The document discusses the design of a Habitat for Humanity home for the McAllister family by interior design students. The family consists of Grandma McAllister who has Alzheimer's, parents Mr. and Mrs. McAllister, and daughters Sarah and Laura. The design incorporates the needs of the family such as private bedrooms, an open floor plan, and a backyard. The 'Nature Takes its Course' concept guides an open, flowing layout that mimics a river. Journal entries from Mrs. McAllister describe the family and design process, including energy efficient features to be incorporated.

1. THE MCALLISTER FAMILY'S
HABITAT HOME
Lindsey Westphal
IDSN 2850
Spring 2012

2. In the Spring Semester the Interior Design Sophomore Studio , College of Human
Ecology , East Carolina University took on the challenge of designing houses that are
sustainable and more varied than plans that might have been generated to date. This is
in keeping with the University's committment to be a leader in engaged scholarship as
well as community service. The students were excited that their work would be put to
use. So what we offer here are 18 new plans for Habitat Houses that can be used by
anyone who might profit from the student work.
Each house has an imaginary family that the student designers kept in mind in view of
the design profession that they will soon join is a service profession: there will be clients
for all of the projects that these students will design as practicing interior designers.
While these families are fictional , essentially placemarkers in the process of learning to
design for others you are welcome to substitute your family, friends or members of the
community for the prototype client and use the organizational or program drawings, the
plans, elevations and sections and scchedules to extend the student work. We are at the
end of our semester so we dedicate our efforts to your use.
Hunt McKinnon
Instructor of Record

4. Grandma McAllister
- diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s
- husband
passed away
- moved to live
with her son and
his family
- needs a
personal
bedroom and
easily accessible
space

5. Mr. & Mrs. McAllister
- Mr. McAllister
lost his job
- Mrs. McAllister
is a stay at home
mom
- need a
personal space,
as well as space
to spend time
together as a
family

6. Sarah & Laura McAllister
- Sarah is 7 and
Laura is 9
- Sarah is
outdoorsy; Laura
is a girly-girl
- very close bond
- need their own
bedrooms
- want a
backyard to play
in

7. 1 JOURNAL ENTRIES
S.6

8. Journal: Week 1 {apply for a Habitat Home}
 Grandpa McAllister passed away, leaving Grandma McAllister living
by herself
 Grandma McAllister was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 6 years ago,
can’t live alone so she came to live with her son and his family
 Mr. McAllister lost his job a few months after Grandma McAllister
moved in with us; his is the only family income
 Our home was foreclosed, as we could no longer afford it
 Applied for and got accepted for a Habitat Home
 Aspects that should be included in our new home:
 A bedroom for Grandma McAllister
 Sarah and Laura in their own rooms
 Backyard
 Open floor plan for entertaining and spending time together as a
family

9. Journal: Week 2 {needs and wants}
 Different aspects need to be part of the design in order to
accommodate our family’s fairly new living arrangements
 Grandma McAllister’s bedroom should be located close to the
Master Bedroom
 The children’s rooms should be near each other, as well as near the
Master Bedroom
 The rest of the house needs to be in an open floor plan to
accommodate entertaining and spending time together as a
family.
 Would like for our new home to reflect that we are a close knit
family, as well as be a place for us to enjoy living and starting

10. Journal: Week 3 {design concept}
 We were presented the design concept this week, which is
titled ‘Nature Takes its Course’.
 As a family, we have always loved spending time
together outdoors, whether it be on a summer afternoon
in the backyard or on a family vacation camping at the
lake.
 My husband and I loved traveling and spending time
outdoors before we had children, and now that we have
Sara and Laura, we love going on family picnics in the
park and enjoying the gift of nature as well. Each of us
immediately connected in our own way to the design
concept.
Always, Mrs. McAllister

11. Journal: Week 4 {Sara and Laura’s hobbies}
 Sarah and Laura, are ages 7 and 9.
 The girls, although very close to each other, could not have more
opposite personalities.
 Sarah is a very outdoorsy child, loves spending time in nature,
learning about wildlife, camping, and rock climbing.
 Laura is a very girly girl who loves fashion, dressing up, and playing
with her dolls. Getting her hands dirty is definitely not one of her
favorite things; however, she does love playing outside with her sister
during the warm weather months.
 They love to have picnics together, play pretend, and even go
swimming. Laura, the older sister, looks after Sarah when she goes on
her adventures, making sure she doesn’t get into any trouble. Laura
loves playing dress up and putting Sarah’s hair in a silly looking up-
do, and even though Sarah would rather be outside catching butterflies,
they play well together and love to spend time together as sisters.
Always, Mrs. McAllister

12. Journal: Week 5 {ramp}
 In order to design our house universally and for
guests with disabilities, the exterior section
includes a ramp that leads up to the porch on the
south facing side of the house.
 The beginning of the ramp is next to a second
entrance/exit to our home, so there is more than
one way to get into and exit the home and go to
the driveway.
 If need be and a guest that is handicapped visits
us, the ramp leads up to the porch where the
front entrance of the house is located.

13. Journal: Week 6 {open concept}
 Another aspect that is being included in the
design of our new home as far as the open
design plan goes is an open living room,
dining room, and kitchen.
 I can be in the kitchen and see the children in
the living room, or if we have guests over and
are eating in the dining room, we can still
converse with other guests that are in the
living room.
 Great to have the type of space that we need in
order to entertain and spend quality time

14. Journal: Week 7 {design development}
 The model of our home exhibits the needs our family has.
 The layout has private bedrooms on one side of the house,
while the public spaces are open and connected on the other
side of the house.
 Grandma McAllister will have her own bedroom and
bathroom
 The girls get their own rooms, right next to each other
 The Master Bedroom and bathroom design offers us a
private space to relax
 The design is very simple and classic; a ranch style home,
it will serve the purposes that our family has requested. I
can really see how the ‘nature takes its course’ concept is
being applied to the design of our home through the open
concept and flowing pathways that connect each room, via

15. Journal: Week 8 {energy efficiency}
 Our building contractor recently introduced us to some ideas on
how to keep our home energy efficient, as well as in our small
budget. A few of these ideas include:
 Dormers
 Sealing the shell of the home to prevent air infiltration or
exfiltration; Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs
 Energy Star rated dishwasher and refrigerator in order to decrease
energy use
 A tank less water heater
 Keep shady landscaping around our home to
 Using compact fluorescent bulbs to save on the electricity bill
 Each of these energy saving tips will be great to include in the
construction of our home in order to reduce our future energy bills
Always, Mrs. McAllister

16. ‘Nature takes it’s Course’
as a design concept
portrays the McAllister
family’s love of
spending time together
outdoors, as well as
provides a basis for an
open, flowing floor plan
to mimic the fluid path of
a river.
1 CONCEPT: NATURE TAKES IT’S COURSE
S.15

17. Bedroom Bedroom Bedroom Master Dining Living Laundry
Bathroom Kitchen Porch
1 2 3 Bedroom Room Room Room
Bedroom 1
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
Master
Bedroom
Bathroom
Kitchen
Dining
Room
Living
Room
Laundry
Room
Porch
Public; Major Adjacency
1 ADJACENCY DIAGRAM KEY Semi-private; Minor Adjacency
S.16
SCALE: ¼” = 1’ – 0” Private; No relationship

18. N
ENTRANCE Laundry
2 Room
Bedroom
2
KEY Bedroom 3
Bathroom
Hallway
sunlight
immediately
adjacent
acoustic privacy
Kitchen
Public;
Major Adjacency Living
Semi-private;
Room
Minor Adjacency
Private; Dining
No relationship Room
1 BUBBLE DIAGRAM ENTRANCE 1
S.17 Porch
SCALE: ¼” = 1’ – 0”

19. 1
N
LAUNDRY
ROOM
BEDROOM
2
ENTRANCE B.R.
2
BEDROOM
3 B.R.
KITCHEN
LIVING
ROOM
DINING
ROOM
PORCH
1 ROUGH BUBBLE PLAN ENTRANCE 1
S.18 SCALE: ¼” = 1’ – 0”

20. N
1 S23
1
S22
1 FLOOR PLAN
S.20 SCALE: 1/4” = 1 ‘ 0 “

21. 1 N – S ELEVATION
S.21 SCALE: 1/4” = 1 ‘ 0 “
7
9
2 E - W ELEVATION
S.21 SCALE: 1/4” = 1‘ - 0 “

22. N
1
S23
1 E – W SECTION
S.23 SCALE: 1/4” = 1 ‘ - 0 “

23. N
1 THE MCALLISTER HABITAT HOME MODEL
S.26
SCALE: ¼” = 1’ – 0”

24. N
1 DOOR AND WINDOW SCHEDULE
S.27
SCALE: ¼” = 1’ – 0” *each closet will be painted with Flat White paint, and flooring will be wood.

25. L – hand Door # Size Type Hardware Remarks
1X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” R-hand LEVER paneled
2X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
3X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
4X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” LEVER
R – hand R-hand paneled
5X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” R-hand LEVER paneled
6X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” R-hand LEVER paneled
7X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
8X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
bi - fold
9X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
10X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
11X 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” L-hand LEVER paneled
1Y 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” bi-fold LEVER -
2Y 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” bi-fold LEVER -
11Y 3’ – 0” x 6’ – 10” bi-fold LEVER -
1 DOOR SCHEDULE
S.28

26. A C
Window
Size Type Finish Quantity
Letter
3’ – 0”
DOUBLE PAINTED
A X
HUNG WOOD 1
5’ – 0”
3’ – 0”
DOUBLE PAINTED
B B X
HUNG WOOD 4 D
3’ – 0”
4’ – 0”
DOUBLE PAINTED
C X
HUNG WOOD 4
4’ – 0”
5’ – 0”
DOUBLE PAINTED
D X
HUNG WOOD 1
5’ – 0”
1 WINDOW SCHEDULE
S.29

27. Room Wall Ceiling
Room Name Floor Base Remarks
# N S E W Material Height
1 Bedroom 1 W W P1 P1 P1 P1 GYP BD 9’ – 0” *see closet notes
2 Bedroom 2 W W P2 P2 P2 P2 GYP BD 9’ – 0” *see closet notes
3 Bathroom T W P3 P3 P3 P3 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
4 Living W W P4 - P4 P4 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
5 Dining W W - P4 P4 P4 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
6 Kitchen W W - P5 P5 P5 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
7 Bedroom 3 W W P6 P6 P6 P6 GYP BD 9’ – 0” *see closet notes
8 Bathroom T W P7 P7 P7 P7 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
9 Laundry W W P1 P1 P1 P1 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
10 M. Bath T W P5 P5 P5 P5 GYP BD 9’ – 0” -
11 M. Bedroom W W P8 P8 P8 P8 GYP BD 9’ – 0” *see closet notes
W P T GYP BD
1 FINISH SCHEDULE gypsum
wood paint tile
S.30 board

28. Dormers are used as a
source of light, as well Tankless water heaters
as a source of are energy efficient
ventilation for upper water heating systems
levels of a home. that provide water only
when it is needed.
Compact fluorescent
light bulbs reduce the
amount of greenhouse
gases that are emitted,
and are also energy
efficient.
1 ENERGY EFFICIENCY
S.31

29. Landscaping is
placed around
the exterior of
Solar tubes
the house to
provide an
provide proper
abundance of
shade.
cool, clear
lighting in any
interior space
during the day.
Insulating Concrete
Forms (ICFs) are a
cheaper type of Photovoltaic
insulation that solar panels
keeps concrete in absorb sunlight
place for and converts the
permanent light energy into
building insulation. electricity for
your home.
1 ENERGY EFFICIENCY CONT.
S.32

30. Oak Tree
(South side)
Alpine Currant Hedge
(West side)
1 EXTERIOR VEGITATION
S.33
N.T.S.

31. N
April, 9:30 a.m. April, 5 p.m.
1 SEASONAL SHADOWS: SPRING
S.34
N.T.S.

32. N
July, 9:30 a.m. July, 5 p.m.
1 SEASONAL SHADOWS: SUMMER
S.35
N.T.S.

33. N
August, 9:30 a.m. August, 5 p.m.
1 Seasonal Shadows: Early Fall
S.36
N.T.S.

34. N
December, 9:30 a.m. December, 5 p.m.
1 SEASONAL SHADOWS: WINTER
S.37
N.T.S.