FARM HOUSE DESIGN

Farm house plans are as varied as the regional farms they once presided over, but usually include
gabled roofs and generous porches at front or back or as wrap-around verandas. Farmhouse floor
plans are often organized around a spacious eat-in kitchen. Farmhouse floor plans are similar to
Country plans in their emphasis on woodsy informality. Farmhouse style plans derive from
practical, functional homes often built by the owners.

HISTORY

The design of the farmhouse -- also called folk houses -- was initially influenced by
geography. The style evolved from the characteristics of the place, people, climate and materials
available in the particular region where it was located. The earliest homes that we can call true
farmhouses were those built by early colonial families of the 1700s. The owners would likely
have built the homes themselves, as opposed to hiring an architect to do the job. Architects were
for the wealthy, and skilled labor was either limited or unaffordable.

Once the railroads could travel cross-country by the mid-19th century, it became possible for
materials to be transported from elsewhere. That opened the door for the farmhouse to take on
many different personalities.

Houses that once may have been built out of mud, stone or logs could now be built with lumber,
brick and quarried stone. Because people with common backgrounds settled together, German
immigrants, for one, might have masonry skills. So the houses in that area would have more
brick than in other areas. The farmhouse was a very practical style.

Another interesting characteristic that developed because of this new accessibility to materials is
that the wealthier landowner often adopted styling that was popular at the time. This is why
youll see such homes listed with double monikers. Two of those styles, many of them built in
the mid- to late-1800s and early 1900s, can still be found mostly along the East Coast and
throughout the Midwest. An early 1900s farmhouse, for example, sporting a long wraparound
porch with Queen Anne posts and railings is referred to as a Queen Anne farmhouse. One with
the Greek columns popular in the mid-1800s might be known as a Greek Revival farmhouse.

By then, pattern books were available, and landowners could pick a style they liked and buy the
materials to build it. The process was what we now call eclectic; it was mix and match all the
way, even with color.

The commonality was this: The farmhouse was always unpretentious, straightforward and
functional.
KEY ELEMENTS
Rural location. Farmhouses were, by definition, located on agricultural land and were designed
to function around a farming lifestyle.

Functional porches. Porches were a transitional space in a farmhouse. Dad and the kids could
leave their muddy boots outside so the wooden floors inside stayed clean.

Formal and informal spaces. The front of the house served as the formal area, and a large
kitchen and the staircase to the bedrooms were housed in the back.

CASE STUDIES

Krupachaya farm house

Architects : Q Design

Location Maharashtra

Area : 175.4m2

A project on the banks of Walki river,

spreading over a land of 2.5 acres located at
village kule, tal mulshi , around 35 km on
the western side of Pune city. The site was
surrounded by fertile farmland with paddy
fields , coconut and mango plantations. The
architects had to maintain the footprint of the existing farm house built on 142sq.m.

-interaction between the built form and it's environment is considered.

-Client is a resident of Sadashiv Peth, Pune and inherits a typical Peth culture, which has
houses on small plot widths, causing vertical distribution of spaces. Thus, the foremost
requirement was of a multidimensional space, at one level, where the family can interact come
together, amidst nature.

-Concept of Konkan architecture

-red laterite stone as the main building material

-tree at the centre as the main element of the design

-An open space in the form of a Kund, with stepped seating was designed keeping the Mango
tree at its centre. The central Kund is surrounded by habitable spaces. Living room on northern
side, kitchen and dining on southern side and bed on western side separated by a passage
connecting living and kitchen. The living room is buffered on eastern and western side by large
verandahs (padwi).

tree as the central element of the

design.

INTERIOR
SITE PLAN
FLOOR PLAN
BRICK HOUSE

Architects : i studio architecture

Location : Maharashtra

Area : 2500ft2

-constructed at a rural settlement

-farmhouse set within hills and farms.

-The organic form emerges from the ground and flows into the skyline, following curved dips
and peaks.

-flow of spaces

-no defined spaces

-Each space flows into another along curved lines, leading into a seamless space held by the
central courtyard.

-play of light and shadows

-Zoning of activities responding to the climatic conditions and views was achieved with the use
of levels leading to a single yet distinct living room, kitchen and dining. South-west position of
first floor bedroom provides shade to courtyard and keeps water body cool.

-adapted from laurie baker style-rat trap bond,filler slab,jalli walls

INTERIOR
FLOOR PLAN
PANORAMA HOUSE

Architects : Ajay sonar

Location : Maharashtra

Area : 400sqm

-The Panorama house is set on the backwaters of the Gangapur Dam in Nasik. The backwater is
framed by the beautiful Sahyadri mountain ranges that help render the entire site like an idyllic
dream.

-minimalistic approach

-emphasis on view

-fluid space

-inspired from the Mies van der rohe style

-The concrete shell and the steel columns are arranged in a manner that the concrete shell
cantilevers on all four sides. A screen of full height sliding window panels run in between
columns and help compose the view even further.

-nature as an element in the design

INTERIOR
SITE PLAN
FLOOR PLAN