ᐅ Plot size: 1,250 m², living area: 200 m², household of 4 people

Escroda schrieb:

My comment referred to the plot of land.

And mine referred to the floor plan

Escroda schrieb:

There is no building permit / planning permission.

That’s why I’m surprised that the OP filled out the questionnaire here so thoroughly, as it sounds more like his personal preferences.

The house design shown is very expensive compared to what it offers.

• 20% of the floor area is circulation space without any special appeal or function = high construction costs for little benefit.
• The storage room is inefficiently usable due to its narrow shape = high construction costs for little benefit.
• The guest bedroom is very cramped and not designed for the frequency and number of guests.
• The path from the living room to the front door is maximized in length – this could easily be changed with a door.
• The typical layout of the dining and living areas combined in one room uses a lot of square meters in the center, which do not contribute to comfort = high construction costs for little benefit.
• The only rooms with a usable size on the upper floor are “Child 1” and “Office.”
• The house does not take advantage of the site conditions.

Forget the “town villa” concept. This building style makes the price per square meter lower but usually wastes floor space, making it either more expensive due to a larger building size or less practical because more space is wasted. Also, the town villa is better suited for flat plots.

If you are building on a slope, consider a version that takes the incline into account. For example, with the entrance on the ground floor, including a hallway, children’s room, children’s bathroom, and office; a garden-level basement with a living kitchen and guest area (the latter may have limited natural light); and the parents’ area on the upper floor.

Thank you very much for all the comments! I will try to answer most of the open questions:

The main road is actually relatively quiet. In general, I quite like the idea of positioning the house slightly higher up.
The garage must be accessed from the side street; I will include it on the new drawing with enough clearance.

"If you want to build without a basement, a non-square house might be better to reduce the amount of earthwork needed. The house would then remain more at one elevation level."
I find this point especially interesting! Basically, for cost reasons, we have planned without a basement, as we would rather invest the money into a larger living area on the ground floor/upper floor, which is probably more economical.

@hampshire:
- There is indeed a sliding door planned between the living room and hallway.
- Regarding the layout of the dining-living area: the large open space in the middle of the room is intentional because we like the open area.

-> In principle, we are not attached to the city villa style at all. We ended up with it mainly because of our floor plan. Am I correct in understanding that in your proposed version the footprint of the house becomes smaller, but this is offset by the partly walk-out basement? Access from the living-dining area to the garden is especially important to us.

Overall, I take from the comments that it makes sense to first create an elevation profile. I will try to work on this during the week, and then my partner and I will consider some alternative house designs.

kaladrial schrieb:

that it probably makes sense to first create the height profile

Exactly. From the picture, the plot – apparently taken from the brother’s house – looks “flat,” unless you consider the sloping houses on the right edge of the image. So mathematically it may be “flat,” but not in the common sense of “horizontally level.” The slope is probably consistent, but the absolute elevation values play a significant role. If you orient the house axis parallel to the “pivot axis” of the slope, the smallest height difference would occur at the “gable ends” if you design the floor plan to be elongated. Surveying might not be the right profession for you, judging by your talent as a photo reporter.

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Building on a slope is always practical.
Every digging bucket costs money.
Not just beneath the house, but also in the outdoor area.

With measurements on the floor plan, more details could be provided.

Good morning everyone,

as discussed, here is the first update on the elevation profile of the property. For simplicity, I have attached the picture of the property and the site plan again. The site plan is oriented north, and the building plot is number 74, not the one outlined in red. Please disregard the drawn house and garage, as they are not to scale.

Regarding the elevation profile: the lowest point is located in the far southeast, labeled as 0; all other values represent the height differences relative to this zero point. The northeastern line (ranging from 42cm to 287cm (17 inches to 113 inches)) rises with a consistent slope. Hopefully, this makes sense to you 🙂

The main question is which house design best accommodates the gentle slope. So far, our floor plans have remained almost square, and we would appreciate new ideas. Finally, I have attached an image of the elevation profile with the preferred and to-scale orientation of the house and garage, since this view provides the best outlook into the garden/valley.

Thanks in advance!