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A vertical open plan links rooms on different levels so a home can feel connected without making every activity occupy one flat floor. Half-level shifts can separate cooking, dining, lounging, work and sleeping; a stair, atrium or lightwell can keep those zones visually related. The available project documentation supports ten named precedents, not a verified list of exactly 33 houses, so this guide treats “33” as the gallery brief and focuses on the documented design strategies that answer it.
What a multi-story open plan actually does
In a conventional open plan, rooms share one level and are separated mainly by furniture, ceiling changes or finishes. A vertical open plan adds height and level changes as organizing tools. Moving a room up or down by a half flight can define its use while preserving a diagonal view to the spaces around it. The result is not one undifferentiated volume; it is a sequence of related rooms.
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The strongest examples make the vertical connection deliberate. A stair may be placed in the center of the plan rather than at its edge. An atrium or lightwell may be cut through several floors so daylight and sightlines travel with the stair. On a sloping site, the floor levels can follow the land, reducing the need to force every room onto one artificial platform.
These precedents describe spatial arrangements, not standardized performance. The project descriptions do not establish category-wide savings in energy or construction cost, higher resale value, superior acoustics or better accessibility. Those outcomes depend on structure, detailing, climate, regulations and how a particular household uses the house.
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Five planning moves that keep several floors connected
1. Use half-levels to separate activities
A half-level is enough to signal a change from kitchen to dining or from family living to a quieter retreat. Because the height difference is small, people can still see and hear one another. The London “Two Family Houses” case studies use this approach: split-level rooms distinguish kitchen, dining and living functions while diagonal views preserve an open-plan relationship.
2. Make the stair a social room
When the stair sits where people naturally gather, it becomes more than circulation. Open risers, landings and adjacent seating can make movement between floors visible. Wattle Park House uses a feature stair/lightwell across three levels, while South Melbourne House pairs a curved stair with a three-storey atrium.
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3. Cut a lightwell or atrium through the stack
An atrium gives the vertical plan a shared center. It can bring daylight into deep floor plates and create views from one level to another. Accordia Sky Villas organizes a split-level section around a central atrium across four stories. House Woloszczuk uses a rear atrium extending over three floors to connect living and dining.
4. Let the slope determine the section
On a steep site, stacking identical floors can create awkward retaining walls and disconnected entrances. An upside-down arrangement can put social rooms higher, where views and outdoor access are better, while bedrooms sit below. Harmony House follows that logic; Residence KR21 uses a sequence of half-level changes between garage/mudroom, bedrooms, main living and an overlooking gym/office.
5. Treat the outside as another level
Vertical connection is stronger when each principal room has a clear relationship to a terrace, deck, garden or view. Mills Road in Wānaka places open-plan living on the upper level and extends it to an outdoor room. Porter House uses a glazed south wall to open its split-level plan to decks and terraces.
Ten documented precedents to study
| Project | Site or constraint | Vertical arrangement | Connector | Shared spaces and views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Family Houses, London housing design case studies | Urban housing design case study | Lower-floor split-level rooms | Half-level changes and diagonal sightlines | Kitchen, dining and living remain visually related |
| Residence KR21, BattersbyHowat Architects | House organized as a sequence of level changes | Garage/mudroom, bedrooms, living and upper gym/office | Connected half-level sequence | Gym/office overlooks the living room |
| Wattle Park House, Ferrone Architects | Three-level residence | Lower level includes double-height living and kitchen | Feature stair and lightwell | Views and daylight move through three levels |
| Harmony House, Brown & Brown Architects | Steep site | Upside-down split level; social rooms above private rooms | Double-height atrium | Communal areas gain the upper position; lower levels hold private rooms |
| Mills Road, Wānaka, ENGCO with Threefold Architecture | Split-level structure on a sloping context | Upper-level open-plan living | Split-level circulation | Living opens to an outdoor room |
| Accordia Sky Villas, Alison Brooks Architects | Four-story vertical section | Split levels around a central void | Central atrium | Visual and spatial connection across four stories |
| South Melbourne House, Mitsuori | Three-level residence | Communal spaces arranged around a full-height void | Three-storey atrium and curved stair | Natural light and visual links connect communal areas |
| Split House, Sevenoaks, London Atelier | Three-storey home on a steep hill | Floors step with the site | Atrium conceived to house the staircase | Vertical circulation is given a central architectural role |
| House Woloszczuk, Baufritz | Four-storey home | Rear open-plan void over three floors | Rear atrium | Living and dining connect across the height of the house |
| Porter House, West Vancouver | 1948 heritage house | Split-level open plan | Internal level changes and broad glazing | Glazed south wall opens to decks and terraces |
Two Family Houses: diagonal connections instead of one large room
The London case studies show how a modest change in floor height can do several jobs at once. Kitchen, dining and living areas are assigned distinct levels, so activities do not visually collapse into one zone. The diagonals between those levels keep the plan open in use and in sightlines. This is a useful model when a household wants separation without doors or a corridor-heavy layout.
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Residence KR21: a route that gathers different degrees of privacy
BattersbyHowat’s Residence KR21 is described as a sequence linking the garage and mudroom level to bedrooms below, main living spaces above and a gym/office that overlooks the living room. The arrangement places practical arrival spaces, private rooms and shared rooms on related but distinct platforms. One source page carries the title “Residence KR18,” while its URL and project text refer to Residence KR21; verify the project name when citing or labeling drawings.
Wattle Park House: stair plus lightwell
At Wattle Park House, Ferrone Architects make the stair/lightwell a feature that links three levels. The lower level contains double-height living and kitchen areas, giving the shared rooms extra volume while the vertical opening keeps upper circulation in view. The lesson is to coordinate the stair, daylight and principal living volume rather than treating them as separate problems.
Harmony House: putting the social level on top
Brown & Brown Architects completed Harmony House in 2024 as an upside-down split-level response to a steep site. Social spaces sit above private rooms, and a double-height atrium connects the levels visually and functionally. This is the opposite of the usual “public rooms at entry, bedrooms upstairs” arrangement; it is useful where the upper level offers the best outlook or outdoor connection.
Mills Road, Wānaka: upper living with an outdoor room
Mills Road places open-plan living on the upper level and extends it to an outdoor room. ENGCO with Threefold Architecture also notes that the split levels affected the structural bracing design. That detail matters: a stepped section changes more than circulation, so the structural engineer must resolve lateral stability, openings and load paths early.
Accordia Sky Villas: four stories around one atrium
Alison Brooks Architects arrange the Accordia Sky Villas’ split-level section around a central atrium across four stories. The void is both a visual address and a spatial connector, allowing rooms at different heights to read as parts of one home. The project page includes praise from the RIBA Stirling Prize judges; any quotation should be checked against that page for exact wording and attribution before publication.
South Melbourne House: curved movement around a full-height void
Mitsuori’s South Melbourne House organizes a three-level residence around a three-storey atrium and curved stair. The description emphasizes communal spaces, natural light and visual connectivity across floors. A curved stair can slow the journey and widen views, but it also requires careful planning for handrails, furniture movement and code-compliant geometry.
Split House, Sevenoaks: the stair inside the atrium
London Atelier’s Split House is a three-storey home on a steep hill. Its official description says the atrium was envisaged to house the staircase. This makes the vertical void a direct response to the site and the circulation problem: instead of adding a stair to leftover floor area, the design gives the stair the main organizing space.
House Woloszczuk: a rear void over three floors
House Woloszczuk by Baufritz is a four-storey home with an open-plan rear atrium extending over three floors. The atrium connects living and dining and gives those rooms a long vertical view. Locating the void at the rear can preserve a more solid street frontage while concentrating daylight and shared activity toward the garden side.
Porter House: a mid-century split level opened to terraces
The heritage register identifies Porter House in West Vancouver as a 1948 house with a split-level open plan. A glazed south wall opens the interior to decks and terraces, showing how outdoor rooms can reinforce a stepped plan. Because it is a heritage-listed example, alterations must also respect the existing building’s character and regulatory requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to develop a vertical open plan without losing usability
- Map the site and access points. Record slope, street level, best views, sunlight, existing trees and where a vehicle or service entry must arrive. Decide whether the house should follow the terrain or create a level platform.
- Assign privacy before drawing stairs. Mark public, family and private zones. Test whether bedrooms belong above, below or beside living spaces, and identify which rooms need acoustic separation even if they remain visually open.
- Choose the connector. Use a central stair when movement and social interaction are the priority. Add an atrium or lightwell when daylight and cross-floor sightlines are the priority. A combined stair/lightwell, as at Wattle Park House, can do both.
- Draw the section before finalizing the plan. Show every floor, half-level, landing, guard, head height and structural beam. Check that a person on one level can see the intended room without looking directly into a bedroom or bathroom.
- Place outdoor rooms deliberately. Align terraces, decks or balconies with the spaces that need them most. Upper-level living may capture views, while lower bedrooms may need protected gardens or courtyards.
- Coordinate structure and services early. Atriums interrupt floor framing; split levels alter load paths and bracing. Mills Road demonstrates why structural bracing can be affected. Reserve routes for ventilation, plumbing, sprinklers and electrical distribution before the void is fixed.
- Resolve safety and access as design drivers. Confirm stair geometry, guards, handrails, lighting, child safety and emergency egress with the local code professional. If any resident cannot comfortably use stairs, provide an accessible entry and an equitable route to essential rooms rather than treating accessibility as a later retrofit.
- Model sound and privacy. Open voids can carry voices and mechanical noise between floors. Use room placement, doors where needed, absorptive finishes and equipment isolation to prevent the atrium from becoming an unintended amplifier.
What these precedents can—and cannot—prove
Together, the projects demonstrate several repeatable spatial ideas: level changes can define uses; stairs can become visual centers; atria and lightwells can carry daylight; and sloping sites can be used to organize rather than merely complicate a plan. They do not provide a controlled comparison of construction cost, operating energy, acoustic quality, resale value or accessibility. Each description is a project account, and many are published by architects, builders, engineers or heritage authorities to explain a particular design.
For a real project, treat the precedents as section diagrams to test, not as promises of performance. Ask the design team to document structure, fire safety, thermal modeling, daylight, acoustics, maintenance and universal-access decisions for the specific site and jurisdiction.
Quick Recap
A practical brief for an architect
- State the number of full stories and half-levels you are willing to accept.
- List the rooms that must share a view and the rooms that must remain visually private.
- Identify whether the primary connector is a stair, an atrium/lightwell or both.
- Mark the preferred social elevation: street, garden, upper view or courtyard.
- Describe the outdoor room that should extend each principal living space.
- Require an early section showing structure, bracing, services, guards and egress.
- Set measurable targets for daylight, overheating, reverberation, energy use and accessibility instead of assuming an open void will deliver them automatically.
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