterior an extension of the interior. This is achieved by creating interior open room spaces with vast amounts of glass that allow the interior floor plan to be flooded with natural light.
Another iconic feature of modern home design is the horizontal shapes and form of the homes structure. Modern home design is characterized through its geometric shape and use of natural materials such as stone and exotic timbers. The design is often appointed with both symmetrical and asymmetrical design features.
Modern design is best known for its natural harmony with nature and the surrounding enviroment. The use of natural materials and low profile elevations attribute to the elevations blending with the surroundings. With common design features like clean roof lines and cantilevers, modern design stands out from all other traditional styles of homes.
Contemporary Home Design
As mentioned previously contemporary design has multiple implications. On one hand, contemporary home design is based upon many of the general principles of floor plan openness developed during the modern design era. Although contemporary design also is defined by the design features of the what’s hot in architectural design. Many of the classical home design features incorporate contemporary design elements into their home design ideas. Regardless of the influence of architectural style, the most common factor that motivates architects is to design a structure distinctively different then what is traditionally expected.
One of the more current contemporary design features is the use of non conventional freeform architectural design. The design features avoid the traditional vertical and horizontal structural shapes. These free-form shapes are typically captured in extensive curved lines and monumental profiles, which define cube or block shapes. The contemporary design style is most frequently found in cultural center architecture projects.
Contemporary home design typically features two distinctive elements borrowed from modern design. The openness of floor plans and the use of vast amounts of glass has become very popular design elements in many architectural home styles. Another distinctive element of contemporary design is a feeling of volume in the space. Traditional architecture creates space concepts in cube type design form, where as contemporary design captures the imagination through creative irregular space and shapes.
Another descriptive feature of contemporary design is the use of new advanced technological materials for both interior and exterior profiles. These include such items as a mixture of materials like composite metals and synthetic stone. The use of sustainable materials is both appealing to fans of this architectural style and socially desirable.
Many of the recent trends that are developing with contemporary home design ginclude many of the following features;
Interiors;
- Open Floor Plans
- Tons of Natural Light
- Natural & Recycled Materials
- Energy Efficient Systems
Exteriors;
- Large Walls of Glass
- Clearstory Glass
- Natural & Recycled Materials
- Geometric Elevation Design Form
- Asymmetrical Elevation Profiles
Common Characteristics of Contemporary Design
Contemporary design also has common social concerns at the center of the design themes. Some of the more popular design goals are building with sustainability in mind, developing an energy efficient envelope for the structure and employing cost effective building practices through minimalistic design methods. These practices have also been employed by other architectural styles in the past several decades.
- Sustainable Materials
The home building industry places a tax on our natural resources like trees, stone and relevant minerals. As our natural resources continue to be eventually depleted, a movement in the industry is taking place to use man made and fast harvesting natural materials as primary building materials. The goal behind sustainable materials is to provide a social and economical solution to exhausting natural resources.
The use of recycled materials also has its place in sustainability construction practices. Materials being environmentally friendly is a large part of the sustainability movement. The social awareness of preserving resources for future generations is a large contributing factor of the just motivations that drive this practice.
- Energy Efficient Building
Energy efficient construction is not only a sustainable building practice but has become the legal responsibility of builders mandated by the Department of Energy. The federal government has passed legislation that translates to building standards and performance codes. These codes apply to building standards that effect electricity consumption and the preservation of our fossil fuels.
Examples of these things are lighting, air conditioning, kitchen appliances, wall and ceiling insulation. The standards and practices of energy efficiency continue to increase every several years. These standards and codes effect all building products that come in contact with exterior conditions. This includes building products such as windows, doors and roofing applications.
One of the growing energy efficient methods that has gain momentum is the use of solar panel systems. State and federal laws have changed over the last 10 years that have made the economics for home based solar systems more financial attractive. The introduction of net metering allows owners to buy and sell energy at the same price point.
- Minimalism
The term minimalistic in architectural design that involves the use of simple design elements, without decoration. Common characteristics of minimalistic architecture include simple pure geometric form with common materials in a neat orderly presentation. Modern design themes are ideal for a base design style due to its cubical design shape, which is very efficient to build.
Contemporary design will always have its place in the architectural design world. Some of the most iconic architectural designs throughout the world have been based upon contemporary design principles.
