Terraced houses with garden or patio. Projects with examples and dwgs ready for download
Here are some examples of terraced houses projects with garden or patio including DWG drawings ready for download and 3D BIM models to browse online
This last insight dedicated to a townhouse study will specifically focus on terraced house (or townhouses) projects with garden or patio.
Next articles from our Focus Project will instead be addressed to analyzing a different building construction type which has recently been revalued: social housing.
In the previous articles we have seen:
- townhouses and the elements to be assessed during the settlement planning phase
- projects by famous architects such as Lafayette Park by Mies van der Rohe, the Malagueira district by Siza and the townhouses complex in Bernareggio by Botta
- types of townhouses, studying some interesting projects in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2001: the Borneo-Sporenburg district project in Amsterdam and the Water Villa’s ad Almere.
Following in this article we will add a further definition of townhouses and make a summary of the evolution of living units, from the "domus" until nowadays townhouses with garden or patio.
Thanks to BIM Voyager and without having to install any software, it will furthermore be possible to browse the 3D BIM models online of the two townhouses project with patio or garden that we will design.
You will see how easy and practical it is to ‘move’ within the project model, exploring it either with the mouse, keyboard or even with your device touchscreen.
Moreover, the project 3D BIM models and the floor plan DWGs (single and complex), prospects and sections views will once again be available for you to download.
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]

townhouses with patio or garden ‘L’ project
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]

townhouses with patio or garden ‘A’ project
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
Townhouses definition
Townhouses are single-family adjacent buildings, built side by side to identical dwellings.
Townhouses dwellings are usually on two levels and are equipped with two gardens. The construction depth (between 8 and 12 mt) is generally bigger respect to the facade width (between 5 and 7 mt).
Openings are located on both opposing sides. The complex characteristics are identified according to how individual lodgings are aggregated, often being identical to each other or with few variations.
The dwellings can be aligned to form long rectangular or adjacent buildings, thus creating extremely articulated and variable settlement types.

Townhouses with garden or patio project ‘A’ – rendering made with Edificius
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
Townhouses pros and cons
Townhouses pros
- Due to the site limited dimensions and the shared installation systems usage (such as the heating system) construction and maintenance costs are much lower than those of a classic detached single-family homes;
- Due to the house and surrounding area small dimensions, maintenance is simple and less expensive;
- In townhouses with only two external walls, heating costs are much lower.

townhouses with patio or garden ‘L’ project – complex – ground floor plan
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
Townhouses cons
- Townhouses have a much smaller garden compared to single-family houses and villas;
- There is not that freedom of organization typical of villas since the townhouse floor plan has more limits even when built on multiple levels.
- Townhouse are usually long and narrow, thus resulting more difficulty to furnish;
- Unless you have the apartment facing outward (the first one and last one of the row) there will be only two exterior walls with windows, consequently the house will be not very bright.

townhouses with patio or garden ‘A’ project – complex – complex – first floor plan view
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
Townhouses with patio or garden. The housing evolution over the centuries
After the single-unit lodgings phase, typical of the first human settlements, more complex dwellings were developed. They consisted of different rooms grouped around an internal free space of different size, which wasn't covered, and that had different functions, representing the intimate area of the outdoor living room protected from external intrusion.
These are the court or patio houses, in all possible variations as compared to the classical plan. This type of building will find its maximum expression during the classical Greek and Roman times (domus).
Subsequently several urban domus unitary grouping, or aggregation of similar and repeated building types, brought to the accomplishment of insulae surrounded by roads, usually with right angles crossings. More groups of insulae came to constitute entire residential complexes, where the common characterizing element was the internal garden confining.
In the following centuries these types of housing have evolved in cities becoming more compact and agglomerated.
A certain type of court houses planning is also common in multi-family and multi-storey urban housing throughout Europe. Although, due to widespread building speculation, it will often be degraded to a simple courtyard without any relationship with the volumes all around.
[fusion_table]
![]() townhouses with patio or garden ‘L’ project – prospect view | ![]() townhouses with patio or garden ‘A’ project – prospect view |
---|---|
Download the 'L' project prospect views DWGs in .zip format | Download the 'A' project prospect views DWGs in .zip format |
[/fusion_table]
In the modern conception, the L, T, U-shaped linear configurations have become coordinated configurations, which can be combined to create complexes of patio houses with rooms of various sizes and configurations.
In this way multiple solutions can be reached as a response to the needs of an urban community.
Characteristics of townhouses with patio or garden
Townhouses with patios or with garden belong to a category of single-family house types that has recently been revalued, especially as an alternative to detached single-family houses, due to the possibility of creating complexes with higher density, in full respect of privacy.
They are, for instance, inward facing homes with limited access to the external road.
[fusion_table]
![]() townhouses with patio or garden ‘L’ project – section A-A | ![]() townhouses with garden or patio ‘A’ project – section B-B |
---|---|
Download the 'L' project section views DWGs in .zip format | Download the 'A' project section views DWGs in .zip format |
[/fusion_table]
The settlement is usually made up of two-storey single-family houses grouped together in rows, each with a private garden at the back: a characteristic that is found in many rationalist neighborhoods.
Accommodations, usually not too big, are standardized and sized for optimal functioning in relation to the family unit needs.
Townhouses with patio or garden and BIM
Here is an example of possible internal partition (regarding only ground floor on the video) of a townhouse with garden or patio and a sidewalk design.
Projects, 3D BIM models, drawing models and video are design using Edificius software.
[fusion_table]
[/fusion_table]
In the next article…
Below a preview of next insights
[fusion_table]
Projects Focus: building construction typesSocial housing
We will analyze and make available for download the project drawings DWGs to view online 3D BIM models taking as example the following projects:
|
---|
[/fusion_table]