ᐅ Floor plan of a single-family house, approximately 160 m², with a hipped roof, basement, built on a sloping site
Created on: 20 May 2021 22:58
E
Eastwood
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 505m² (6088 ft²)
Slope: approx. 10% (3m (10 ft) descent over 30m (98 ft) length)
Site occupancy index (Floor Area Ratio): 0.3
Floor space index
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See excerpt from development plan
Peripheral development
Number of parking spaces: Double garage
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Townhouse
Orientation: Terrace/garden faces southeast
Maximum heights/limits: Ridge height 6m (20 ft), eaves height 8.6m (28 ft)
Other regulations:
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Full ceiling height on the upper floor, so flat or hipped roof; shed roof also possible. Lots of natural light inside the house with an unobstructed view towards the garden.
Basement, floors: Basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 2 persons, male/female, aged 28/29
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: Study/guest room, open-plan living, dining, kitchen area; guest toilet with shower on ground floor; 2 children's rooms, master bedroom with walk-in closet; large bathroom in the basement; hobby and fitness room and a workspace for home office; when 2 children arrive; utility/technical room; storage room
Office: Family use or home office? My fiancée is a teacher; I work from home 2 days a week.
Guest overnight stays per year: maybe 5 times
Open or closed architecture: Generally open to make the available space feel as large as possible.
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes to both
Number of dining seats: 6 permanent, 8 occasional
Fireplace: Planned but location still uncertain, so not included in the design yet
Music/stereo wall: Not planned
Balcony, roof terrace: The plan is to provide basement access at ground level with a small terrace there. A balcony will be built later in front of the living room on the ground floor as the main outdoor living space, done by ourselves.
Garage, carport: Double garage
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: Not planned yet.
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why certain things are desired or avoided:
We have a nice, unobstructed view towards the southeast, which will likely remain so (there is a creek). Therefore, we want to maximize this view with window area, terrace/balcony, etc. We welcome suggestions regarding heat protection as we wonder if this might cause problems.
House Design
Designer: Architect working with our construction company
What do you especially like? Why?
The ground floor suits us pretty well; kitchen with pantry hidden behind the wall.
What do you not like? Why?
The upstairs bedroom feels too large, while the walk-in closet is small; possible to have the children’s bathroom upstairs? Unsure about the layout of the upstairs bathroom; TV corner might be too small; awkward unused space behind the couch in the corner; too little usable wall space due to many windows? Does a fireplace make sense here? Is a U-shaped kitchen with an island possible here, or would it be too narrow? A U-shape would provide more storage.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 440,000€
Personal budget for the house including equipment: 500,000€
Preferred heating system: Ground-source heat pump (brine-water heat pump)
If you have to give up on something, which details/extensions
Can give up: Fireplace, bedroom space
Cannot give up: Plenty of storage space in the kitchen, lots of light in the living room and windows facing the garden, study/guest room with minimum 14m² (150 ft²)
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner: Modified standard design. External dimensions were increased, floor plan almost completely changed.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: Pantry hidden behind kitchen wall, passage from bedroom to bathroom, south-facing corner in living area, garden-facing bedroom
What makes it particularly good or bad in your view: The site conditions are well utilized. Remaining open questions are a drawback.
We are already quite satisfied with the design but have no experience with building matters, so we may overlook many things. Often a floor plan alone doesn't fully convey the sense of space that will develop later. Also, we might miss details that more experienced people might notice immediately.
That’s what we hope for. Many thanks in advance for all critiques and suggestions!
Plot size: 505m² (6088 ft²)
Slope: approx. 10% (3m (10 ft) descent over 30m (98 ft) length)
Site occupancy index (Floor Area Ratio): 0.3
Floor space index
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See excerpt from development plan
Peripheral development
Number of parking spaces: Double garage
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Townhouse
Orientation: Terrace/garden faces southeast
Maximum heights/limits: Ridge height 6m (20 ft), eaves height 8.6m (28 ft)
Other regulations:
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Full ceiling height on the upper floor, so flat or hipped roof; shed roof also possible. Lots of natural light inside the house with an unobstructed view towards the garden.
Basement, floors: Basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 2 persons, male/female, aged 28/29
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: Study/guest room, open-plan living, dining, kitchen area; guest toilet with shower on ground floor; 2 children's rooms, master bedroom with walk-in closet; large bathroom in the basement; hobby and fitness room and a workspace for home office; when 2 children arrive; utility/technical room; storage room
Office: Family use or home office? My fiancée is a teacher; I work from home 2 days a week.
Guest overnight stays per year: maybe 5 times
Open or closed architecture: Generally open to make the available space feel as large as possible.
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Yes to both
Number of dining seats: 6 permanent, 8 occasional
Fireplace: Planned but location still uncertain, so not included in the design yet
Music/stereo wall: Not planned
Balcony, roof terrace: The plan is to provide basement access at ground level with a small terrace there. A balcony will be built later in front of the living room on the ground floor as the main outdoor living space, done by ourselves.
Garage, carport: Double garage
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: Not planned yet.
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why certain things are desired or avoided:
We have a nice, unobstructed view towards the southeast, which will likely remain so (there is a creek). Therefore, we want to maximize this view with window area, terrace/balcony, etc. We welcome suggestions regarding heat protection as we wonder if this might cause problems.
House Design
Designer: Architect working with our construction company
What do you especially like? Why?
The ground floor suits us pretty well; kitchen with pantry hidden behind the wall.
What do you not like? Why?
The upstairs bedroom feels too large, while the walk-in closet is small; possible to have the children’s bathroom upstairs? Unsure about the layout of the upstairs bathroom; TV corner might be too small; awkward unused space behind the couch in the corner; too little usable wall space due to many windows? Does a fireplace make sense here? Is a U-shaped kitchen with an island possible here, or would it be too narrow? A U-shape would provide more storage.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 440,000€
Personal budget for the house including equipment: 500,000€
Preferred heating system: Ground-source heat pump (brine-water heat pump)
If you have to give up on something, which details/extensions
Can give up: Fireplace, bedroom space
Cannot give up: Plenty of storage space in the kitchen, lots of light in the living room and windows facing the garden, study/guest room with minimum 14m² (150 ft²)
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Standard design from the planner: Modified standard design. External dimensions were increased, floor plan almost completely changed.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: Pantry hidden behind kitchen wall, passage from bedroom to bathroom, south-facing corner in living area, garden-facing bedroom
What makes it particularly good or bad in your view: The site conditions are well utilized. Remaining open questions are a drawback.
We are already quite satisfied with the design but have no experience with building matters, so we may overlook many things. Often a floor plan alone doesn't fully convey the sense of space that will develop later. Also, we might miss details that more experienced people might notice immediately.
That’s what we hope for. Many thanks in advance for all critiques and suggestions!
An unusual design for a mainstream city villa with a half basement. There are better standard floor plans available.
The upstairs hallway feels cramped and oppressive, and when everyone gets up in the morning, it can become quite stressful: in traffic terms, one might call it a traffic jam 😉 For everyone’s benefit, I would take away some square meters from the rooms... but ideally, I would try to bring some natural light into the hallway. Ypsis’ suggestion would be the better option.
The ground floor only appears to offer a lot of space.
The dining table is placed in front of the sliding door... it essentially has no room. The patio doors all lead to nowhere, into empty space. How are they supposed to be executed? With grills? Fixed panels?
Well, great? For what purpose? No one is going to go through a cluttered basement just to get to the terrace.
Also great: you have a plot and end up standing on a balcony... but who takes care of the garden?
The house is not designed as a hillside house, and the basement is not suited for a sloped site.
For the money, there are far more attractive and better houses that are built into the slope on two levels and actually add value to the plot. You might have two fewer basement rooms, but you would have a garden that you can actually use and enjoy, as well as a living and dining area where you feel comfortable because it is well zoned, plus sensible rooms upstairs that can be accessed with a comfortable staircase, not a space-saving one. The basement here reduces the budget with no real benefit. This house is really out of place here and not worth the money. You even have to build an exit to the outside in the basement.
Do yourselves a favor and look at other houses or ask the architect for a solution with a hillside house on two levels including a living basement.
The upstairs hallway feels cramped and oppressive, and when everyone gets up in the morning, it can become quite stressful: in traffic terms, one might call it a traffic jam 😉 For everyone’s benefit, I would take away some square meters from the rooms... but ideally, I would try to bring some natural light into the hallway. Ypsis’ suggestion would be the better option.
The ground floor only appears to offer a lot of space.
The dining table is placed in front of the sliding door... it essentially has no room. The patio doors all lead to nowhere, into empty space. How are they supposed to be executed? With grills? Fixed panels?
Eastwood schrieb:
It is planned to provide the basement with a ground-level exit and to have a small terrace there.
Well, great? For what purpose? No one is going to go through a cluttered basement just to get to the terrace.
Eastwood schrieb:
A balcony is also planned to be built in a DIY manner in front of the living room on the ground floor as the main outdoor living space.
Also great: you have a plot and end up standing on a balcony... but who takes care of the garden?
The house is not designed as a hillside house, and the basement is not suited for a sloped site.
For the money, there are far more attractive and better houses that are built into the slope on two levels and actually add value to the plot. You might have two fewer basement rooms, but you would have a garden that you can actually use and enjoy, as well as a living and dining area where you feel comfortable because it is well zoned, plus sensible rooms upstairs that can be accessed with a comfortable staircase, not a space-saving one. The basement here reduces the budget with no real benefit. This house is really out of place here and not worth the money. You even have to build an exit to the outside in the basement.
Do yourselves a favor and look at other houses or ask the architect for a solution with a hillside house on two levels including a living basement.
haydee schrieb:
I think the budget is a bit optimistic.
What exactly is included in the house price?
Additional construction costs on a sloping site mainly involve the earthworks.
Is there already a structural engineer’s report? Are those requirements already factored in?
What about the landscaping?
Garage?
Upgrades?
How is access to the garden planned?
Make sure to work with accurate furniture dimensions.
The dining area is actually as wide as the door, so no one can pass between the chair and the kitchen island. To break it down a bit, as it raises many questions and I only briefly covered it before:
Base house 315k (almost completed excluding self-performed work)
Basement 50k + 9k “construction package”
Measured floor plan 30k
Double garage: 24k
Contingency: 10k
That would roughly make about 440k
Other costs:
Land 180k
Additional purchase costs 14k
Additional construction costs 80k
Budget for changes to the house (upgrades, etc.) 30k
Materials for self-performance 30k
I had added materials and the extra budget on top of the house costs → 500k house budget, the rest is land and additional purchase costs.
Landscaping is only partially included with 10k in the additional construction costs.
So the total budget is naturally significantly higher than 500k, rather closer to 780k.
ypg schrieb:
An unusual design for a mainstream suburban villa with a buried basement. There are better standard floor plans.
The upstairs hallway feels narrow and oppressive, and if everyone gets up in the morning, it could become stressful: in traffic terms, you might call it a gridlock 😉 I would take some square meters away from the rooms for everyone’s benefit... but ideally, I’d try to bring some natural light into the hallway. Ypsis’s suggestion would be a better alternative.
The ground floor appears spacious at first glance.
The dining table is placed right in front of the sliding door... it basically has no space. The patio doors all lead nowhere, essentially into empty space. How are these supposed to be designed? With grilles? Fixed panels?
Well, great, but what for? No one will use a cluttered basement to get to the patio.
Also, great idea: you have a plot but stand on a balcony... so where is the garden?
The house is not designed as a hillside house, and the basement is not suited for a sloped site.
For that price, there are far nicer and better homes built into the slope over two levels, which actually enhance the plot. You might have two fewer basement rooms, but you’d have a garden you can use and enjoy, as well as a living and dining area where you feel comfortable due to better zoning, plus sensible rooms upstairs, accessible via a comfortable staircase instead of a space-saving one. The basement here reduces the budget without real benefit. This house really feels out of place and is not worth the money. You would even need an exit in the basement.
Do yourselves a favor and look at other houses or ask the architect for a two-level hillside solution with a living basement. Upstairs hallway: okay, then let’s reconsider how we can design this differently.
The sliding doors on the ground floor are not meant to lead to nowhere—true, on the plan it currently looks that way. The idea is to add a larger balcony in front of them for grilling or similar activities and to create garden access on the side of the balcony, if possible with embankment or slope grading. In a worst-case scenario, the basement would be fully recessed, and a “regular” patio would be installed in front of the sliding doors.
Do you have an immediate example of how this could be done better on a slope?
ypg schrieb:
What is that supposed to be? (30 characters, 5 words rule...
@admin always questionable and silly) An increase in the exterior dimensions compared to the standard design on two sides by a little more than half a meter (about 20 inches), as more living space was desired.
Eastwood schrieb:
Could you quickly give me an example of how to do it better on a slope?Yes, there are some examples here in the forum. Everything is different! Honestly, with this house and floor plan, I wouldn’t waste any thought on it; to me, it’s a complete design failure and a recipe for disaster.
It’s not your fault, but I expect a bit more guidance from a building contractor or architect.
Eastwood schrieb:
An increase of the exterior dimensions compared to the standard design by a little over half a meter on two sides, as more living space was desired.Ah, okay... so the architect didn’t really have much to do, and the staircase is where it is now because of the expansion.I can sketch something later to show what a house on a slope might look like... unless you say you want it exactly like this and really like balconies and the basement...
Similar topics