ᐅ New single-family house construction, approximately 174 m² floor area, architectural design
Created on: 22 Nov 2019 07:51
M
mini_g!
Hello everyone,
After following this forum for quite a while, our own project is becoming more concrete. We have secured a plot of land and have spoken with various general contractors and an architect. So far, my wife and I like the architect’s design best. It is still a draft plan, but it already feels very "right" for us.
Therefore, I would appreciate your feedback. Are there any critical points we might be overlooking? What could be solved more cleverly?
I hope I have included everything needed. If not, I’m happy to provide more information. Unfortunately, the basement is still the old version; it has now been mirrored and the light shafts have been slightly changed. You can see this on the ground floor plan.
Looking forward to your feedback!
Thank you very much! mini
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 494 m2 (approximately 5313 sq ft); about 20.5 m (67 feet) wide on the street side, 24.2 m (79.5 feet) deep
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Building setback: 3 meters (10 feet) from the street, 4 meters (13 feet) from adjacent property at the back
Edge construction: no
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 per residential unit
Number of floors: max. 2
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge runs northwest
Maximum height/restrictions: eaves height 6.5 m (21 feet), ridge height 9.5 m (31 feet)
Other requirements: various, planting obligations, infiltration etc., but nothing really unusual nowadays
Clients’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic modern, gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults in their mid-30s, 2 children aged 2 years
Space requirements on the ground floor: cloakroom, guest WC, utility room, kitchen, living and dining area
Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, parents’ room, walk-in closets, children’s bathroom, parents’ bathroom
Office: family use plus possible home office about one day every two weeks
Guest beds per year: few; about 3?
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction method: We consider ourselves modern but want a classic building shape on the outside. So the interior is rather open and modern, the exterior has a classic form.
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with work island
Number of dining seats: usual 4-6, for events at least 12-16 people
Fireplace: no
Media wall for music/stereo: media wall for TV and books, no stereo
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for the children
Garage, carport: garage plus carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: possibly later
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, reasons why certain things should or should not be included:
- Children’s bathroom
- Balcony on garage/carport accessible for both children (for friends etc. when they are older)
- Utility room next to kitchen on ground floor
- Covered entrance
- Spacious open living and dining area
- Open attic
House design
Planner: architect
What do you like most?
Open and spacious, all our wishes were taken into account. We wanted to keep the building’s main shape as simple as possible and avoid dormers, bay windows, and setbacks.
What do you not like? Why?
Could it possibly be a bit smaller? We don’t have to fully exhaust our budget...
Estimated price according to architect/planner: approx. $600,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: -
Preferred heating system: heat pump with ground collector, possibly supplemented with photovoltaic. Maybe switch to a standard air-to-water heat pump?
If you had to give up something, which details or upgrades would you cut?
Difficult, we don’t really have anything we would cut.
Why did the design turn out as it is now? For example:
We spent a long time thinking about the floor plans, looked at many houses online and from friends/family. We wrote down everything we liked and also what we didn’t want. For example, a clear design without bay windows, setbacks, or similar features was important to us. This is what we took to the builders and the architect. The result is this plan.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there any optimizations in the floor plan that we may have missed? Enough windows/daylight in general?
After following this forum for quite a while, our own project is becoming more concrete. We have secured a plot of land and have spoken with various general contractors and an architect. So far, my wife and I like the architect’s design best. It is still a draft plan, but it already feels very "right" for us.
Therefore, I would appreciate your feedback. Are there any critical points we might be overlooking? What could be solved more cleverly?
I hope I have included everything needed. If not, I’m happy to provide more information. Unfortunately, the basement is still the old version; it has now been mirrored and the light shafts have been slightly changed. You can see this on the ground floor plan.
Looking forward to your feedback!
Thank you very much! mini
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 494 m2 (approximately 5313 sq ft); about 20.5 m (67 feet) wide on the street side, 24.2 m (79.5 feet) deep
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Building setback: 3 meters (10 feet) from the street, 4 meters (13 feet) from adjacent property at the back
Edge construction: no
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 per residential unit
Number of floors: max. 2
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: classic-modern?
Orientation: ridge runs northwest
Maximum height/restrictions: eaves height 6.5 m (21 feet), ridge height 9.5 m (31 feet)
Other requirements: various, planting obligations, infiltration etc., but nothing really unusual nowadays
Clients’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic modern, gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full stories plus basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults in their mid-30s, 2 children aged 2 years
Space requirements on the ground floor: cloakroom, guest WC, utility room, kitchen, living and dining area
Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, parents’ room, walk-in closets, children’s bathroom, parents’ bathroom
Office: family use plus possible home office about one day every two weeks
Guest beds per year: few; about 3?
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction method: We consider ourselves modern but want a classic building shape on the outside. So the interior is rather open and modern, the exterior has a classic form.
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with work island
Number of dining seats: usual 4-6, for events at least 12-16 people
Fireplace: no
Media wall for music/stereo: media wall for TV and books, no stereo
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for the children
Garage, carport: garage plus carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: possibly later
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, reasons why certain things should or should not be included:
- Children’s bathroom
- Balcony on garage/carport accessible for both children (for friends etc. when they are older)
- Utility room next to kitchen on ground floor
- Covered entrance
- Spacious open living and dining area
- Open attic
House design
Planner: architect
What do you like most?
Open and spacious, all our wishes were taken into account. We wanted to keep the building’s main shape as simple as possible and avoid dormers, bay windows, and setbacks.
What do you not like? Why?
Could it possibly be a bit smaller? We don’t have to fully exhaust our budget...
Estimated price according to architect/planner: approx. $600,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: -
Preferred heating system: heat pump with ground collector, possibly supplemented with photovoltaic. Maybe switch to a standard air-to-water heat pump?
If you had to give up something, which details or upgrades would you cut?
Difficult, we don’t really have anything we would cut.
Why did the design turn out as it is now? For example:
We spent a long time thinking about the floor plans, looked at many houses online and from friends/family. We wrote down everything we liked and also what we didn’t want. For example, a clear design without bay windows, setbacks, or similar features was important to us. This is what we took to the builders and the architect. The result is this plan.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there any optimizations in the floor plan that we may have missed? Enough windows/daylight in general?
mini_g! schrieb:
We asked the architect, and there wouldn't be any noise from the upper floor heard on the ground floor. But we were more concerned about the kids' bathroom.For me, it's not about noise now, but about where to plan the drainage. Okay, in my case, there is a riser shaft hidden in the wall next to the stairwell. The kitchen is located below the bathroom, and you don’t hear anything.hampshire schrieb:
My mistake, for a moment I thought the cloakroom was a room. Of course, it has to stay! Sleeping there would really be difficult. Most of our visitors come from the same town and eventually go back home. The basement would primarily be for grandmas if they no longer want to drive.
Wugler1978 schrieb:
Mirroring it yourself wouldn’t be ideal either, as that would place a room facing east/northeast. I can’t think of a perfect solution off the top of my head. The idea with the terrace is nice, but the question is how often it will actually be used.
The same goes for the living room. I’m not sure how to create more depth there quickly. That would probably require adjusting the entire floor plan. We were at the same point. For us, the solution with the terrace for the kids and having this room facing more north was the most acceptable option… We feel like this is the compromise we have to accept?!
Ibdk14 schrieb:
I really like the design. I would want to live there immediately. I don’t share your concerns about the living room. You have openness with the large windows and also towards the dining area. I would probably add a window in the walk-in closet, but not everyone likes that. My kids always enjoyed having the balcony just for themselves with friends, which could work well in your case too.
For the kitchen, I’d consider whether access to the utility room might be better placed elsewhere, so the space next to the cooktop isn’t interrupted. In my opinion, you always need quite a bit of space on both sides there. Thanks, that’s nice. Do you really think the front facing the garden on the ground floor is large enough? It’s currently only about 3 meters (10 feet). The seating window next to it is also large, but the neighbor will either place their house quite close or a garage right on the property line there.
kaho674 schrieb:
Alright — basement is out.
Could you share a site plan including the plot and street? Sorry, everyone. The basement situation is unfortunate, but there’s no other way. In our opinion, the architect is doing a great job, and we want to give feedback after the next revision round. Otherwise, it would be too much back and forth.
I’ll try to upload the site plan and a self-mirrored basement plan shortly.
Thanks! mini
Altai schrieb:
For me, it’s not about hearing right now, but more about where to plan the drainage. OK, I have a riser shaft hidden in the wall leading to the stairwell. The kitchen is below the bathroom, but you don’t hear anything. I already have a preliminary drainage plan, which I am going to revise. The wastewater pipes will partially run around the house.
The shafts are located once between the kitchen and the garden, and once near the entrance area. In my opinion, these can be well concealed or even integrated as room dividers.
hanse987 schrieb:
For me, the path to the front door would be too narrow if a car is parked there. We share that concern. According to the architect, the carport could possibly be made 10 cm (4 inches) wider once the final land survey is completed and the setback distances are precisely calculated. We definitely want to take advantage of that if possible.
My sister has a similar design with a width of 3.50 m (11.5 feet). However, that carport is smaller and does not include space for bicycles and trash bins. There, the car is always parked in front of the carport, which we actually want to avoid. Our goal is to have enough space so that bicycles and trash bins can still be accessed beside the parked car.
Thank you! mini_g!
So, attached is the site plan, it is plot No. 7. The plan is oriented to north; I have added the north arrow.
I mirrored the basement plan myself once, but the north arrow is correct and not mirrored. The light well for the utility room has been moved toward the street, and I shifted the light well for the basement room using Paint...
In the drainage plan, the cistern has been moved into the garden. This was probably not avoidable due to the position of the inspection chamber for the sewer.
Best regards! mini_g!
I mirrored the basement plan myself once, but the north arrow is correct and not mirrored. The light well for the utility room has been moved toward the street, and I shifted the light well for the basement room using Paint...
In the drainage plan, the cistern has been moved into the garden. This was probably not avoidable due to the position of the inspection chamber for the sewer.
Best regards! mini_g!
J
j.bautsch22 Nov 2019 12:30I don’t really see the problem with having the master bathroom above the living room. You have to consider when you use the bathroom and when you use the living room. Thinking about my husband and me, we would never be in the living room while the other is using the upstairs bathroom. But maybe it’s different for others. In any case, we mainly use the bathroom in the morning and the living room (if at all) in the evening.
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