Building Designs as They Relate to the Different Species
The Empire is made up of several very different species, all trying to get along as best they can. For the most part, they are succeeding; The Empire has tried over the last 800 or so years to reduce racism as best they could. It's been a long social engineering experiment, with mixed results. There are still people who discriminate, and there are institutions that do so as well, but not many. Diversity is encouraged; the Tondene emperors started with the military, utilizing the strengths of the differing peoples under its banners. But this turned into something useful even in civilian life, and the civilization as a whole. It could easily have gone a different way, save for the forward thinking and open mindedness of the people at the top.
What this means in cities is that you have everything from the tall Orcs (typically around 2m tall) to the short Goblins (topping out at about 1m) and everything in between: Humans at an average of 1.75m, Elves at about 1.8m, Dwarves at 1.25m, Hobbits at 1.1m, and the Aarakocra at 1.5m tall, but with wingspans of 6.5m. When it comes to buildings and furniture, that's a lot of variation, especially when trying to accommodate that range of sizes comfortably.
In cities, places open to the public will generally be built to cater to the taller of the races. Ceilings tend to be high, usually around 2.75m (9'). Tables and chairs will typically be built for Human heights, which covers Orcs, Elves, and Humans. Risers ("booster seats") are available for Dwarves, and tall chairs ("high chairs") are usually available for Hobbits and Goblins. Some places even have saddle roosts available for the Skyfolk, since Aarakocra have a hard time sitting on chairs due to having tails. These are very rare, except around the Northern Expanse, where they are slightly more common. When roosts aren't available, they will often flip a chair onto its side and perch on it that way.
Some places have doors with two doorknobs, one at Human height, one at Hobbit/Goblin height. Either doorknob will open the latch. At first, this wasn't something that was offered, until the ergonomic problems with it was made visible to the society as a whole. When the first inn had these installed, it turned out that all of the Tiny Folk stayed there. The other inns had to play catch up in order to stay in business. Now it's fairly common in most buildings open to the public (about 55% have dual doorknobs on their doors, at least in the public areas).
Residences built for Humans, Orcs, and Elves are all very similar in design, based upon local materials. Dwarves can manage in places like this just fine, although they tend to prefer homes of stone, rather than wood. That's simply a cultural remnant from living in the Undercities. Aarakocra live in communal nestings. When a group of Skyfolk are living in a city, they will often get a warehouse or other large, open structure, cut a hole in the ceiling and any intermediary floors, and use the "rings" of the remaining floors for nest nooks. The ground floor is either left empty or used for storage; they don't feel comfortable that close to the ground. The central open area allows for ingress and egress. Doors are either walled up or used for moving cargo in and out.
Goblin and Hobbit homes tend to have a few differences from "regular" dwellings.
Window sills are usually lower, at about 0.6m high instead of 1m. Also, their doorknobs are placed lower, at about the same height. Often the doors will be Dutch doors, with the lower part being about 1.4m tall, with the other 0.6m or so openable as well for tall folk. In the cities, it’s not something that anyone even remarks upon, it being the default state and totally normal, and Goblins and Hobbits are common just about everywhere.
Hobbits also tend to like round doors and windows. The round doors will not typically be of the split or Dutch variety. No one really knows why they like circles; it just seems to be a design choice that Hobbits tend to enjoy, despite the more complicated carpentry. Scholars have theorized that it could have developed from when Hobbits lived in hobbit holes (basically, dressed up caves dug into hillsides). It’s possible that their hobbit warrens were sort of a copy of the Dwarves’ Undercities. Some have, with tongue lodged firmly in cheek, said that they like round doors because they are a round, roly poly people, whose love for fine food and drink have made round doors necessary.
Goblins find rectilinear windows and doors to be just fine, and easier to build. They don’t have time for that round nonsense!
What this means in cities is that you have everything from the tall Orcs (typically around 2m tall) to the short Goblins (topping out at about 1m) and everything in between: Humans at an average of 1.75m, Elves at about 1.8m, Dwarves at 1.25m, Hobbits at 1.1m, and the Aarakocra at 1.5m tall, but with wingspans of 6.5m. When it comes to buildings and furniture, that's a lot of variation, especially when trying to accommodate that range of sizes comfortably.
In cities, places open to the public will generally be built to cater to the taller of the races. Ceilings tend to be high, usually around 2.75m (9'). Tables and chairs will typically be built for Human heights, which covers Orcs, Elves, and Humans. Risers ("booster seats") are available for Dwarves, and tall chairs ("high chairs") are usually available for Hobbits and Goblins. Some places even have saddle roosts available for the Skyfolk, since Aarakocra have a hard time sitting on chairs due to having tails. These are very rare, except around the Northern Expanse, where they are slightly more common. When roosts aren't available, they will often flip a chair onto its side and perch on it that way.
Some places have doors with two doorknobs, one at Human height, one at Hobbit/Goblin height. Either doorknob will open the latch. At first, this wasn't something that was offered, until the ergonomic problems with it was made visible to the society as a whole. When the first inn had these installed, it turned out that all of the Tiny Folk stayed there. The other inns had to play catch up in order to stay in business. Now it's fairly common in most buildings open to the public (about 55% have dual doorknobs on their doors, at least in the public areas).
Residences built for Humans, Orcs, and Elves are all very similar in design, based upon local materials. Dwarves can manage in places like this just fine, although they tend to prefer homes of stone, rather than wood. That's simply a cultural remnant from living in the Undercities. Aarakocra live in communal nestings. When a group of Skyfolk are living in a city, they will often get a warehouse or other large, open structure, cut a hole in the ceiling and any intermediary floors, and use the "rings" of the remaining floors for nest nooks. The ground floor is either left empty or used for storage; they don't feel comfortable that close to the ground. The central open area allows for ingress and egress. Doors are either walled up or used for moving cargo in and out.
Goblin and Hobbit homes tend to have a few differences from "regular" dwellings.
Window sills are usually lower, at about 0.6m high instead of 1m. Also, their doorknobs are placed lower, at about the same height. Often the doors will be Dutch doors, with the lower part being about 1.4m tall, with the other 0.6m or so openable as well for tall folk. In the cities, it’s not something that anyone even remarks upon, it being the default state and totally normal, and Goblins and Hobbits are common just about everywhere.
Hobbits also tend to like round doors and windows. The round doors will not typically be of the split or Dutch variety. No one really knows why they like circles; it just seems to be a design choice that Hobbits tend to enjoy, despite the more complicated carpentry. Scholars have theorized that it could have developed from when Hobbits lived in hobbit holes (basically, dressed up caves dug into hillsides). It’s possible that their hobbit warrens were sort of a copy of the Dwarves’ Undercities. Some have, with tongue lodged firmly in cheek, said that they like round doors because they are a round, roly poly people, whose love for fine food and drink have made round doors necessary.
Goblins find rectilinear windows and doors to be just fine, and easier to build. They don’t have time for that round nonsense!
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