ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home (140 sqm Urban Villa) on a Slope with a Double Garage
Created on: 13 Jul 2018 11:06
F
Franky73
Hello everyone,
Two months ago, we purchased a serviced building plot on a hillside and are currently deeply involved in the floor plan design, which is proving quite challenging due to the elevation difference.
I have been following the forum for a while and recently found a great template for our project that I think just needs some adjustments to fit our requirements. I would really appreciate your feedback and am, of course, open to criticism!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Owner’s Requirements
House Design
If you have to give up something, which details or features
Why does the design look the way it does?
We really like the design here by "kaho674." It truly reflects our ideas. The upper floor should still fit now but, of course, with our minimum required room sizes and the requirement to build only 1.5 storeys.
What is really important to us, especially since the plot is on a slope — the highest point at the street is just under 1m (3.3 ft) above the zero level and it drops 5.11m (16.8 ft) to the lowest point — is how everything can be integrated into the plot without the costs for filling and leveling running out of control. We have also considered an alternative to the urban villa in the style of a split-level house. What have your experiences been building on such a plot?
Many thanks
Two months ago, we purchased a serviced building plot on a hillside and are currently deeply involved in the floor plan design, which is proving quite challenging due to the elevation difference.
I have been following the forum for a while and recently found a great template for our project that I think just needs some adjustments to fit our requirements. I would really appreciate your feedback and am, of course, open to criticism!
Development Plan / Restrictions
- Plot size: 722sqm (7,770 sqft)
- Slope: Yes (southwest)
- Site coverage ratio: 0.3
- Floor area ratio: 0.8
- Building window, building line and boundary: -
- Edge development: No (only carport)
- Number of parking spaces: 1-2 (in front of the garage and next to the house)
- Number of storeys: 1.5
- Roof style: No restrictions
- Architectural style: No restrictions
- Orientation: No restrictions
- Maximum heights / limits: 3m (10 ft) distance to neighbor
Owner’s Requirements
- Style, roof type, building type: Urban villa, hipped roof
- Basement, storeys: No basement, 1.5 storeys
- Number of occupants: 4 (ages: 44, 45, 16, 6 years)
- Space requirements on ground and upper floor: Upstairs minimum bedroom 11sqm (118 sqft), walk-in closet 8sqm (86 sqft), 2 children’s rooms 12sqm (129 sqft) each, bathroom 13sqm (140 sqft)
- Office: Family use or home office?: Not needed
- Guest overnight stays per year: Rare
- Open or closed architecture: Open downstairs, rather closed upstairs
- Conservative or modern design: Modern
- Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with island
- Number of dining seats: Minimum 6, possibility for a large dining table (big family)
- Fireplace: No
- Music / stereo wall: No
- Balcony, roof terrace: If possible, a partially covered terrace
- Garage, carport: Preferably a double garage
- Utility garden, greenhouse: Yes
- Other: Storage space necessary, as no basement
House Design
- Who designed the plan: Currently from the forum
- What do you like most? Why? Great layout on the ground floor, still open upstairs
- What do you not like? Why?: The upper floor layout still fits 3 children, which we don’t need
- Estimated price by architect/planner: We thought, excluding land, max $250,000 - realistic?
- Personal price limit for house, including fittings: €250,000
- Preferred heating system: We are open!
If you have to give up something, which details or features
- You can give up: Walk-in closet, double garage
- You cannot give up: Large bathroom
Why does the design look the way it does?
We really like the design here by "kaho674." It truly reflects our ideas. The upper floor should still fit now but, of course, with our minimum required room sizes and the requirement to build only 1.5 storeys.
What is really important to us, especially since the plot is on a slope — the highest point at the street is just under 1m (3.3 ft) above the zero level and it drops 5.11m (16.8 ft) to the lowest point — is how everything can be integrated into the plot without the costs for filling and leveling running out of control. We have also considered an alternative to the urban villa in the style of a split-level house. What have your experiences been building on such a plot?
Many thanks
haydee schrieb:
What is the elevation difference within the building envelope?Do you mean from the highest to the lowest point? About 5 meters (16 feet)
haydee schrieb:
Was the soil just dumped and spread out, or was it properly compacted in layers?Just dumped, not compacted (for illustration, two photos attached)
haydee schrieb:
Is there a soil report? Not all slopes are the same, and that can affect the costs.I currently only have a soil report for the entire development. Soil tests were done at 10 different locations. For our area, it’s the usual clayey soil.
haydee schrieb:
Plan your outdoor area to minimize earthworks as much as possible. Every cubic meter costs, as does retaining.
Multiple levels also have advantages for the outdoor space.Yes, we actually wanted two levels. The house right at the street level (also because of the view and rainwater) and from the terrace down to a lower garden level with several steps. That’s the rough plan.
Hello Franky,
you’re confusing me a bit right now. A one-and-a-half-story house typically has a gable roof. A town villa is usually two stories high. So, you probably aren’t allowed to build the latter. The development plan will likely specify how high the knee wall (the short wall between the floor and roof) can be.
I hope you didn’t rush into buying the plot. Apparently, there are still quite a few things you haven’t considered. It’s best to first consult a structural engineer, visit the site with them, and ask what is feasible. Gather all relevant documents and then estimate the earthwork required for the foundation.
Always keep in mind that many of us here are amateurs offering advice just for fun and based on experience. Building on a slope involves many details that a layperson might not know (structural stability, groundwater, etc.). So without an architect and a structural engineer, even the best plan is worthless.
you’re confusing me a bit right now. A one-and-a-half-story house typically has a gable roof. A town villa is usually two stories high. So, you probably aren’t allowed to build the latter. The development plan will likely specify how high the knee wall (the short wall between the floor and roof) can be.
I hope you didn’t rush into buying the plot. Apparently, there are still quite a few things you haven’t considered. It’s best to first consult a structural engineer, visit the site with them, and ask what is feasible. Gather all relevant documents and then estimate the earthwork required for the foundation.
Always keep in mind that many of us here are amateurs offering advice just for fun and based on experience. Building on a slope involves many details that a layperson might not know (structural stability, groundwater, etc.). So without an architect and a structural engineer, even the best plan is worthless.
If the basement is dug into the slope so that on average only 1.40 m (4.6 ft) is exposed, then the basement counts as a half-story. However, several windows would have to be omitted.
Suggestion:
Consider the ground floor as the basement and the upper floor as the ground floor. The garage will not have a direct access to the ground floor, but it is going to be dropped anyway with a budget of 250,000. With some creativity, a lot of effort, and accepting reduced natural light, it could work.
I would always recommend planning a sloped lot from scratch!
Suggestion:
Consider the ground floor as the basement and the upper floor as the ground floor. The garage will not have a direct access to the ground floor, but it is going to be dropped anyway with a budget of 250,000. With some creativity, a lot of effort, and accepting reduced natural light, it could work.
I would always recommend planning a sloped lot from scratch!
ypg schrieb:
If the basement is excavated into the slope so that on average only 1.40 m (4.6 ft) is above ground, then the basement is considered a half story. Isn’t that insanely expensive?
kaho674 schrieb:
Hello Franky,
You’re confusing me a bit right now. One-and-a-half-story houses are typically gable roof houses. A townhouse or villa is two stories. According to that, you probably aren’t allowed to build the latter. The local building plan likely specifies the maximum height of the knee wall.
I hope you didn’t rush into buying the plot. Apparently, there are still several things you haven’t considered. It’s best to first consult a civil engineer, visit the site with them, and ask what is possible. Gather all the documentation and then estimate the earthworks needed.
Keep in mind, most of us here are amateurs giving tips based on experience and for fun. With hillside houses, there is certainly a lot to consider that a layperson wouldn’t know (structural engineering, groundwater, etc.). So without an architect and a structural engineer, even the best plan is useless.Did you at least manage to get and copy the analysis report of the neighbor’s soil? Is it Z0 or Z1 soil?
Sorry to say this, but your neighbor probably found something... Now you’ll have to have all the excess soil removed. Just as a thought experiment: transporting 1m x 12m x 9m of extra soil costs around 20€/cbm (cubic meter) for Z0 soil. For Z1 soil, it’s three times that. You can thank your neighbor for that.
ypg schrieb:
I would always redesign a sloped building plot! I would always redesign any building plot.Similar topics