I am in the end of the design phase for a home i will be building.

The main feature of the home will be an internal courtyard surrounded by a peristyle on 3 sides, and the main living space on the remaining side.

The exterior walls of the Peristyle (also the exterior walls of the structure) along with pillars on the inner side, will be supporting a 2nd floor.

this 3 sided 1st floor peristyle wall will be a combined 165 feet long and be the full height of the first floor.

The 2nd floor will be done with ICFs, but what about this first floor. Would it be cheaper to use removable forms because it is "outside" on both sides, or would it be cheaper to use ICFs from the start?

I have a gut feeling ICF is the way to go, but all that unneeded insulation and shipping bug me.

thanks in advance for your time and effort in assisting me.

Are you doing the work? ICF will cost you more in materials, but save a bunch in time if you are providing the labor. Traditional formed will cost more in labor(either yours or contractors) but less in materials. A lot less if you have someplace to use the form wood.

If you do not need the insulation, and are contracting it done, traditional is probably the way to go in this case...

Thanks for the input!

To answer your first question im the future home owner, not the contractor.

i'm happy to hear that you think traditional forms might be cheaper, i really to prefer the feel of cold concrete to stucco! :)

ICFs at $13 - 15 sq. ft. are about twice the price of standard poured concrete walls in this area. If you can't benefit from the insulation and you aren't stacking blocks yourself - Why ICF? The bare concrete will still need stucco or some sort of finish if you don't want an industrial peristyle.