House design · Write the brief and read the climate · design-1

Write the design brief and space programme

The brief is a written list of who will live in the house, what rooms they need, how big each room is and how the house may grow. Every later design, power, water and budget decision is checked against it, so write it before anyone draws a plan.

How

List every occupant now and in 10 to 20 years (children growing up, older parents moving in, guests, workers).
For each room write its use, rough floor area, which hours it is used and whether it must be heated or cooled. Keep bedrooms, living, kitchen, bathrooms and service rooms on separate lines.
Add the off-grid service spaces most first-time owners forget: battery and inverter room, water tank or pump room, pantry or cool store, mudroom, laundry and workshop (see design-10).
List the hazards for your site (wind, earthquake, flood, wildfire) from site-3 and design-24. The brief should state which ones the structure must resist.
Safe room or storm shelter: if you want one, complete secure-1 to secure-4 now. Its slab, anchors and walls must be designed before the foundations in design-14.
Group rooms into zones: day living, night sleeping, wet rooms and service rooms. This grouping drives orientation in design-4.
Total the conditioned floor area and keep it as small as the household genuinely needs, because every square metre adds envelope, heat loss and battery load.
Write a one-line priority order, for example: comfort without fuel first, then low maintenance, then build cost, so trade-offs later are quick.

Do these first

site-1

Sources

Passive design. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
Orientation. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
Passive heating. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11

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