Many of their inhabitants are known from literary and musical works from the life of the creative bohemia of Paris: poor artists and musicians lived on the top floors of buildings, where dark and narrow stairs led, where there was not enough light and there was no heating.
What is an attic in the very first meaning of this term? The space under the roof of multi-storey buildings, which was used for household needs and where settled those who could not afford decent housing.
From the history of architecture
The roofs of buildings of medieval cities, covered with tiles, had a steep slope of the roof, and under the roof there were formed spaces of quite significant volumes. In cities, living space has always been scarce, each residential floor has been taxed, and the height of the building was measured to the eaves. So what is an attic for 17th century urban homeowners? This is a way to make a net profit.
The idea to use the space under the roof for residential premises was born before Francois Mansart (1598-1666), but it was this architect who widely used this technique when constructing buildings in Paris with roofs with a characteristic break. It was after its construction that every architect remembered what an attic is. The roof, which has slopes on two sides of the ridge from two planes with different slopes, made it possible to create a maximum space under the roof, where two residential levels could be placed.
Definition
In many countries, the roof form itself is called the attic, the most often used by the Mansar, and the attic is the entire space from the ceiling of the upper floor to the roof, if it is used for housing, that is, the walls and roof are insulated, natural lighting is provided, convenient access from the lower level is provided. (usually a staircase), decorative surface finish.
Regulatory documents also clearly define what an attic is. The definition that SNiP 2.08.01-89 contains gives the designation of the floor in the attic space formed by the roof planes - inclined or broken - while the line of intersection of the vertical facade wall and the inclined roof plane is at a level of 1.5 meters from the attic floor.
Design guidelines
The possibility of using the attic floor is calculated by the formula:
- a> b + 0.7 x s, where
a is the area of a room with a height above 2.5 m,
b is the area of the premises with a height of 1.1–2.5 m,
c is the area of the room with a ceiling height of 0.8–1.1 m.
It is under these conditions that the use of the attic is considered permissible, although such figures are contained in documents of a recommendatory nature.
Attic lighting is a very important issue in which it is better to trust a specialist. The peculiarity is to correctly calculate the glazing area: extra openings will contribute to an especially impressive heat loss. After all, what is an attic in a house, if not a place where warm air rises from the lower levels? In calculating the area of light openings, the difference in the efficiency of ordinary windows installed in vertical walls should be taken into account - in the case of an attic, these are usually the gables of facades - windows in the windows, dormer and dormer windows installed in the roof slopes.
You should adhere to such proportions in the ratio of floor area to the area of light openings:
- when placing windows in vertical structures - should not exceed 1: 5.5, the minimum ratio is 1: 8;
- when using dormers, a ratio of 1:10 is allowed;
- when installing windows in lucarnes, due to deep slopes, up to 2/3 of the light is lost in comparison with a vertical window.
The nature of the attic space requires special attention to solving ventilation problems. Modern materials for the installation of roofing "pies" and utility networks will help to solve this specific problem.
The use of wooden structures in the construction of the attic, the normative documents fully allow, but subject to antipyretic processing of wood and with a building height of not more than 75 m
Attic advantage
Usually, the economic advantages, the rational use of space and the high architectural qualities of such a constructive solution indicate the advantages of attic floors . High aesthetic qualities of a well-maintained under-roof space are visible from the illustrations explaining what an attic is. The photos of the magnificent interiors of bedrooms, nurseries and cabinets located at the highest level are impressive.
The significance of these factors is influenced by two main circumstances: an attic is being constructed during the reconstruction of an existing building or its use in the designed building is envisaged.
Reconstruction of existing housing
If the attic is being built on an existing building, the factor of increasing the usable area is especially attractive, while it is possible to use light and inexpensive materials and structures that do not require the use of heavy equipment, so there is no need to relocate residents. Such a direction in improving the residential infrastructure of cities can be very attractive.
For example, what is an attic for Khrushchev? This is a completely different level of comfort and visual appeal, and if it were not for the heavy coordination system that makes such investments disadvantageously long-term and minimizes the economic benefits for builders, a lot of outdated buildings could acquire a large amount of additional comfortable living space.
Spectacular architecture
There are many options for the architectural use of the space under the roof. The very understanding of what an attic has changed. Houses, photos of which can be seen on construction sites, show that under the roof the most attractive and comfortable rooms for various purposes can be located. The attic has turned from housing for the poor into a special "trick" - a part of the house that increases its architectural attractiveness.