A maisonette is a dwelling inside a block of flats that occupies two — sometimes three — storeys and is reached internally by its own staircase. The word comes from the French maisonnette, little house, and that is exactly how it behaves: a flat that lives like a house, with a living level and a sleeping level stacked above each other.
How it fits into a building
In a deck access or balcony access block built with maisonettes, one access deck serves two residential levels. That brings an immediate gain: half the decks can be omitted, saving circulation area and making the building more efficient. The front door opens off the deck, and inside a private stair leads up or down.
Maisonettes are common in post war housing of the 1950s to 1970s, and have reappeared in recent urban projects that aim to bring the qualities of a terraced house into an apartment building.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Day and night zones separated over two levels, as in a house
- Fewer shared corridors and decks per dwelling
- Often more external wall per dwelling, so more daylight and better cross ventilation
Disadvantages
- The stair takes floor area and makes the home unsuitable for anyone with limited mobility
- A two storey dwelling is harder to adapt for single level living
- Sound between the two levels and to the neighbours needs attention
Design and construction points
- The stair is the critical design decision. A steep, narrow flight with too little going wrecks the plan; allow a proper going and adequate headroom from the start
- Escape. In a dwelling over two levels a bedroom is inevitably remote from the entrance door. Interlinked smoke alarms on every storey are a basic requirement, and in flats the escape strategy needs checking against the local fire regulations
- Sound insulation. The floor between your own two levels is not a separating element, but the floors and walls to the neighbours are — those must meet the requirements for airborne and impact sound
- Service risers. Two levels means either two wet zones or long horizontal runs; settle that early in the design
Related terms
- Storey
- Balcony
- Deck access
- Sound insulation
- Staircase
- Adaptable housing
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