ᐅ Floor plan for a 180 m² urban villa with a basement, designed for a family with three children – what are your thoughts?

Hello dear forum members,
after reading along for a long time, the time has finally come for us as well.
Since we are always open to criticism, different perspectives, and suggestions, we look forward to your opinions on our floor plan design.
Before entering the crucial phase, the two of us created a self-designed floor plan, and this is the one we want to move forward with.
Now, onto the details:

Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 880m² (0.22 acres)
Slope: Approximately 2m (6.5 feet) between the east and west property boundaries but varying significantly—see surveying documents
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Gross floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 13x10m (43x33 feet) for one full story and 10x10m (33x33 feet) for two full stories
Edge development: None
Number of parking spaces: No requirements
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: According to the development plan, pitched roofs are mandatory
Architectural style: Urban villa
Orientation: Main entrance on the east side, terrace and recreational garden on the west side, utility garden on east side
Maximum heights/limits: According to the development plan no specification other than two full stories
Other requirements: Rainwater must infiltrate the plot. According to the soil report, the ground is not optimally permeable. Additionally, some hydrostatic pressure from groundwater is expected. Therefore, we plan to install a cistern to use rainwater.

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Solid construction (Ytong), 35cm (14 inches) hip roof with 80cm (31 inches) knee wall
Basement, floors: Basement 10x10m (33x33 feet) precast waterproof concrete basement (white tank construction)
Number of occupants, age: Parents 36 and 33, children 3.5 and 1.5 years old, plus one due July 2021
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor 80m² (860 sq ft), upper floor 80m² (860 sq ft), attic 15-20m² (160-215 sq ft), basement mainly utility but with a larger fitness room planned
Office: Family use or home office?: Home office only. Before COVID-19, working at home 2-3 days a week; in 2020 a total of 10 months working from home; after COVID-19 probably 3-4 days a week home office
Overnight guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture: Open on the ground floor
Traditional or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open with large kitchen island, cooking happens daily, about once a month guests up to 8 people, pantry directly adjacent to kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6-8, expandable with an additional table
Fireplace: No
Music/stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Large garage plus possibly 1-2 guest parking spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: Yes, large greenhouse (possibly earth-sheltered) planned on east side with south orientation
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasoning why certain things should or should not be included: Very bright ground floor with many windows, where only the middle lift-and-slide door and the door near the kitchen can be opened, all other windows on the ground floor are fixed glazing. Photovoltaics and KNX home automation system are planned.

House Design
Who created the plan: DIY
What do you especially like? Why?: Large living/dining area, open kitchen, pantry, three children’s rooms roughly equal in size facing the garden
What do you dislike? Why?: No walk-in closet in the master bedroom
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 400,000 without additional construction costs
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 415,000
Preferred heating technology: Geothermal (either probe or trench collector) with underfloor heating

If you had to give up, which details/extensions
-could you do without: Walk-in closet in the bedroom
-could you not do without: Large living/dining area, open kitchen, pantry, three children’s rooms roughly equal in size facing the garden

Why is the design the way it is now?
This is the 12th or 13th version after long discussions and considerations. Whether it is more or less final also depends on your feedback.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Optimally use space and layout, avoid pitfalls.

It is very rare to see a design with a square floor plan that wastes so little space on circulation areas. Moving the staircase slightly toward the center of the house is worthwhile, as is limiting the number of rooms on the ground floor. This works well for a family for whom a bathroom and spa are not a priority. For the living room, I would consider how to evenly distribute natural light throughout the large space—toward the center of the house it naturally becomes darker. I think a continuous strip window at a height of 1.80 to 2.40 m (5.9 to 7.9 ft) on the north wall of the living room is a good solution that doesn’t compromise coziness. Additionally, aiming for the highest possible ceiling height on the ground floor is beneficial—without compromising the staircase design.

A bit more width and slightly less depth would improve the living area and the children’s rooms above, though then it would no longer be a townhouse-style villa.

Kraj schrieb:

This is now the 12th or 13th design after long discussions and careful considerations.

Then don’t just show design 12 or 12a here, but also the development history – at least design 1 and the reasons why the shortcomings (or revised planning objectives in the specifications) meant that designs 2 to 11 were not final. Otherwise, you’ll just get a series of suggestions here that you have already planned and discarded, and risk being criticized for being resistant to advice. Maybe some readers will also have a few “been there, done that” moments while browsing through the thread https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissoptimierung-stadtvilla-aufschuettueberlegung.33680/ 🙂

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Kraj schrieb:

Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 400,000 excluding additional construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 415,000
Preferred heating system: geothermal energy (either borehole or horizontal trench collector) with underfloor heating

Are the costs for the geothermal system already included in your estimate? Honestly, I would be surprised if they were. We briefly considered it as well but decided against it due to the drilling costs, which were quoted to us at around 90,000 euros.

Ground source heat via a loop collector can be done (possibly with own labor) for (well) under 10k.

If the plot is large enough and the soil quality supports it (which is usually the case), this would also be my preferred option!

But if photovoltaic and KNX are already included in the costs, it will be very challenging to stay within the budget!
Your terrace doesn’t seem small either, and that also costs a lot. The shading of it will also become an issue in a southwest-facing location.

Even though I’m not exactly a benchmark for planning, I find the interior balanced and many details very well resolved.

By the way, my daughter and her family planned and built 184m² (1984 sqft) with two children, and when they moved in, they had three kids 😎. They are managing well with that.

superzapp schrieb:

Ground source heat via a horizontal trench collector is possible (potentially with some DIY work) for well under 10K.
If the property is large enough and the ground conditions allow it (which is usually the case), this would also be my favorite option!

The property size is 880 sqm (9,470 sq ft). Is that enough? We were advised against a horizontal trench collector, even though the property is large enough, as it would be too inefficient.