Thread: A question of design...

One could argue that the issue of trash or refuse removal would be of concern for any settlement. I know that in the pre-industrial era it wasn't uncommon to have a Midden; a central trash pile where things were tossed and then routinely burned.

I wonder if you would/could do the same thing with the gong farmer? Haul it out to some big pit somewhere and, with other material, burn it?

Yup - love the discussion questions on here.
-GP

An update on the 'small keep' design with some of the building's first floors roughed out.



I gave the courtyard a stone tile texture and changed the floors in the great hall and barracks to wood as well as added a stairway that would lead up to the second floor of the kitchen.

I cut the long building up on the left-hand side to make stables (in the bottom) and some kind of workshops along the left wall.

What's still kicking my butt is the 'walk paths' on the stone courtyard.

GRR.

-GP

From a comparison of a fair number of real castles, I came up with an average of about 150 square feet of floor area per person. Tight quarters for disciplined troops (like Roman Legion Barracks) could be half of that and the Renaissance castle for a noble family could be about double that.

As an aside, from 25% to 33% of the space is storage of supplies to withstand a siege.

Good luck.

Might wanna have a well in the courtyard or even a cistern system of some kind in the basement if the castle intends to withstand a siege. Thirsty people surrender pretty quick! =P

Also if you're going for the whole great hall thing, your current one is in a odd spot. Your greathall is going to be in the main/central building - other structures will be added later. Great hall's are actually a germanic legacy - they descend from the big viking/saxon style great halls someone described above (you don't see roman buildings with a great hall - different culture). If you look at the development of residential buildings, you start with the great hall and then other wings are added on. Eventually separate accommodation blocks are added, etc etc.

It's something to consider when world building - your culture might not have the tradition of the great hall.

Yup - I know that I'm adding in a well within the courtyard but wasn't sure where to put it.

I see what you mean about the location of the great hall in that it's in an odd location. I had thought that the great hall should be the first thing that you see when you get into the keep itself (the tower structure in the corner) rather than a side building along the perimeter. I could technically put any functional room in those side buildings if I wish.

Like someone was saying earlier - cramped quarters for military personnel but those not in the military would want a bit more room. So I could turn the two floors of one of those side buildings into staff housing and then move the great hall (or the big hall for large feasts and things) into the ground floor of the corner tower. I could then turn a side-building into the kitchen / pantry / servant's quarters.

That would then make the corner building not so much of a great hall but more just the big room where large meals are served.

Any 'common' person would probably be dealing with the kitchen building off to the side or the like - probably not entering the big corner building.

Hrm...

I'll have to play with the map again. I like the overall layout of the keep with the corner building and two attached buildings - I just have to figure out what to stick in them.

Thanks again folks.

Keep the suggestions coming!

-GP

Ok, so I took the suggestion of moving the great hall into the keep and will have to rebuild the side building but here's what I came up with for the ground floor of the central 'square' building of the original concept.

This incorporates the great hall into the main floor of the building. I have stairs heading up and heading down from the large chamber and several side-rooms for whatever I can come up with. The Kitchen/Pantry could easily fit into a section of the basement so that meals are brought up from below where most of the food and wine would be stored anyway.

Comments?

-GP