ᐅ Floor plan design with some specific requirements – any ideas?

Created on: 29 Dec 2017 00:54
A
Anitra
Hello everyone,
the development of "our" new residential area is almost complete, and hopefully, we will be able to buy the plot soon.
I would really appreciate it if you could take a critical look at our planning:

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 740 sqm (about 8,000 sq ft)
Slope: gentle slope
Floor area ratio/Gross floor area ratio: no information in the development plan
Building area, building line, and boundary: see image, plot width according to the plan is unfortunately only 21.5 m (about 70.5 ft). We planned cautiously with 21 m (about 69 ft) width. So, it’s a very narrow, elongated plot...
Edge construction: garage
Number of parking spaces: unknown
Maximum number of floors: 2
Roof type: mono-pitched roof (10-25 degrees) or flat roof max. 5 degrees
Orientation: street to the north, garden to the south, main ridge direction must be parallel to the street; to the west is farmland, with probable expansion of the residential area soon
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height max. 6.5 m (about 21 ft)

Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, floors: no basement, preferably 2 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 3 children (2, 5, 6 years old)
Space requirements on the ground floor: master bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, guest toilet, kitchen/dining, living room, staircase with enough space for a platform lift to the upper floor, storage room (with space for utilities, washing machine, dryer, freezer)
Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 additional children’s rooms, bathroom, office, guest room, shower bathroom, technical room including mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, storage space; ideally a small separate room for sorting, washing, and drying laundry
Office: used by the family
Guests per year: roughly 1-2 guests once a month for 1-2 nights
Open or closed architecture: rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: mainly practical
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with plenty of storage, elevated plot, lots of workspace and room for a dining table extending to at least 2.40 m (about 7 ft 10 in)
Living room should preferably be separated but challenging to arrange
Number of dining seats: at least 5 for everyday use, sometimes 10-12 people
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage, max width according to plan 6.5 m (about 21 ft)
Kitchen garden yes, greenhouse rather no

Additional Wishes / Special Features / Daily routine; also reasons why something should or should not be included. Our daughter (age 2) has multiple severe disabilities and cannot operate her wheelchair independently. At night, she should be close to us. During the day, she usually does not stay in her room but with us. However, we need space for various assistive devices.

House Design:
Planner: architect from a construction company together with my ideas

What do you especially like? A direct view at night from my bed into hers. All rooms are well arranged according to the cardinal directions.

What do you not like? Living room is too long and narrow: a floor mat (1.25 x 2.0 m (about 4 ft 1 in x 6 ft 7 in)) is shown in the living room. In the long term, we want to build a raised platform with a border for her in the living room. This is difficult in the current plan. An additional utility room would be nice. Possibly the kitchen is too small.
On the upper floor, I’m not yet satisfied with the technical room/shower bathroom/office corner area.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating technology: gas, solar (?), mechanical ventilation with heat recovery

If you had to give up something, on which details or extensions could you do without?
- Can give up: the door from the garage will not lead into the house but under the front roof; bathtub on the upper floor (maybe a good place for a drying rack?)
- Cannot do without: wheelchair accessibility

Why was the design created as it is? Many considerations
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? Everything is already quite well arranged.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters? How could the open plan be redesigned, preferably with a better-separated living room? Where do you see room for improvement? Can circulation areas be further minimized?

A big thank you in advance!
Best regards
Anitra

Ground floor plan of a single-family house: living/dining/kitchen, sleeping, child, bathroom, garage.

Upper floor plan of a single-family house: two children’s rooms, guest, office, gallery, bathroom, utility room, storage.

Ground floor plan of a single-family house with living kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, hallway and garage.

Overview plan showing plots, boundaries, streets and buildings in a residential development.

Hand-drawn plot planning sketch with garden, boundary and street.
A
Anitra
4 Jan 2018 22:22
I can’t quite picture how this would be implemented right now, but it sounds interesting.

Ideally, a soundproof, light-transmitting curtain would be used.
A
Anitra
4 Jan 2018 22:32
Now the whole house design is almost entirely based on my sketches, and that annoying corner is driving me crazy. Have I already mentioned that for a potential ceiling lift, openings without doors and with enough ceiling height are the most practical? Privacy versus wheelchair accessibility... Maybe a completely open area without any walls. Uncomfortable, but practical. No, better not completely open.

The upper floor doesn't quite impress me yet either, but I've deliberately avoided looking at it for days.

You can tell I'm slowly losing it.
11ant4 Jan 2018 22:40
Anitra schrieb:
Now the whole house is based almost entirely on my sketches, and such a silly corner is driving me crazy.

You’re not alone, we’re sharing your frustration. It’s good that the foundation comes from you. That way, the house truly belongs to the family.
Anitra schrieb:
You can tell I’m slowly losing my mind

Then take a break and get off the bike for a week.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A
Anitra
4 Jan 2018 22:45
Yes, you are right. Although sometimes the most amazing things can come out of a frenzy.
Everything will be fine.
A
Anitra
11 Jan 2018 22:18
Hello,

Today I visited our future building site again.

1. Unfortunately, it is located quite high up on a hill. The wind is very strong. Do you have any ideas on how we could block the wind on the terrace? To the west and northwest, there are only fields... There might not be enough space for a windbreak with various bushes or hedges.
On the ground floor, there is a single-story extension planned behind the garage, probably for the kitchen. Today, I was thinking about whether we could shift the two-story house slightly northward, toward the street, and use the extension as a windbreak for a sheltered terrace. What do you think about this?
The site plan is on page 1 in the opening post. However, the kitchen and living room are swapped in the floor plan. The exact layout has not yet been finalized. Unfortunately, I can’t upload the site plan from my phone.

2. A professional friend advised me to definitely hire an independent architect, even though we are building with a general contractor. Do you think this would add significant value compared to the current designs?

Thank you!
Y
ypg
11 Jan 2018 22:35
It is better this way – the wind can be persistent.