|
In North America, a duplex house is a dwelling having apartments with separate entrances for two households. This includes two-story houses having a complete apartment on each floor and also side-by-side apartments on a single lot that share a common wall. By contrast, a building comprising two attached units on two distinct properties is typically considered ''semi-detached'' or ''twin homes'' but may also be referred to as a ''duplex''. The term "duplex" can't be extended to three-unit and four-unit buildings, as they would be referred to with specific terms such as triplex and fourplex or quadplex/quadruplex.〔(Merriam Webster Online: definition of fourplex )〕 Because of the flexibility of the term, the line between an apartment building and a duplex is somewhat blurred, with apartment buildings tending to be bigger, while duplexes are usually the size of a normal house. In dense areas like Manhattan and downtown Chicago, a duplex or duplex apartment refers to a maisonette, a single dwelling unit spread over two floors connected by an indoor staircase.〔()〕 Similarly, a triplex apartment refers to an apartment spread out over three floors. These properties can be quite expensive and include the most expensive property in Manhattan as of 2006 (according to ''Forbes Magazine''), a triplex atop The Pierre Hotel.〔(Most Expensive Homes In The U.S. 2006 ). Forbes.com (23 June 2006). Retrieved on 2011-06-07.〕 In the United Kingdom, the definition of a duplex is only that of a flat or apartment on two floors connected by an inner staircase though, because many new apartments have open-plan designs, the distinction between a duplex and an apartment with a mezzanine is blurred. This traditional layout is normally called a maisonette, especially if the building is older, but the term "duplex" is increasingly used by estate agents because of the perceived glamour of the term. ==Urban planning== In urban planning, the term duplex is used more specifically. Major Canadian cities sometimes use the term duplex to refer specifically to a building with ''one unit built above another''. Edmonton defines 'Duplex Housing' as "development consisting of a building containing only two Dwellings, with one Dwelling placed over the other in whole or in part with individual and separate access to each Dwelling".〔(Edmonton Zoning Bylaw )〕 Calgary defines Duplex Dwelling as "a building which contains two Dwelling Units, one located above the other, with each having a separate entrance".〔(Calgary Land Use Bylaw )〕 Toronto proposes in their new Zoning Bylaw to define 'Duplex Building' as a building that has only two dwelling units, and one dwelling unit is entirely or partially on top of the other dwelling unit.〔(Proposed Toronto Zoning Bylaw )〕 Halifax defines Duplex Dwelling as "the whole of a dwelling that is divided horizontally into two separate dwelling units, each of which has an independent entrance".〔(Halifax Mainland Land Use Bylaw )〕 Other major cities use the term duplex, but for dwelling units. Dallas defines the term duplex as "two dwelling units located on a lot".〔(Dallas Zoning Code )〕 Philadelphia defines a duplex dwelling as "a dwelling occupied as the home or residence of two (2) families, under one (1) roof, each family occupying a single unit".〔(Philadelphia Code )〕 Other major cities do not use the term duplex in their zoning or land-use bylaws. San Francisco and Vancouver use the term Two-family dwelling.〔(Vancouver Zoning and Development Bylaw )〕〔(San Francisco Planning Code )〕 Winnipeg uses the term Dwelling, two-family.〔(Winnipeg Zoning Bylaw )〕 The definitions of these terms do not specify the physical relationship between the two dwelling units in the building. In cities such as Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago the term Two-flat is used and defines it as a "residential building that contains 2 dwelling units located on a single lot. The dwelling units must share a common wall or common floor/ceiling."〔(Chicago Zoning Ordinance )〕 Where cities do not define the relationship of the dwelling units to one another, units may be built one on top of the other, or one beside the other. The latter arrangement is more specifically referred to as a semi-detached building. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Duplex (building)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|