ᐅ House and Floor Plan Design – Initial Architect’s Draft Available
Created on: 14 Oct 2020 18:29
P
Pinkiponk
As previously announced, our old house in Baden-Württemberg has now been sold, we have moved to the Leipzig district, and we can now focus on our new house. Due to our age, we have deliberately downsized both the lot size and the living space. We have a first architect’s draft. I have already noted a few change requests and am now looking forward to your additions, criticism, and suggestions. If further plans or similar are needed, I will gladly provide them as long as I have them available.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
P
Pinkiponk18 Oct 2020 20:09Pinkiponk schrieb:
If I understand correctly, a high-voltage electrical connection is required for a good sauna. Since my husband has vocational training in electrical engineering and then studied electrical engineering, I assume this is correct. Or, based on your knowledge, is something like this prohibited or dangerous? Maybe I’m confusing something. I asked again. There is something about an RCD (residual current device), but I don’t know much more about it. However, it doesn’t seem to be illegal or dangerous. “As soon as leakage currents occur, the circuit breaker trips.”
Pinkiponk schrieb:
I asked again. There’s something related to the RCD (residual current device), but I don’t know much more about it. However, it doesn’t seem to be illegal or dangerous. "As soon as residual currents occur, the breaker trips." Okay, then I'll nitpick a bit: a fuse only blows in the event of a short circuit.
So, now I really have to share my comment. Many points I also see have already been mentioned, so I won’t repeat them.
The long walk from the kitchen to the dining table or the terrace – well, we’ve talked about that before, when someone planned for a home gym. If that’s what someone wants, that’s fine. In times of Corona, when going to the gym isn’t possible, it’s certainly an option. Personally, I wouldn’t want to have to take a little world tour for every glass of wine in the evening, whether I’m sitting in the living room or on the terrace. Even for a cheese sandwich, that would annoy me. But as I said, everyone has to decide for themselves.
The bathroom layout shouldn’t just be improved, it must be optimized. And that has to be done BEFORE construction starts, because the plumbing needs to be planned accordingly. Otherwise, I think having a sauna in the bathroom is great—we have one as well. I wouldn’t worry about loungers; the bedroom is right next door, so you can easily lie down there. I would treat myself to a sauna with an outdoor view—the view there is supposed to be very nice.
I fully understand not wanting visitors in the private upper floor area. BUT – here comes the really BIG BUT:
Where else should the visitors go? You have at least 10 overnight guests a year. That’s almost once a month. And you expect guests to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room? You can’t be serious!
I wouldn’t want that for myself or my guests. Of course, in a small apartment you hardly have another option, but in a house with more than 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft)? As a host, I wouldn’t want to have to set up and take down a bed in the living room every time someone stays over. And the guest wouldn’t have a small private area to hang pants or pajamas over a chair. No, everything has to be cleared away because no one wants to show their underwear or pajamas in the living room. THAT CAN’T BE SERIOUS, RIGHT?
In standard houses, this is solved with a home office on the ground floor: office every day, guest room when visitors arrive. You don’t need an office anymore, so you should find another solution; but with that much guest traffic, you really need a guest room.
The poor cloakroom situation has already been mentioned, as well as the fact that the husband apparently enjoys watching TV, but the wife doesn’t.
Honestly, those are exactly the kinds of statements architects need. In this case, my first thought would be: either carve out a cloakroom where there is a closet for all coats, jackets, hats, scarves, and where you can change when you come in. Possibly also a cupboard for cleaning supplies, and large enough to fit a guest bed.
Or carve out a corner of the large living room, which normally serves as a TV room for the TV-loving husband, with a comfortable couch that also includes a (good!) sofa bed. Or the carved-out space could be a cozy reading, craft, or whatever corner for the non-TV-loving wife, also with the mentioned comfortable sofa bed. The room could be separated by large double doors or sliding doors—normally open, but when guests come, I can offer them a private space. Or I can close the door if I’m tired of my husband’s TV program—also not bad!
In both cases, I’d give my guest a minimum of private space and myself as a host the freedom not to have to set up and take down a bed constantly.
Which option makes more sense for you—either the TV corner or the reading room—or whether you prefer the guest/cloakroom solution (for guests you’d then really have to use the hooks in the too-small entrance area), whatever it is, you definitely need to create a corner for the apparently frequent guests!
The long walk from the kitchen to the dining table or the terrace – well, we’ve talked about that before, when someone planned for a home gym. If that’s what someone wants, that’s fine. In times of Corona, when going to the gym isn’t possible, it’s certainly an option. Personally, I wouldn’t want to have to take a little world tour for every glass of wine in the evening, whether I’m sitting in the living room or on the terrace. Even for a cheese sandwich, that would annoy me. But as I said, everyone has to decide for themselves.
The bathroom layout shouldn’t just be improved, it must be optimized. And that has to be done BEFORE construction starts, because the plumbing needs to be planned accordingly. Otherwise, I think having a sauna in the bathroom is great—we have one as well. I wouldn’t worry about loungers; the bedroom is right next door, so you can easily lie down there. I would treat myself to a sauna with an outdoor view—the view there is supposed to be very nice.
I fully understand not wanting visitors in the private upper floor area. BUT – here comes the really BIG BUT:
Where else should the visitors go? You have at least 10 overnight guests a year. That’s almost once a month. And you expect guests to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room? You can’t be serious!
I wouldn’t want that for myself or my guests. Of course, in a small apartment you hardly have another option, but in a house with more than 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft)? As a host, I wouldn’t want to have to set up and take down a bed in the living room every time someone stays over. And the guest wouldn’t have a small private area to hang pants or pajamas over a chair. No, everything has to be cleared away because no one wants to show their underwear or pajamas in the living room. THAT CAN’T BE SERIOUS, RIGHT?
In standard houses, this is solved with a home office on the ground floor: office every day, guest room when visitors arrive. You don’t need an office anymore, so you should find another solution; but with that much guest traffic, you really need a guest room.
The poor cloakroom situation has already been mentioned, as well as the fact that the husband apparently enjoys watching TV, but the wife doesn’t.
Honestly, those are exactly the kinds of statements architects need. In this case, my first thought would be: either carve out a cloakroom where there is a closet for all coats, jackets, hats, scarves, and where you can change when you come in. Possibly also a cupboard for cleaning supplies, and large enough to fit a guest bed.
Or carve out a corner of the large living room, which normally serves as a TV room for the TV-loving husband, with a comfortable couch that also includes a (good!) sofa bed. Or the carved-out space could be a cozy reading, craft, or whatever corner for the non-TV-loving wife, also with the mentioned comfortable sofa bed. The room could be separated by large double doors or sliding doors—normally open, but when guests come, I can offer them a private space. Or I can close the door if I’m tired of my husband’s TV program—also not bad!
In both cases, I’d give my guest a minimum of private space and myself as a host the freedom not to have to set up and take down a bed constantly.
Which option makes more sense for you—either the TV corner or the reading room—or whether you prefer the guest/cloakroom solution (for guests you’d then really have to use the hooks in the too-small entrance area), whatever it is, you definitely need to create a corner for the apparently frequent guests!
P
Pinkiponk20 Oct 2020 09:40Climbee schrieb:
...In my husband’s room, there will be a sofa (which comfortably sleeps two people) that is not shown on the architect’s plan. It was included in our initial "desired plan." The sleeping option in the living room is only plan B. I sincerely apologize that many of the furniture items are drawn differently than planned on the plans I uploaded, and as some have already pointed out, I truly have “taken up” your time and efforts because of this. I didn’t realize that accurately representing the furniture was important; otherwise, I would have done it differently. I know the measurements of my furniture and, after receiving the architect’s plan, I checked whether they would fit where they are supposed to go, so I didn’t see any reason to request changes to the architect’s plans. The only exception was the kitchen. I assumed that the architect couldn’t include every piece of furniture as we suggested, and since they are movable, I didn’t assign much importance to it. Once again, I apologize—not only to you, dear Climbee.
Similar topics