ᐅ Modern house, approximately 160 sqm, optimized for space and functionality
Created on: 9 Dec 2020 22:20
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friday82
Hello dear forum,
I would like to tap into your collective expertise. We have the problem that the neighbor will build on the west side of the property, so we need to be a bit more creative. Otherwise, we would have simply placed the house as a rectangle towards the back of the lot. Another challenge is that it is a north-facing plot.
Most important questions
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (approximately 8600 sq ft)
Slope: flat
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.7
Gross floor area ratio (GFA): development plan allows 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: marked in light blue, 3 m (10 ft) distance from neighbor
Edge development: allowed up to 9 m (30 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 (location still unclear, either next to or behind the house)
Stories: 2
Roof type: flat roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: see site plan
Maximum heights / limitations: 2 full stories; neighbor has a pitched roof and converted attic (very high)
Other requirements
Clients’ requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, stories: no basement, 2 stories
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons, aged 30–40
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: living, dining, kitchen, utility, office, guest WC, child 1, child 2, master bedroom, walk-in closet, master bathroom, children’s bathroom (approx. 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) living area)
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture: unknown
Conservative or modern building method: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen is schematic for now, should be a compromise
Number of dining seats: 4–6
Fireplace: yes
Music / audio wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: not planned yet, either on west side or behind the house
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why or why not
House design
Who designed the plan: initially ourselves; our planners are very busy and only deliver standard designs
What do you like especially? Why?
What do you dislike? Why? Bedroom still too large
Price estimate according to architect/planner: too expensive 🙂
Personal price limit for house including equipment:
Preferred heating system: air-source heat pump, we also requested geothermal options but efficiency differences seem small, so additional costs (about 15,000 without subsidy) don’t seem worthwhile?!
If you had to give up certain details / expansions
Functional rooms should stay as is. Fireplace could be removed if necessary. Our current draft included sliding / lift-and-slide elements, but since the window fronts have become smaller, we have taken these out for now. (3 sliding/lift-and-slide elements are included in calculation.) The angled wall is optional, just an idea.
Why is the design as it is now? For example
Standard design by the planner? The neighbor will build on the west side, so we came from a simple rectangle. All living areas face forward, service rooms in the back, entrance on the side.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
I would like general feedback so we don’t build nonsense. We have done a condominium before but never a house — where everything is flexible and actually too many options exist. The bedroom currently feels too large. We also want a washing machine upstairs so clothes don’t have to be carried through the house all the time. Perhaps laundry can be placed there. The house front on the building plot should protect us from the neighbor’s view, as he has many windows on his east side (our west side).
Thank you very much!
I would like to tap into your collective expertise. We have the problem that the neighbor will build on the west side of the property, so we need to be a bit more creative. Otherwise, we would have simply placed the house as a rectangle towards the back of the lot. Another challenge is that it is a north-facing plot.
Most important questions
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (approximately 8600 sq ft)
Slope: flat
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.7
Gross floor area ratio (GFA): development plan allows 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: marked in light blue, 3 m (10 ft) distance from neighbor
Edge development: allowed up to 9 m (30 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 (location still unclear, either next to or behind the house)
Stories: 2
Roof type: flat roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: see site plan
Maximum heights / limitations: 2 full stories; neighbor has a pitched roof and converted attic (very high)
Other requirements
Clients’ requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, stories: no basement, 2 stories
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons, aged 30–40
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: living, dining, kitchen, utility, office, guest WC, child 1, child 2, master bedroom, walk-in closet, master bathroom, children’s bathroom (approx. 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) living area)
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture: unknown
Conservative or modern building method: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen is schematic for now, should be a compromise
Number of dining seats: 4–6
Fireplace: yes
Music / audio wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: not planned yet, either on west side or behind the house
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why or why not
House design
Who designed the plan: initially ourselves; our planners are very busy and only deliver standard designs
What do you like especially? Why?
What do you dislike? Why? Bedroom still too large
Price estimate according to architect/planner: too expensive 🙂
Personal price limit for house including equipment:
Preferred heating system: air-source heat pump, we also requested geothermal options but efficiency differences seem small, so additional costs (about 15,000 without subsidy) don’t seem worthwhile?!
If you had to give up certain details / expansions
Functional rooms should stay as is. Fireplace could be removed if necessary. Our current draft included sliding / lift-and-slide elements, but since the window fronts have become smaller, we have taken these out for now. (3 sliding/lift-and-slide elements are included in calculation.) The angled wall is optional, just an idea.
Why is the design as it is now? For example
Standard design by the planner? The neighbor will build on the west side, so we came from a simple rectangle. All living areas face forward, service rooms in the back, entrance on the side.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
I would like general feedback so we don’t build nonsense. We have done a condominium before but never a house — where everything is flexible and actually too many options exist. The bedroom currently feels too large. We also want a washing machine upstairs so clothes don’t have to be carried through the house all the time. Perhaps laundry can be placed there. The house front on the building plot should protect us from the neighbor’s view, as he has many windows on his east side (our west side).
Thank you very much!
I don’t understand why everyone is so against the supposedly "few" windows here? The dining area is nicely open, and there is also a large window surface in the living area. Sure, the kitchen could be debated, but there is a window planned there as well.
Overall, there are far more windows than in our new build (almost twice the window area compared to our new build) in the living/dining area. I think it’s totally fine. The fact that one side of the house appears quite "solid" and windowless, I wouldn’t really see as a problem. You can always add plants or create parking spaces there, for example.
Overall, there are far more windows than in our new build (almost twice the window area compared to our new build) in the living/dining area. I think it’s totally fine. The fact that one side of the house appears quite "solid" and windowless, I wouldn’t really see as a problem. You can always add plants or create parking spaces there, for example.
The saying "Keep it as private as possible, meaning being against or for the neighbor, is not something I want to take on" applies here.
The plot basically has a good location, facing south in a second row by a lake. Precisely because of that, we want to get the most out of it (also for ourselves). A large south-facing garden with a huge windowed side of the house on the west versus a completely open north garden for whatever purpose...
We also drove through other residential areas again. On north-facing plots with enough space, it’s quite common to find south-facing terraces (pergola, louvered roof) installed. The terrace facing the street... might be somewhat less of an issue since the street is a dead-end where only three households live. However, the houses on the opposite side all face south (toward the lake).
We have another meeting with the architect over the weekend to develop an overall concept (parking spaces, building structure, terraces). We might also need a different house design that is open on the ground floor toward the north, south, and east sides, with utility rooms located on the west side and fewer windows there.
Attached is our original plan, where the terrace is just 2–3m (6–10 feet) next to the entrance of the neighboring building. A second option shows visual screening by the garage, with a southeast-facing terrace and a north garden for free use.
The plot basically has a good location, facing south in a second row by a lake. Precisely because of that, we want to get the most out of it (also for ourselves). A large south-facing garden with a huge windowed side of the house on the west versus a completely open north garden for whatever purpose...
We also drove through other residential areas again. On north-facing plots with enough space, it’s quite common to find south-facing terraces (pergola, louvered roof) installed. The terrace facing the street... might be somewhat less of an issue since the street is a dead-end where only three households live. However, the houses on the opposite side all face south (toward the lake).
We have another meeting with the architect over the weekend to develop an overall concept (parking spaces, building structure, terraces). We might also need a different house design that is open on the ground floor toward the north, south, and east sides, with utility rooms located on the west side and fewer windows there.
Attached is our original plan, where the terrace is just 2–3m (6–10 feet) next to the entrance of the neighboring building. A second option shows visual screening by the garage, with a southeast-facing terrace and a north garden for free use.
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Pinkiponk11 Dec 2020 15:25friday82 schrieb:
We had also considered selling the plot. If you’re not in a hurry to build the house, you could possibly look for another plot and then sell the current one. If the surrounding buildings are a problem for you, I think that would be better than building an expensive house now where you don’t feel comfortable and constantly feel watched. Especially since you will probably also be visible from the terrace or garden.
I would position the house roughly in the center of the plot, but as a crosswise block (not lengthwise), so that you ideally get a large open space with windows facing both north and south. The west side, due to the central placement of the house on the plot, will no longer be directly next to the western neighbor and can have a window without any issues. Then I would create a nice terrace on the north side where you can enjoy the afternoon sun coming from the west over the natural pond (possibly adding privacy screening to the east toward the barn). Also, a south-facing terrace could be added, which you would shield on the west side. This terrace can be located quite far to the east or centered in front of the house, but definitely not on the western boundary! On the west side in the garden, simply block the view with espalier trees, possibly combined with a carport. This way, the west neighbor will neither see into the house (due to the offset) nor into the south garden (because of the trees). Pergolas with frosted glass roofs can also help to block views from above. I really like your plot and meant it sincerely when I said many people would be happy to have something like this.
friday82 schrieb:
I don’t want to take on the idea of keeping the property as private as possible, meaning being against or hostile to the neighbors.I wouldn’t have meant it that way either. What matters to me is that the main issue remains the main issue and doesn’t get overshadowed by secondary concerns. I see windows primarily as serving the view; for the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection, the light itself is not to blame—besides, unless you build the house too tall, there will still be southern sunlight in the north-facing garden (and even more of it if the house is positioned further “down the plan”). Incidentally, I would also have preferred a building oriented crosswise here.If I feared windows on every side exposed to view, I’d have to do what the “fools” did and carry light into my apartment in bags ;-)
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Thanks for the great tips. I tried to incorporate them into a sketch. From a design perspective, we could now consider adding more windows facing north. For example, a lift-and-slide door element from the east side to the north side.
Great garden by Würfel
here in the picture. Lorenz from Ehren-style trees 🙂
Great garden by Würfel
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