Advantages of an Octagon Home

Fowler

• Orson Squire Fowler touted the idea of octagon houses in the mid-19th century. Before long they sprang up in towns all over the United States. The trend did not continue for long, but some lovely examples of the style can be found. Fowler's book "The Octagon House: A Home For All, or A New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building" was published in 1848. Today a number of architectural companies sell plans and ready materials to construct octagon houses.

Construction and Energy

• According to Orson Fowler, an octagon house was cheaper to build. Its shape took up less exterior space and therefore needed fewer construction materials. The space was less expensive to heat in winter because rooms opened into one another around central foyers. The house was easier to cool because windows gave cross ventilation.

Space

• One of the advantages of an octagonal design is that it has about 20 percent more space than does a square building with the same perimeter. An octagon encloses more space than a square. Interior space has fewer space-wasting corners. The interior of early octagonal homes were often built without hallways, with two rooms conjoined and the innermost of the two opening onto a central foyer. Several room sets would be built around the foyer. This increased the usable space within the octagon.

Style

• Octagonal designs lend themselves to any kind of facing. Architects can choose any features for facades from brick and stucco to gothic iron or modern glass. Windows can look out from every side and level. Designers of late 19th-century houses often built porches wrapping around the octagon or made use of spiral staircases. Octagonal houses offer more options for where to locate the house on a property.