Robert J Morton

Fantasy Home When I got stuck designing my ideal home I decided to think of my ultimate fantasy. Then later, when hopefully I may have the means, I can reluctantly work backwards to what is practical.

My present boringly conventional suburban house has 9 rooms including hallway and stairs. However, three of those are bedrooms, whereas a love nest for two only needs one. Nevertheless, I can think of other good uses for the space, so I decided to design my fantasy love nest on a 9-room model.

My vision of a fantasy love nest is something shaped overall like a flying saucer - a bit like one of those chocolate button sweets called Minstrels, or the smaller ones called M&Ms or Smarties. The envelope is formed as a moulded wooden ribbing framework clad with aluminium or weatherproof plastic with a matt silvery or golden finish.

Its floor level is half a storey above ground level - about 7 average stairs. It could however be raised to a full storey above the ground in order to provide useful shelter beneath it such as for parking a vehicle.

The living space is arranged in the form of 8 circular rooms surrounding a single larger circle.

Plan View

Two of the circles form a bounded outside area for a kitchen garden and patio. This area is open to the outside because an elliptical section of the roof above it has been omitted. The kitchen garden contains herbs and flowers. It has a small retractable staircase to the outside ground level. The patio has a central fire grating where people can sit and chat round a wood fire Red-Indian style.

The dining room/kitchen has a central round dining table under a central sky light. Around the outside of this larger circular room is inset all the appliances, cupboards and work surfaces of a normal kitchen.

The lounge/auditorium has a large viewing screen and a good sound system. It has comfortable seating arranged around half of the circle for convenient viewing of the screen. There is also a central low table reachable from all the seats.

The entrance/cloakroom has access to the lounge/auditorium, dining room/kitchen and toilet/washroom. Access to the outside is via a short retractable staircase.

The bathroom/toilet room is accessible from both the entrance/cloakroom and the bedroom. Both doors are electronically linked so that both are locked automatically when entered from either door.

The bedroom is dominated by a 2 metre square dohyo-bed with a feather-filled mattress.

The washing and repairs room is accessible from both the bedroom and the kitchen/dining room. It contains all the appliances and storage needed to wash, dry, air, iron and repair clothes.

The twin den is a place where the couple who live here pursue their intellectual and practical hobbies and necessities, and is equipped accordingly.

Elevation View

A true circular ellipsoid shape was tried but this pure mathematical shape lacked aesthetic appeal in the same way that a pure sine wave lacks musical character. The following shape proved more appealing to the eye.

The top (roof) is a spherical cap twice the radius of the overall plan view, i.e. 18.1 x 2 = 36.2 metres. The radius of the bottom spherical cap (the underneath) is the square root of 2 times that of the top sperical cap. The outer edge of the envelope is a partial cylinder of radius 1 metre bent around the house.

I wonder where in the world I would get the money and the planning permission to build my fantasy love nest home. Certainly not in the UK while existing on welfare!!