Glass floors, sunken baths and hot tubs could soon become standard features if housebuilders take on board the results of the David Wilson Homes Project:LIFE house. DWH attached tags to the Parnell family and monitored their room usage during a six-month stay in a luxury townhouse in Sheffield. The study shows the kitchen dining area was the most intensively used part of the house with other communal rooms used individually by the family members. The dining room was also underused. The light, open plan design of the house was a hit with the family and Nick Parnell, father, enjoyed the hot tub while his wife, Sue Parnell, quickly took to the sunken bath and in tile TV screen. James Wilson, development director of DWH, said: “Volume house builders tend to be conservative. There were many aspects of house design which we wanted to trial one day but which we would not have risked in the commercial marketplace, acknowledging that some elements might not be successful.” He added: “The statistical tagging data combined with the behavioural findings has provided us with a valuable insight into the usage of the Project:LIFE house. We recognize that this is a sample of only one …