Good evening!
I’m hoping for some collective advice. We want to expand a two-family house – the options we considered at the time were either an extension or creating a usable attic by slightly raising the knee wall. I had major reservations about the first option because I’ve hardly ever seen an attractive extension. Then the architect sent me a design that I quite liked. However, it later turned out that structurally it only works with so many compromises that it’s unusable again. For several days now, I’ve been looking at this view and it only looks worse. It resembles a garage. But that’s not all – what was supposed to be a shaded area is unfortunately only 1.7m (5.6 ft) high. Yet that matches the balcony, as it was trimmed to the same width.
All parties involved, meaning us and the architect, generally get along well but are currently a bit stressed with each other. How does one handle a situation like this? By the way, we’re still puzzled about how the chaotic arrangement of windows on the garden side came about.
I’m hoping for some collective advice. We want to expand a two-family house – the options we considered at the time were either an extension or creating a usable attic by slightly raising the knee wall. I had major reservations about the first option because I’ve hardly ever seen an attractive extension. Then the architect sent me a design that I quite liked. However, it later turned out that structurally it only works with so many compromises that it’s unusable again. For several days now, I’ve been looking at this view and it only looks worse. It resembles a garage. But that’s not all – what was supposed to be a shaded area is unfortunately only 1.7m (5.6 ft) high. Yet that matches the balcony, as it was trimmed to the same width.
All parties involved, meaning us and the architect, generally get along well but are currently a bit stressed with each other. How does one handle a situation like this? By the way, we’re still puzzled about how the chaotic arrangement of windows on the garden side came about.
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Nice-Nofret19 Apr 2021 11:18I actually quite like the lively exterior facade; and yes, there is still some room for improvement – those always identical, monotonous “suburban villas” really get on my nerves. Despite all the symmetry, none of them are designs worthy of Palladio – just boring lack of creativity.
Without a site plan, overall floor plan, and initial conditions or project goals, it’s hard to say much about such a complex project.
The 1.7m (5 ft 7 in) high base structure actually has little charm if it is meant to be used as a seating area – there is still potential for better design.
Without a site plan, overall floor plan, and initial conditions or project goals, it’s hard to say much about such a complex project.
The 1.7m (5 ft 7 in) high base structure actually has little charm if it is meant to be used as a seating area – there is still potential for better design.
Nice-Nofret schrieb:
The 1.7m (5 ft 7 in) high base structure really lacks appeal if it is meant to be used as a seating area – there is definitely room for better design. I’m not sure which convention center mezzanine inspired the architect here. Or was it the terrace of an ice cream café, cantilevered over the Alster riverbank?
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So, it is a two-family house with a half basement. Since that is a bit small (for 2 households), we need to expand either upwards or towards the back to make it more attractive. Both options would generally be possible under §34.
My husband and I are two people. Because we have very different daily rhythms, we would like to have 2 bedrooms and a spacious study that also fits a guest sofa. The other unit does not need that much space and is intended for our youngest child who just finished university. We were thinking about 3.5 rooms for that.
As mentioned before, I’m always skeptical about extensions. That’s why we didn’t want a standard basic design but something sophisticated, which can also be quite simple. The house is currently on a slope, and the garden is fairly level. The original house would also need to be almost completely renovated. Our current home is very well equipped, so we don’t want to downgrade. We have budgeted 400,000 euros (about $430,000) for this. However, I am starting to doubt whether that is realistic.
Thanks for the kind contributions by the way 🙂 When you’re a bit confused, that’s a big help. I’ll just provide some basic info, and anyone interested can take a look and give feedback;)
Plot: 555
Size: 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft) plus partial basement
Location: Essen
Desired size: an additional 60 to 80 sqm (645 to 860 sq ft) and a balcony for the upper unit
PS: We don’t really mind whether we live in the upper or lower unit.
My husband and I are two people. Because we have very different daily rhythms, we would like to have 2 bedrooms and a spacious study that also fits a guest sofa. The other unit does not need that much space and is intended for our youngest child who just finished university. We were thinking about 3.5 rooms for that.
As mentioned before, I’m always skeptical about extensions. That’s why we didn’t want a standard basic design but something sophisticated, which can also be quite simple. The house is currently on a slope, and the garden is fairly level. The original house would also need to be almost completely renovated. Our current home is very well equipped, so we don’t want to downgrade. We have budgeted 400,000 euros (about $430,000) for this. However, I am starting to doubt whether that is realistic.
Thanks for the kind contributions by the way 🙂 When you’re a bit confused, that’s a big help. I’ll just provide some basic info, and anyone interested can take a look and give feedback;)
Plot: 555
Size: 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft) plus partial basement
Location: Essen
Desired size: an additional 60 to 80 sqm (645 to 860 sq ft) and a balcony for the upper unit
PS: We don’t really mind whether we live in the upper or lower unit.
Schelli schrieb:
So, it’s a two-family house with a half-basement. Since that is a bit small (for 2 households), you have to expand attractively either upwards or to the back. [...] PS: We don’t really mind whether we live in the upper or lower part. No, because the study and second bedroom are downstairs, and the internal stairs lead from the basement to the ground floor. So living in the basement and upper floor yourselves, and other people in the ground floor wouldn’t work. But it’s not about any specific second household at all; equally, you could avoid any extension, just separate off a granny flat, and live in a split-level unit, for example using half of the ground floor and the entire upper floor?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
No, because the study and second bedroom are on the ground floor, and the internal stairs lead from the basement to the main floor. So you living in the basement and upper floor while others live on the main floor wouldn’t work. But it’s not about a specific second household; you might as well just not build an extension, just partition off a granny flat and for example live in a duplex made up of half the main floor and the entire upper floor?No, I wroteSchelli schrieb:
The other living unit doesn’t need much space; it’s intended for our youngest, who just finished her studies. We were thinking of 3.5 rooms.
PS: It doesn’t really matter to us whether we live in the upper or lower part.And the original alternative was to raise the knee wall and create a usable attic. The roof would have to be replaced anyway.How would you feel about the budget for both options?
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