The Problem: New-build houses and attached gardens are becoming increasingly small in the UK.
The Solution: Build gardens on top of houses to increase the size of both without increasing the amount of land required.
There’s ongoing discussion in the UK about how to build the houses required for a growing population, but one thing that is not discussed as much is how enjoyable those new build houses are to live in.
A recent discussion with a friend reminded me how small most new-builds are; he is looking to buy a house and started his search looking for new-builds, but then opted instead to search for decades-old houses as they were the only ones with any space and a good-sized garden.
Modern housing developments are designed to maximise the number of homes on a piece of land, meaning smaller houses and tiny gardens.
Flats could be the solution, but are often unpopular outside of cities.
I therefore propose building gardens on top of houses.
This would increase the size of the house – it would fill the entire land plot, instead of losing a portion to the garden – and it would also increase the size of the garden – instead of being a small portion out the back, the garden would be the complete size of the plot.
It would also increase privacy, since the gardens would all be on top the house and level with each other, no-one could peer down from an upstairs window. Fences around the garden would keep prying eyes out and they would also provide the safety to stop people falling.
Many garden terraces already exist on top of skyscrapers in cities, so why not do a similar thing for houses outside towns?
There would have to be limits on which plants or trees could be grown in the gardens so the roots didn’t undermine the structure, but that is eminently achievable.
And having a garden on the roof would provide free, effective insulation, rainwater collection, and heat pump space to provide hot water for internal heating.
Stairs, or a simple lift for those less mobile, would take residents up to the garden where they would have all-day sun, with no house blocking the rays. They could BBQ, play football, garden, or sunbathe to their hearts content.
And when they came back into the house, they would have larger rooms and more of them.
A win-win if ever there was one.
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