Hello everyone,
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,839 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Number of parking spaces: 2
Roof style: 35° to 45° pitch, hipped roof or gable roof
Distance to front property boundary (street side): max. 3 m (house must remain in current position)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Bungalow, hipped roof, 35° pitch
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 story, possible attic conversion later
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons (40 years old), probably no children, room can be separated if needed
Space requirements: We need one bedroom, bathroom, utility room, living area including kitchen, and a hobby room (gaming and crafting room). Walk-in closet and guest toilet were removed, even though they would be nice, other features took higher priority.
Overnight guests per year: infrequent, can be accommodated as is
Construction style: open and modern, including open kitchen
Fireplace: no
House Design
Designer:
- Designer from a construction company implemented our drawings
What do you like most? Why?
- Large living area, spacious bedroom
What do you dislike? Why?
- Honestly, we like everything
Personal budget for house including fittings: 260,000
Preferred heating system: air heat pump
Why is the design as it is now?
We initially sketched our design on paper, which the designer then realized. Further considerations and discussions with the designer shaped the final result.
Our main goal was a large living space with an open kitchen and a reading nook. Currently (in our present apartment) we have another room with my books (around 1,000) and desk, but I rarely spend time there, as I do everything in the living room. For this reason, we first reduced the number of rooms to enlarge the living area and bedroom (we omitted the walk-in closet to create even more space). The reading nook (located on the west side of the living area) is arranged so it can be separated as a room from the rest of the living room if needed.
We made sure the bedroom faces east to get morning light. We opted out of a guest toilet and instead planned a small storage room for odds and ends (dog supplies like food, leashes, vacuum cleaner, etc.) and made the utility room somewhat larger than the usual 8 sqm (86 sq ft).
Currently, we are still unsure about the following:
- Bathroom layout: I’d like to set back the shower slightly (see current floor plan) to make the bathroom feel more open/bigger. Somehow it still doesn’t feel quite ideal.
- Window arrangement: Does this make sense to you? Will we get enough light in the living area? The floor-to-ceiling windows to the terrace are on the east side, so only the morning sun comes in there. Are the south-facing windows sufficient?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there anything we have overlooked or forgotten? From your perspective, is anything highly unfavorable? Any improvements for the windows? How can the bathroom layout be optimized?
By the way, some time ago I created a thread about a 1.5-storey floor plan on the same plot. At that time, we ultimately decided to build a bungalow – which we are now doing. Hence, this new thread…
Best regards and thanks in advance.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,839 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Number of parking spaces: 2
Roof style: 35° to 45° pitch, hipped roof or gable roof
Distance to front property boundary (street side): max. 3 m (house must remain in current position)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Bungalow, hipped roof, 35° pitch
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 story, possible attic conversion later
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons (40 years old), probably no children, room can be separated if needed
Space requirements: We need one bedroom, bathroom, utility room, living area including kitchen, and a hobby room (gaming and crafting room). Walk-in closet and guest toilet were removed, even though they would be nice, other features took higher priority.
Overnight guests per year: infrequent, can be accommodated as is
Construction style: open and modern, including open kitchen
Fireplace: no
House Design
Designer:
- Designer from a construction company implemented our drawings
What do you like most? Why?
- Large living area, spacious bedroom
What do you dislike? Why?
- Honestly, we like everything
Personal budget for house including fittings: 260,000
Preferred heating system: air heat pump
Why is the design as it is now?
We initially sketched our design on paper, which the designer then realized. Further considerations and discussions with the designer shaped the final result.
Our main goal was a large living space with an open kitchen and a reading nook. Currently (in our present apartment) we have another room with my books (around 1,000) and desk, but I rarely spend time there, as I do everything in the living room. For this reason, we first reduced the number of rooms to enlarge the living area and bedroom (we omitted the walk-in closet to create even more space). The reading nook (located on the west side of the living area) is arranged so it can be separated as a room from the rest of the living room if needed.
We made sure the bedroom faces east to get morning light. We opted out of a guest toilet and instead planned a small storage room for odds and ends (dog supplies like food, leashes, vacuum cleaner, etc.) and made the utility room somewhat larger than the usual 8 sqm (86 sq ft).
Currently, we are still unsure about the following:
- Bathroom layout: I’d like to set back the shower slightly (see current floor plan) to make the bathroom feel more open/bigger. Somehow it still doesn’t feel quite ideal.
- Window arrangement: Does this make sense to you? Will we get enough light in the living area? The floor-to-ceiling windows to the terrace are on the east side, so only the morning sun comes in there. Are the south-facing windows sufficient?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there anything we have overlooked or forgotten? From your perspective, is anything highly unfavorable? Any improvements for the windows? How can the bathroom layout be optimized?
By the way, some time ago I created a thread about a 1.5-storey floor plan on the same plot. At that time, we ultimately decided to build a bungalow – which we are now doing. Hence, this new thread…
Best regards and thanks in advance.
R
Reluctance24 Jun 2019 21:52ypg schrieb:
This is now a proposal based on your information.Thank you very much for your suggestion. I really like the idea of designing the hallway that way. The only thing that bothers me is the bathroom, which now seems a bit smaller than I expected. I liked the spacious bathroom before – I would also like to put a shelf there and add a few towel racks, etc. In this draft, it all seems a bit too tight.I tried to make the bathroom larger, but that was only possible by creating a step shape in the hobby room. That’s not ideal either. Does anyone have any other ideas?
By the way: the regulations state that windows must only be installed in a vertical format. I pointed this out again to the planner regarding the question about skylight windows in the bathroom. Apparently, he had not properly read the regulations before – and now he has changed all the windows (previously 1.51m (5 feet) wide – I had requested 2m (6.5 feet) wide) into 1m x 1.26m (3.3 ft x 4.1 ft) small windows. I’m a bit shocked now. Is the regulation really to be understood this way? I had assumed the requirement applied per sash. How should I handle this situation – does anyone have ideas for suitable windows that comply with this regulation?
Reluctance schrieb:
Here are the regulations for windows according to the local ordinance – primarily affecting the street-facing side:
- Windows and doors must have a vertical orientation. Windows in knee walls and basements may also have horizontal and square formats.
- Street-facing window openings must be subdivided into areas of 1 square meter (10.8 square feet). When installing single-leaf windows, mullions and transoms must be designed as glass-dividing elements.
- Continuous bands of windows on the street side are not permitted. Window openings must be separated by pillars at least 0.24 meters (9.5 inches) wide.
- Glass blocks are not allowed on street-facing facades.
- The lintels of window openings within a building must be aligned at the same height on each floor. The total window area of the facade must be smaller than the total solid wall area.
- Shutters may only be made of wood. Their attachment on guide rails is also permitted.
- Main entrance doors must be made of wood only. Glazed areas in main entrance doors may not exceed 0.50 square meters (5.4 square feet).
[USER=32750]@11ant could you please explain point 2 so that I can understand it as well?
Reluctance schrieb:
I tried to make the bathroom bigger, but that only worked by creating a stepped shape in the hobby room. Not really ideal either. Does anyone have another idea?That could work... I'll try it out with the software tomorrow.
We do not have knee walls or basement levels here, so the exception for square or horizontal (i.e., landscape) formats does not apply. Therefore, all windows must be designed as "vertical" (portrait orientation).
The original guideline is grammatically confusing but becomes at least understandable in terms of content if we assume that two characters were lost during copying: windows larger than or equal to one square meter, if structurally single-leaf, must be visually divided into multiple sections. This likely means a tripartite division is desired: a central mullion is suggested to create the appearance of double wings (understandable if the sections are meant to look like vertical sashes), but also a transom (a horizontal division with a shared upper light above both casements, which becomes illogical here). It is not specified what exactly counts as one square meter. However, the subsequent mention of mullions between adjacent windows being at least 24cm (9.5 inches) wide suggests that these refer to rough structural dimensions.
The vertical orientation applies throughout, as does a uniform lintel height. The guideline on articulation and avoiding "window bands" by using masonry sections at least 24cm (9.5 inches) wide between openings appears to only affect the street-facing façade, therefore not the bathroom window, which should nonetheless be vertical.
Referring to the floor plan in the original post, I would implement it as follows: utility room with windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches); hobby room with two windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches) separated by a 24cm (9.5 inches) mullion; main room with three windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches); kitchen and bedroom (towards the corner) also arranged as triples; between these triples in the bedroom, a pair of windows; bathroom again with a triple. Matching this, the floor-to-ceiling elements in the main room would be 176/213cm (69/84 inches), thus equal in width to the pairs. The building authority manager might think that Mr. Schinkel himself whispered this design to you in a dream.
Each individual opening can be a single leaf, without unnecessary divisions due to size, since the patio doors are not street-facing. Thanks to the triples, the central windows in the view-facing sections provide a clear view instead of a mullion, all regulations are met, and ugliness is avoided.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
The original guideline is grammatically confusing but becomes at least understandable in terms of content if we assume that two characters were lost during copying: windows larger than or equal to one square meter, if structurally single-leaf, must be visually divided into multiple sections. This likely means a tripartite division is desired: a central mullion is suggested to create the appearance of double wings (understandable if the sections are meant to look like vertical sashes), but also a transom (a horizontal division with a shared upper light above both casements, which becomes illogical here). It is not specified what exactly counts as one square meter. However, the subsequent mention of mullions between adjacent windows being at least 24cm (9.5 inches) wide suggests that these refer to rough structural dimensions.
The vertical orientation applies throughout, as does a uniform lintel height. The guideline on articulation and avoiding "window bands" by using masonry sections at least 24cm (9.5 inches) wide between openings appears to only affect the street-facing façade, therefore not the bathroom window, which should nonetheless be vertical.
Referring to the floor plan in the original post, I would implement it as follows: utility room with windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches); hobby room with two windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches) separated by a 24cm (9.5 inches) mullion; main room with three windows 76/126cm (30/50 inches); kitchen and bedroom (towards the corner) also arranged as triples; between these triples in the bedroom, a pair of windows; bathroom again with a triple. Matching this, the floor-to-ceiling elements in the main room would be 176/213cm (69/84 inches), thus equal in width to the pairs. The building authority manager might think that Mr. Schinkel himself whispered this design to you in a dream.
Each individual opening can be a single leaf, without unnecessary divisions due to size, since the patio doors are not street-facing. Thanks to the triples, the central windows in the view-facing sections provide a clear view instead of a mullion, all regulations are met, and ugliness is avoided.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
With all the openness in the planning, I would still carve out a small guest toilet somewhere... not just for guests!
When I think about mornings at our place: I want to get ready in the bathroom, but the man of the house needs to use the toilet urgently... What a blessing it is to have a second bathroom. We are really looking forward to it!
When I think about mornings at our place: I want to get ready in the bathroom, but the man of the house needs to use the toilet urgently... What a blessing it is to have a second bathroom. We are really looking forward to it!
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