Single Aspect Blog

I’ve recently been alerted to the fact that the Dublin government has downgraded its housing standards in the revised Dublin City Development plan 2016-2022

and also in the Design standards for new apartments 2015

I was looking through the blog statistics and found a search from Australia for apartments with dual aspects which prompted me to click the search term which led me to this newspaper article Proposal to relax minimum apartment standards about the Dublin Governments revised city centre apartment standards.

Some history

My blog started out six years ago quoting Alex Ely writing about the deficiencies of single aspect flats and the loss of the Parker Morris standards.

https://www.singleaspect.org.uk/?p=8

I found out that he’d also given a talk in Dublin highlighting all the important elements in a successful urban development. I found this online Dublin City Development plan 2011-2017 which was neatly summarised and celebrated in an article by Metropolitan Workshop in the AJ here -> How to make room for housing an article that includes this table showing a column for dual aspect you don’t often see in written housing standards.

Click image for full details

I was then, and even now remain thrilled that a Government if not within the UK but just beyond its borders was emphasising good quality apartment design with the inclusion of key dual aspect requirements, note the right hand column in the table above.

Tom Mitchell took his 80sq.m & 100sq.m figures from p.254

A1 The Unit – All Residential Development

1. Floor Areas (see also Policy QH15)

The Target Average Floor Area across a scheme shall be 85sq.m and the minimum fl oor areas for different unit types shall be:

■ 1 bedroom unit: 55sq.m

■ 2 bedroom unit: a range from 80sq.m to 90sq.m

■ 3 bedroom unit or equivalent: 100sq.m

Dublin City Development plan 2011-2017 p.254

and the dual aspect requirements from the same page in the right hand column

In relation to apartments, a minimum of 85% of the units in a scheme must have dual aspect, that is, have at least two major external walls facing different directions in order to provide for optimum natural lighting, cross ventilation and sunlight penetration. Dual aspect can include corner units, through apartments and crossover duplexes.

Analysis

So let’s analyse these proposals line by line comparing both the newspaper article (in italics) with the 2015 standards and the 2007 standards against the 2015 standards in a table. Is RTÉ News being alarmist or is true?

RTÉ News has learned that Dublin City Council is proposing to relax its minimum apartment standards to cope with housing demand in the city as part of the new development plan.

A new studio apartment classification with a smaller minimum area of 45 square metres will be allowed in private rental schemes and in converted upper floors of city centre buildings.

No it’s worse than that. The figure for a new studio apartment is 40sqm as shown by this table from the Appendix on p19.

That would be nearly 20% smaller than the existing minimum.

No. The 2007 minimum was 45sqm for a 1 bedroom apt. 40/45 = 0.88 recurring on my calculator.

The proposals from council planners would also reduce the ‘dual aspect’ requirement – that apartments have windows on two different walls – from 85% of units in any scheme to 50%.

Let’s look at the 2007 standards.

First from Sustainable Urban Housing 2007.

Daylight and sunlight 5.5

The amount of sunlight reaching an apartment significantly affects the amenity of the occupants. Dual-aspect apartments are likely to maximise the availability of sunlight, and should be the norm, but this solution may not always be possible (e.g. with corner units). Single aspect apartments should allow the main living rooms to face south, west or east; north-facing units should be excluded. Particular care is needed where windows are located on lower floors which may be overshadowed by adjoining buildings. [my emphasis – Ed.]

Sustainable Urban Housing 2007

Secondly from p.33 of Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities 2007

Insofar as the layout of the scheme is concerned, factors that need to be considered include:

Disposition of apartment buildings on site and the relationship between heights of buildings and distances between them so as to provide;

maximum opportunity for dual aspect and cross ventilation for habitable rooms;

Then from p.46 we have this

Specific issues that need to be considered in relation to the site layout of apartments are dealt with in 4.3.6. Insofar as the design of individual apartments is concerned, factors that need particular consideration include the following:

the design should provide for well-proportioned rooms with adequate daylight and cross ventilation. Single aspect apartments which face north should be avoided as far as possible and every effort should be made to ensure that kitchen areas are provided with natural lighting;

Now let’s look at the 2015 standards on dual aspect.

There is no point in my reproducing the several paragraphs and illustration here so please read the document on pages 8, 9 and 10 pertaining to dual aspect ratios. Design standards for new apartments.

Let’s just remind ourselves of that line from the newspaper article:-

The proposals from council planners would also reduce the ‘dual aspect’ requirement – that apartments have windows on two different walls – from 85% of units in any scheme to 50%.

From p.9 the 50% figure is clear as daylight.

3.11 In urban locations, it is a specific planning policy requirement that the minimum number of dual aspect apartments that may be provided in any single apartment scheme shall be 50%.

That’s a considerable change from:-

Dual-aspect apartments are likely to maximise the availability of sunlight, and should be the norm,

which we found above in the earlier 2007 edition of Sustainable Urban Housing.

There had been a ban on single aspect units being north facing . . . 

Quite true.

Single aspect apartments which face north should be avoided as far as possible – from p.46 of Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities 2007

. . . but this would be allowed if the unit overlooks a body of water or designated green space.

Also true as found in the 2015 version on p.9 para 3.12:-

3.12 Where single aspect apartments are provided, the provision of south facing units should be maximised, with west or east facing single aspect units also being acceptable. Living spaces in apartments should provide for direct sunlight for some part of the day. North facing single aspect apartments may be considered, where overlooking a significant amenity such as a public park, garden or formal space, or a water body or some other amenity feature. Particular care is needed where windows are located on lower floors that may be overshadowed by adjoining buildings.

Single aspect east facing units would now be allowed.

That requirement is covered in the above paragraph 3.12. however I cannot see that they were previously banned in 2007 so that’s an odd claim to make.

The number of single units permitted in a scheme would be increased from 20% to 30% with a quarter of these allowed to be studios if the scheme has been purpose built for private rental.

I presume they’re referring to this paragraph in the 2015 version.

2.5 A range of variation in the order of 20% is a generally an acceptable balance between certainty and flexibility. To illustrate this, in some locations a maximum of 25-30% of apartments may comprise one-bedroom units and/or a maximum of 10-12% units may comprise studio apartment (ranges specified are for illustrative purposes only).

It is also proposing to increase the maximum number of floors in a most standard residential schemes from 7 to 8 to make it the same as commercial developments.

Ok, but I can’t find a reference to that.

But the existing minimum size of standard new apartments in Dublin will remain at 55 square metres for a one bedroom unit compared to the Government minimum of 45 square metres with similar higher space for two and three bedroom units.

I’m completely baffled by that claim. In the 1995 guidelines the figure of 55 square metres was for a two bedroom apartment, increased to 73sqm in 2007 and maintained in 2015. Have RTÉ News mis-read the figures?

There are also no major changes proposed for the strategy on tall buildings. In the draft development plan 2016 to 2022 sent to councillors, Chief Executive Owen Keegan states that the provision of housing is the single most important objective of the plan. Cllr Keegan says the plan would allow the council to fufill its commitment to provide 4,200 homes each year totalling 29,500 by 2022. The Government’s Housing Agency had publicly urged the council to bring in a provision for smaller rental units. The Royal Society of Architects in Ireland and the Construction Industry Federation had also urged relaxation of apartment standards.

No comment.

Architects had argued that the 85% dual aspect requirement in particular had a disproportionate effect on decreasing the amount of apartments that could be built per floor.

Dublin City Development plan 2011-2017

Dublin City Development plan 2016-2022