---
title: "Shortridge Design Notes"
url: https://shortridgearchitects.com/
description: "Ten written studies on how houses are put together: daylight, floor plans, floor junctions, wall assemblies, stair geometry, kitchens, timber, openings, paint sheen and."
---

# Shortridge Design Notes

Ten studies in how houses are put together

## The latest file

[01**How to Choose a Mashvisor Alternative in 2026: Buyer's Guide for Real Estate Investors**Oct 13, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/how-to-choose-a-mashvisor-alternative-in-2026-buyer-s-guide-for-real-estate-investors/)

[02**How to Fix Laminate Flooring That Is Lifting**Sep 16, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/how-to-fix-laminate-flooring-that-is-lifting/)

[03**Commercial Roofing Companies Near Me: Locator Options**Sep 14, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/commercial-roofing-companies-near-me/)

[04**Why Is Plumbing Supply and More the Best for Stocking Plumbing, Heating, HVAC Parts?**Aug 27, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/why-is-plumbing-supply-and-more-the-best-for-stocking-plumbing-heating-hvac-parts/)

[05**Best Plumbing Distributors for Industrial Supplies in 2026**Aug 26, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/best-plumbing-distributors-for-industrial-supplies-in-2026/)

[06**Top 7 Alternatives of Pentair**Aug 16, 2026](https://shortridgearchitects.com/top-7-alternatives-of-pentair/)

01

Section through a north-facing room: sky light enters high and is carried across the ceiling plane.

01

## Daylight and the North-Facing Room

A north room is not a dark room; it is a room lit by the whole sky rather than by the sun.

A room facing north never takes direct sun, so it is lit by the whole dome of the sky instead. That is why the light is so even, and why improving such a room is a question of how much sky the window can see and what the surfaces inside do with it.

[Read study 01](https://shortridgearchitects.com/daylight-and-the-north-facing-room)

**Study**: 01 of 10

**Subject**: Light and orientation

**Scope**: North aspect, glazing, reflectance

**Reading**: Long form, five sections

**Kind**: Study, not a commission

1. 02 Plan conventions: heavy lines are cut, light lines are seen, arcs are swings.Reading a Floor Plan Before You Change OneDrawings and planning · Plan conventions, scale, circulationA plan is a horizontal cut taken about a metre above the floor, and almost every convention on it follows from that.[Read study 02](https://shortridgearchitects.com/reading-a-floor-plan-before-you-change-one)
2. 03 Three junction sections: flush with a gap, ramped, and a square upstand.Thresholds: Where Two Floor Materials MeetDetailing and floors · Transition strips, level changes, toleranceEvery floor junction is a negotiation between two materials of different thickness that move at different rates.[Read study 03](https://shortridgearchitects.com/thresholds-where-two-floor-materials-meet)
3. 04 Wall section: layers in order, with the drying direction marked.The Wall Assembly and Where Moisture GoesBuilding fabric · Insulation, vapour control, ventilationA wall is not a barrier but a sequence of layers, and moisture problems are almost always a problem of order.[Read study 04](https://shortridgearchitects.com/the-wall-assembly-and-where-moisture-goes)
4. 05 Stair section: rise, going, pitch line and the headroom measurement.Stair Geometry: Rise, Going and HeadroomGeometry and circulation · Rise, going, pitch, headroomA stair is a fixed relationship between three numbers, and changing any one of them moves the other two.[Read study 05](https://shortridgearchitects.com/stair-geometry-rise-going-and-headroom)
5. 06 Kitchen plan by zone rather than by appliance, with clearances marked.Kitchen Work Zones Beyond the TrianglePlanning and kitchens · Zones, clearances, sequenceThe triangle describes a kitchen with one cook, one sink and one job at a time, which is not the kitchen most people have.[Read study 06](https://shortridgearchitects.com/kitchen-work-zones-beyond-the-triangle)

## What these studies are

Shortridge Design Notes is a set of ten written studies about the way ordinary houses are put together. Each one takes a single subject — a junction, a geometry, an assembly, a material property — and explains how it behaves and why it is detailed the way it is. They are written for people who are about to change something and would rather understand it first.

Nothing here is a commission, a portfolio piece or an offer of work. The numbered plates are drawings made to explain the subject of the study beside them, not records of anything built. Where a subject touches structure, building fabric or anything governed by regulation, the study describes how the thing behaves and stops short of telling you what your particular building needs.

The numbering runs from 01 to 10 and is an order of reading rather than a ranking. The early studies deal with light, drawings and planning; the middle ones with assemblies and geometry; the later ones with materials, structure, finishes and the ground outside. Each study stands alone and each ends with a way back to the index.

## Index of studies

1. [01Daylight and the North-Facing Room](https://shortridgearchitects.com/daylight-and-the-north-facing-room)
2. [02Reading a Floor Plan Before You Change One](https://shortridgearchitects.com/reading-a-floor-plan-before-you-change-one)
3. [03Thresholds: Where Two Floor Materials Meet](https://shortridgearchitects.com/thresholds-where-two-floor-materials-meet)
4. [04The Wall Assembly and Where Moisture Goes](https://shortridgearchitects.com/the-wall-assembly-and-where-moisture-goes)
5. [05Stair Geometry: Rise, Going and Headroom](https://shortridgearchitects.com/stair-geometry-rise-going-and-headroom)
6. [06Kitchen Work Zones Beyond the Triangle](https://shortridgearchitects.com/kitchen-work-zones-beyond-the-triangle)
7. [07Timber Movement and the Framed Panel](https://shortridgearchitects.com/timber-movement-and-the-framed-panel)
8. [08Openings: Lintels, Headers and Load Paths](https://shortridgearchitects.com/openings-lintels-headers-and-load-paths)
9. [09Paint Sheen, Light and the Imperfect Wall](https://shortridgearchitects.com/paint-sheen-light-and-the-imperfect-wall)
10. [10The Ground Around a House](https://shortridgearchitects.com/the-ground-around-a-house)

The full index also reads as a single page at [Notes](https://shortridgearchitects.com/notes), and the scope of the series is set out under [Approach](https://shortridgearchitects.com/approach).

Shortridge Design Notes

Studies 01–10