ᐅ Floor Plan for Semi-Detached House on a Slope – Suggestions for Improvement?
Created on: 27 Sep 2018 14:11
R
RomeoZwo
Hello,
attached is a floor plan for a semi-detached house (only one half shown) on a sloping site, with a request for comments.
The semi-detached house is planned to be built on one plot, with both units intended for rental.
Currently, the plot is classified as outside the designated building area. Nearby (to the north and on the neighboring plot to the east), houses of similar size (height, site coverage ratio, floor area ratio) have been built in recent years with special exemptions. The informal preliminary inquiry regarding the conditions is ongoing with the local authorities, but I expect a lengthy discussion.
The following considerations were made:
- Maximum width 14 m (plot width slightly >20 m (66 feet))
- 3 similarly sized (bed)rooms of at least approximately 15 m² (160 sq ft)
- 3rd room more important than a garage (garage with boundary line construction likely not possible due to slope)
- Carport as a substitute for a garage
- Studio room if approved, otherwise a shallow hipped roof or green roof
- Living room/kitchen on the “entry level”
The following questions still arise, or I am not fully satisfied with:
- Possibly living room/kitchen in the basement level with direct garden access?
- If the roof terrace is approved, should we skip the balcony at the living room?
- The shape of the living room is difficult to furnish (goal: TV and garden view from the sofa)
- Prefer a garage over the 3rd room? (rental marketability)
- Little or no space for coat storage/shoe cabinet in the hallway (width approx. 1.35 m (4.4 feet))
- Too many windows? (We have this in our house because we love it, but here rental appeal is a factor)
- Planned so far as a semi-detached house with a party wall. Would it also be possible as a duplex with two separate residential units and a “standard” soundproof wall? Advantages? Disadvantages?
Once the basic conditions are clarified with the authorities, an architect will of course be commissioned — hopefully one with creative ideas, as I am not fixed on my sketch.
The basis for my design is long, engaging discussions with the architect during the planning of our own home, combined with a spatial imagination as a graduate engineer and experience in floor plans for VIP aircraft (yes, the sheikh who wants living, sleeping, and reception rooms in planes normally designed for 300 holiday passengers). Please excuse the use of this “drawing software” (you can’t even mirror the semi-detached half). I used boring evenings during business trips and had to rely on an online tool. We’ll see if I find time for a design in Catia…
Thanks very much for all the critical feedback :-P
Holger
attached is a floor plan for a semi-detached house (only one half shown) on a sloping site, with a request for comments.
The semi-detached house is planned to be built on one plot, with both units intended for rental.
Currently, the plot is classified as outside the designated building area. Nearby (to the north and on the neighboring plot to the east), houses of similar size (height, site coverage ratio, floor area ratio) have been built in recent years with special exemptions. The informal preliminary inquiry regarding the conditions is ongoing with the local authorities, but I expect a lengthy discussion.
The following considerations were made:
- Maximum width 14 m (plot width slightly >20 m (66 feet))
- 3 similarly sized (bed)rooms of at least approximately 15 m² (160 sq ft)
- 3rd room more important than a garage (garage with boundary line construction likely not possible due to slope)
- Carport as a substitute for a garage
- Studio room if approved, otherwise a shallow hipped roof or green roof
- Living room/kitchen on the “entry level”
The following questions still arise, or I am not fully satisfied with:
- Possibly living room/kitchen in the basement level with direct garden access?
- If the roof terrace is approved, should we skip the balcony at the living room?
- The shape of the living room is difficult to furnish (goal: TV and garden view from the sofa)
- Prefer a garage over the 3rd room? (rental marketability)
- Little or no space for coat storage/shoe cabinet in the hallway (width approx. 1.35 m (4.4 feet))
- Too many windows? (We have this in our house because we love it, but here rental appeal is a factor)
- Planned so far as a semi-detached house with a party wall. Would it also be possible as a duplex with two separate residential units and a “standard” soundproof wall? Advantages? Disadvantages?
Once the basic conditions are clarified with the authorities, an architect will of course be commissioned — hopefully one with creative ideas, as I am not fixed on my sketch.
The basis for my design is long, engaging discussions with the architect during the planning of our own home, combined with a spatial imagination as a graduate engineer and experience in floor plans for VIP aircraft (yes, the sheikh who wants living, sleeping, and reception rooms in planes normally designed for 300 holiday passengers). Please excuse the use of this “drawing software” (you can’t even mirror the semi-detached half). I used boring evenings during business trips and had to rely on an online tool. We’ll see if I find time for a design in Catia…
Thanks very much for all the critical feedback :-P
Holger
I would place the kitchen/dining/living area in the basement.
On the ground floor, I would remove the corner near the carport. Plan the entrance area with a guest toilet and a cloakroom.
I think the third room would be better than a garage.
A studio with a roof terrace would be amazing.
On the ground floor, I would remove the corner near the carport. Plan the entrance area with a guest toilet and a cloakroom.
I think the third room would be better than a garage.
A studio with a roof terrace would be amazing.
How do you access the door when the car is parked in the carport?
I would also place the kitchen and living area on the ground floor.
I would divide the utility room/storage between both floors.
The two rooms on the south side have limited or poor space for furniture arrangement.
I would also place the kitchen and living area on the ground floor.
I would divide the utility room/storage between both floors.
The two rooms on the south side have limited or poor space for furniture arrangement.
Here are a few points I noticed:
- I’m not happy with the ground floor hallway: it’s too narrow and too long, and as you said, there’s no space for a coat rack. I would either remove the shower in the guest bathroom or make it smaller (we can manage with less than 3 square meters (32 square feet) including the shower, there’s no need for a 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) wide shower), or slightly reduce room 3 and add a coat rack niche there.
- The right area in the basement hallway seems pointless to me (where the window is above the bathtub). Would it be better to enlarge the bathroom? Or is that a second entrance?
- There are quite a few windows, or at least some are too wide. Nice, but maybe not very practical.
- The front door might be too narrow?
- Room 3 could work well as a master bedroom. Design it to fit a double bed and a large wardrobe!
Otherwise, I like it!
- I’m not happy with the ground floor hallway: it’s too narrow and too long, and as you said, there’s no space for a coat rack. I would either remove the shower in the guest bathroom or make it smaller (we can manage with less than 3 square meters (32 square feet) including the shower, there’s no need for a 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) wide shower), or slightly reduce room 3 and add a coat rack niche there.
- The right area in the basement hallway seems pointless to me (where the window is above the bathtub). Would it be better to enlarge the bathroom? Or is that a second entrance?
- There are quite a few windows, or at least some are too wide. Nice, but maybe not very practical.
- The front door might be too narrow?
- Room 3 could work well as a master bedroom. Design it to fit a double bed and a large wardrobe!
Otherwise, I like it!
RomeoZwo schrieb:
Definitely some spatial imagination as a graduate engineer and experience in floor plans for VIP aircraft (yes, the sheikh who wants his living, sleeping, and audience rooms on airplanes that usually carry 300 passengers on vacation). This doesn’t seem to help here, or at least it’s not noticeable. Land-based buildings don’t need such narrow hulls, and the attic studio – whatever that is supposed to be – wouldn’t make me accept it either. Better build a proper two-family-plus-granny-flat house on the overall building plot; that’s more likely to work.
ypg schrieb:
How do you get to the door if the car is in the carport? Unfortunately, that’s not a philosophical question.
RomeoZwo schrieb:
I used boring evenings on a business trip and had to rely on an online tool. Let’s see if I find the time for a design in Catia… A design software won’t fix conceptual flaws.
Enjoy passing the time, but better plan a serious house differently.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hello everyone,
First of all, thank you very much for the comments. Without wanting to defend the design, I would like to address a few points – maybe this will lead to a better solution...
1. I initially favored having the kitchen/living/dining area in the basement. I asked for opinions among friends, and almost everyone said it would feel strange for a guest to have to go directly down a staircase to the “basement.” But maybe I’ll reconsider that.
2. The carport area is 3.3m wide (10 feet 10 inches). You should be able to pass by a normal car there, but it’s not ideal, that’s true.
3. The hallway area on the right side of the basement is an exit to the garden. The idea is that you don’t have to go through one of the (bedrooms/children’s rooms) to get to the garden.
4. The hallway on the ground floor is more than 1.3m wide (4 feet 3 inches). The front door is more than 1.1m wide (3 feet 7 inches). Is that too small?
5. Room 3 is actually intended as a bedroom in case it’s a household of four people. The south wall of this room has a 70cm (28 inches) distance from the window and door to allow for a full wardrobe. For that reason, I would prefer not to remove the wardrobe from this room or give up the shower on the ground floor.
6. More than two housing units is definitely not possible. I have also considered the idea of two apartments. My concern here is that the smaller apartment in the basement (probably a two-room unit) would have an 800m² (8,611 sq ft) garden while the larger apartment upstairs (family apartment) would have no garden. From my experience, a nice garden is appreciated in the rent for a house or duplex. In contrast, for a (small) apartment suitable for singles or couples, this tends to offer little added value for potential tenants. I’m currently playing around with the idea of staggered maisonette apartments — one with more width on the lower floor and the other above. Both would have garden access.
P.S.: The jab about airplane fuselages is true, of course – everything there is narrow and long… and yet the wealthy spend a lot of money on them. But I really find it hard to resist throwing a jab at the consulting profession as well.
Good luck, Holger
First of all, thank you very much for the comments. Without wanting to defend the design, I would like to address a few points – maybe this will lead to a better solution...
1. I initially favored having the kitchen/living/dining area in the basement. I asked for opinions among friends, and almost everyone said it would feel strange for a guest to have to go directly down a staircase to the “basement.” But maybe I’ll reconsider that.
2. The carport area is 3.3m wide (10 feet 10 inches). You should be able to pass by a normal car there, but it’s not ideal, that’s true.
3. The hallway area on the right side of the basement is an exit to the garden. The idea is that you don’t have to go through one of the (bedrooms/children’s rooms) to get to the garden.
4. The hallway on the ground floor is more than 1.3m wide (4 feet 3 inches). The front door is more than 1.1m wide (3 feet 7 inches). Is that too small?
5. Room 3 is actually intended as a bedroom in case it’s a household of four people. The south wall of this room has a 70cm (28 inches) distance from the window and door to allow for a full wardrobe. For that reason, I would prefer not to remove the wardrobe from this room or give up the shower on the ground floor.
6. More than two housing units is definitely not possible. I have also considered the idea of two apartments. My concern here is that the smaller apartment in the basement (probably a two-room unit) would have an 800m² (8,611 sq ft) garden while the larger apartment upstairs (family apartment) would have no garden. From my experience, a nice garden is appreciated in the rent for a house or duplex. In contrast, for a (small) apartment suitable for singles or couples, this tends to offer little added value for potential tenants. I’m currently playing around with the idea of staggered maisonette apartments — one with more width on the lower floor and the other above. Both would have garden access.
P.S.: The jab about airplane fuselages is true, of course – everything there is narrow and long… and yet the wealthy spend a lot of money on them. But I really find it hard to resist throwing a jab at the consulting profession as well.
Good luck, Holger
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