ᐅ Requesting Input on Single-Family Home Floor Plan

Dear forum members,
I have been a quiet reader here for years and now kindly ask for your input. Attached you will find the floor plans and the site plan. Overall, we are satisfied, but we are complete novices and may have overlooked some details. Our challenge is to accommodate, in addition to 3 bedrooms, a guest room and a home office, and also have a small storage room (besides the attic) without a basement. Thank you in advance for your critical feedback.

Development Plan
Plot size: approx. 700 m² (8,400 sq ft)
Slope: see contour lines (distance between lines: 1 meter (3 feet))
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.7
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Orientation: see plan (attachment)
Eaves height: 6.5 meters (21 ft)
Building height: 9.5 meters (31 ft)

Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: single-family house, simple/classic, gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement (due to soil contamination with arsenic + copper, resulting in higher disposal costs), 2 full stories
Occupants: 2 adults, 2 small children
Space requirements: 3 bedrooms, guest room, home office, bathroom, guest bathroom, storage room (laundry, etc.)
Office: small workspace with 2 desks
Overnight guests per year: several days each month, sometimes many days in a row
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern design: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Garage, carport: carport

House Design
Planner: architect from the construction company
What do we particularly like? Why?

• Accommodation of the required rooms (even if at the expense of a larger circulation area with an internal corridor)
• ... undecided: Utilization of east and south sides (small seating area on the east + terrace on the south) is good, as we get up early and go to bed early OR possibly reversing the floor plan would be better, as it seems that a south-west orientation is always “recommended” (?)

What do we not like? Why?

• Dark hallway; a brighter hallway with this room layout would probably only be possible with a larger floor area or by relocating it into the living area, which we personally do not want; therefore: arrange windows and doors in the storage room, office, and living room in a row so that a little light can enter (?)
• Access to the kitchen only through the living room; possibly a second door (sliding door) from the hallway to the kitchen and open the other door from the kitchen into the living room (?)
• Maybe the guest room next to the utility room is inconvenient because it might be too noisy (?)
• Possibly revise the window arrangement in the children’s rooms (?)

Cost estimate according to architect/planner for house + slab foundation: ready to move in approx. 380,000 - 400,000 €
Heating system: air-to-water heat pump

KlausKleister schrieb:

Soil contamination with arsenic + copper, increased disposal costs)

Could you please provide more details on this? From what depth is the soil contaminated and what type of arsenic is involved?

goalkeeper schrieb:

Could you please provide more specific information on this? From what depth is the ground contaminated, and with what type of arsenic?

So far, there is only one report for the entire construction area based on three drillings. It is assumed that the rock is naturally impregnated with copper and arsenic-containing solutions. Regarding waste regulations, relevant contamination levels above threshold Z2 are expected from approximately half a meter (1.6 feet) below ground level. The topsoil in the planned construction area shows arsenic concentrations within the test value range for the scenario of children's play areas. However, the test value for the residential area scenario is not affected. It is recommended, though not mandatory, to build without a basement and to remove the topsoil from the construction pit area for storage and reuse.

The staircase ruins every room; each room has a corner or some sort of restriction. I would mildly say it belongs in the trash.

tomtom79 schrieb:

The staircase ruins every room; each room has a corner or some restriction. I would frankly say it should be scrapped.

Thank you for your honest feedback! So, in your opinion, it would be better to plan with a staircase like in the attachment (along the exterior wall) and redesign the floor plan accordingly?

The size should allow for quite a bit of flexibility. However, the layout of the rooms is completely unclear to me. The kitchen should probably be located closer to the terrace rather than a guest room, right?
If this is the outcome of extended consultation, I wonder whether your requirements are that specific or if the planner is simply unmotivated?
I would start over from scratch.