Thursday, January 19, 2012

Design: Floorplans

It's been quite a while since the last post... and it isn't because nothing has been happening.  Quite the opposite in fact.

We moved down to Federal, shifted our business, enrolled our daughter in a new school, renovated a kitchen in the house and had 15 people camp at our place over the new year.

...oh, and we renovated the Airstream.

It is very close to complete but I'm not going to post pictures just yet. We need to go back a couple of steps and fill in a few gaps.  So, this one is about how we settled on a floor plan.

This is the original 1974 Tradewind floorplan...


Starting from the left, you can see the bathroom.  Moving clockwise around we had a full height wardrobe, then a countertop with some cupboards below and tambour (rolltop) cabinets above.  Then about "midship" you can see the stovetop and double sink. At the front (far right on the plan) you can see the "Goucho" couch.  There is a little shelf just to the right of the doorway and then to the left of the doorway, you can see the refrigerator and pantry cupboard.  The long thing to the left of that is a couch that pulled out into a double bed.

It's astonishing that they fitted it all in there.  It is basically a full self-contained accommodation unit.

As previously stated, we don't need any of the kitchen or bathroom facilities and we need much less storage than was available in the original Tradewind layout.

Cutting to the chase...
This is the floorplan that we arrived at...

We put a diner style table (dinette) at the rear where the bathroom was (left on the plan above).  This has a table top that drops down to create a small double bed when you rearrange the back cushions. Then there is some storage for guitars and filing in a narrow cupboard that runs all the way up to the ceiling.  That cupboard also hides part of the wheel arch and creates a very deliberate spacial divide between the dinette area and the rest of the trailer.

We moved the couch over to the other side to take advantage of the views across the valley out the front door and window on the door-side.  The couch also faces the design wall on the other side.  The idea is that this is a place for clients or collaborators (or me) to sit and be able to see / access the design wall (where design ideas and workings will be posted).  The couch will also have armrests built large enough to accommodate a drink, dinner plate or laptop.  We are reusing the original couch which pulls out into a bed so the trailer can be used by guest when they stay.

Moving clockwise around, there is a small space for a music keyboard or a guitar and then the main desk is at the front end of the trailer.  It is about 2400mm wide and 800mm deep - quite large.  It needs to accommodate studio monitors and two mixing desks as well as providing space for sketching etc.

Around past the door is the design wall and a bookshelf underneath.  The bookshelf only sits about 500mm high and was kinda necessary to cover part of the wheel arch on that side.  It also provides another surface to place designs in progress as they go up on the wall etc.

Next to that - before we get back around to the dinette - is a reproduction of the counter from the other side in the original plans.  It is designed to act as a tea / coffee and cocktails station.  The cupboard underneath is large enough to take a bar fridge.

And that's it.  It is much more open and fit for our purpose but it still has some shape to it and a deliberate set of distinct spaces - the overhead cabinets will go back in and help to reinforce this spacial segmentation.  I've seen shots of Airstreams with completely open workspaces inside and they look soulless to me.  There is some charm in the cosiness suggested by little dividing walls and overhead cabinets.

Before deciding on this final floorplan, we went through a number of iterations.  I used a user interface design tool (Balsamiq Mockups) to mock these floorplans up.  Once I had a few elements in place, I printed it out and cut the pieces apart. This allowed us to move things around very quickly and try out different configurations.  I highly recommend getting things onto paper.  Computer tools are great but you need to get tactile with it and push things around.  Nothing else allows you to come up with 5 crazy and improbable layouts in 5 minutes.

This is what the paper cutouts looked like...


Here are some of the other layouts that almost made the grade...

Matt.

9 comments:

  1. Hi Matt

    I really appreciate your posts. I'm about to import an Airstream into Australia and have found your blog invaluable. Thanks

    Jack

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Matt

    Did you use a local agent for the actual importation into Australia or simply "The AirStream Guy" in the USA. And therefore all the Australian compliance was managed in the USA. I'm thinking about things like braking systems, couplings, door to be on left hand side (although on that point I've read that you don't need to change door if you there's no cooking facilites or sleeping accomodation)etc. Welcome your advice.

    Cheers

    Jack

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  3. Hey Jack,

    I don't believe it is possible to achieve Australian compliance using an agent in the USA. I understand it has to be done here. In any case, I have had US agents ask me how to achieve Australian compliance - it's fair to say that they know little about our rules over there.

    Also, you are drawing a dependencies between two things that aren't linked... To clarify, you do not need Australian roadworthy compliance in order to import an Airstream. You can import one to Australia and you must have it complianced here before you take it on the road officially.

    If you are trying to determine how to get it home from the port, there are a few options:

    Keep in mind, it is pretty much illegal to tow it home from the port yourself. You can't get it compliance at the port. Compliancing is an involved task

    1. Put a "traffic" sign on the back of the A.S. and tow it yourself. This is the cheapest option but it is pretty risky and possibly illegal - I don't recommend it. Besides you don't know the condition of the running gear at this point. Your insurance is unlikely to cover you if the axle drops out at freeway speeds. Also, the brakes on the A.S. won't work at all, they are a completely different system to the Australian system. And, the tow ball is a different size to the 2 sizes in use in Australia.
    2. Get a towing company to pull it for you. This is a better option as you would be covered by their insurance and they probably won't need the brakes anyway as they rig will be big enough to stop it. They will still need a different sized tow ball but are more likely to be able to find one. This is obviously more expensive and most places won't do it because it is risky.
    3. The best option is to get it picked up from the port and dropped to your place on a flat-bed truck. This is the most expensive and safest option all around. The running gear basically never hits the road. Totally legal. Don't need plates, tow balls, compliance or anything.

    Having said all that, I have no experience with complaining as we clipped our Airstream's wings. She's sited permanently at our property as a studio / office.

    Does that help?
    Matt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matt

      Many thanks for your response. I will actually be using our A.S. on the road hence the need to have it comply with any Australian reg's e.g. as Erik mentioned, VSB10 etc. I like you option 3 - ie have the A.S. picked up. However, in order to have it registered i assume it needs to comply with all the ADR's but not at the the point of entry into Australia - ie this can be done later?

      i was thinking of having things like brakes, electrics, tow ball etc. etc. all done in the US whilst I have it restored / pimped up AND then importing it. Bad idea or Good idea - regardless of cost

      Jack

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    2. Hey Jack,

      In my experience. The yanks just do understand our legislation. Heck, it's hard enough for us to get our heads around it. Some of those things (electrics) actually need to be certified and I expect that HAS to happen here. The brakes are entirely different - they don't even have the parts over there from what I understand. I have asked the Vintage Airstream Podcast (great listen BTW) about some of these things and 2 of those guys are the professional Airstream restorers / repairers in the US. They were stumped.

      I'd be getting it restored over there and have the compliance related stuff done here. The concern is you get it done there and it has to be completely redone here just to satisfy compliance.

      Matt.

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  4. Hi Matt,

    Your blog is fantastic thank-you. I have just begun looking into importing an airstream from the US.
    Do you have a contact who you purchased yours from in the US? did you use a specific company to organise the importing/shipping etc.
    We purchased some land in country Victoria and can not afford to build so we were thinking of using an airstream for the next few years.
    You help would be much appreciated. my email is lucyv.mack@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey there.

    In my earlier posts, you can find some details about agents who may help you in the US. We purchased ours from a private seller - somebody who simply advertised on Craigslist but Mark - The Airstream Guy can help.

    Just follow the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page.

    http://australianairstream.blogspot.com.au/search?updated-max=2011-08-30T10:34:00%2B10:00&max-results=7

    Matt.

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  6. Great blog !
    I am actually looking at doing the same, your info is fantastic ... I had contact with http://www.vintage-airstream.com/page/airstream-shipping do you know them?
    ABout registration, would it be possible to be registered in Australia, or is the door being the bottleneck? I think all the rest can be resolved ... and I guess the door could be moved couldn't it?
    One question, the import VSB10 requires to send them the invoice, bt of course I want approval first before I buy, hence no invoice ... so do you ask for a pro forma or something? Thanks.
    Erik

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  7. What a fantastic and extremely useful blog. Thank you so much for having all the information so clearly and step by step outlined. I was just wondering if you knew much about the requirements/ruling for the length between the tow bar and the axel on these trailers? It seems to me by looking at the models like the overlander the distance is so great.

    Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated, otherwise if you knew of where i would find out this information regarding the compliance?

    Either just a reply to this post or you could email me to my email peter.e.fischersteidler@gmail.com

    thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete