ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home for Four People on a 390 sqm Plot
Created on: 5 Apr 2021 17:44
C
Crixton
Hello House Building Forum,
What do you think about the floor plan (see attachment)? This is a first draft, and I am open to any feedback!
Thank you in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 390 sqm (approx. 4200 sq ft) with 16.5 m (54 ft) width x 23.5 m (77 ft) depth
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor space index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: minimum 3 m (10 ft) setback from the street, linked building in a continuous row. Boundary building allowed.
Edge development: Grouped houses are required: house, garage, house, garage…
Windows: On the ground floor, windows are only allowed on the southwest and northeast sides due to the house grouping. On the upper floor, windows are allowed on the southwest, southeast and northeast sides.
Number of parking spaces: 2 in carport/garage + 2 in front
Number of floors: minimum 2 full stories
Roof shape: hipped roof with max 25° pitch (hence square floor plan)
Orientation: southwest-facing
Maximum heights / limits: max wall height 6.5 m (21 ft). Knee walls not allowed.
Other requirements: A tree must be planted in front and behind the house. This may affect the distance of the house to the street. According to the development plan, minimum 3 m (10 ft) setback is required; I am not sure if this is sufficient for the tree. A free-growing hedge with 3 m (10 ft) depth must be planned behind the house.
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: city villa with 2 full stories
Basement, floors: no basement planned for now, possibly if really needed
Number of people, age: Currently 2 (male 28, female 25), planning 2 children soon
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor:
Office: several home office days per week, small office (around 9 sqm (97 sq ft)) sufficient
Guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture
Conservative or modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island if space permits
Number of dining seats: at least 5
Fireplace: if space and budget allow
Balcony, roof terrace: possibly on top of the garage, but not mandatory
Garage, carport: double garage planned with 6.5 m x 8 m (21 ft x 26 ft). Max length allowed 9 m (30 ft). Only flat roof allowed on garage.
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself, with some floor plans as templates
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: not yet determined
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: 350k € plus garage and landscaping
Preferred heating technology: If not KfW 40plus standard, connection to district heating is mandatory. If KfW 40plus standard is met, connection is voluntary.
If you have to give up something, on which details/extensions
- can you forgo: straight staircase (if other staircase types are better suited for 10 x 10 m), roof terrace
- cannot forgo: office, guest WC + shower on ground floor, bedroom not directly adjacent to children’s room, pantry, access from garage to house, children’s rooms at least 15 sqm (160 sq ft)
Why did the design turn out this way?
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the floor plan (see attachment)? This is a first draft, and I am open to any feedback!
Thank you in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 390 sqm (approx. 4200 sq ft) with 16.5 m (54 ft) width x 23.5 m (77 ft) depth
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor space index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: minimum 3 m (10 ft) setback from the street, linked building in a continuous row. Boundary building allowed.
Edge development: Grouped houses are required: house, garage, house, garage…
Windows: On the ground floor, windows are only allowed on the southwest and northeast sides due to the house grouping. On the upper floor, windows are allowed on the southwest, southeast and northeast sides.
Number of parking spaces: 2 in carport/garage + 2 in front
Number of floors: minimum 2 full stories
Roof shape: hipped roof with max 25° pitch (hence square floor plan)
Orientation: southwest-facing
Maximum heights / limits: max wall height 6.5 m (21 ft). Knee walls not allowed.
Other requirements: A tree must be planted in front and behind the house. This may affect the distance of the house to the street. According to the development plan, minimum 3 m (10 ft) setback is required; I am not sure if this is sufficient for the tree. A free-growing hedge with 3 m (10 ft) depth must be planned behind the house.
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: city villa with 2 full stories
Basement, floors: no basement planned for now, possibly if really needed
Number of people, age: Currently 2 (male 28, female 25), planning 2 children soon
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor:
Office: several home office days per week, small office (around 9 sqm (97 sq ft)) sufficient
Guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture
Conservative or modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island if space permits
Number of dining seats: at least 5
Fireplace: if space and budget allow
Balcony, roof terrace: possibly on top of the garage, but not mandatory
Garage, carport: double garage planned with 6.5 m x 8 m (21 ft x 26 ft). Max length allowed 9 m (30 ft). Only flat roof allowed on garage.
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself, with some floor plans as templates
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: not yet determined
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: 350k € plus garage and landscaping
Preferred heating technology: If not KfW 40plus standard, connection to district heating is mandatory. If KfW 40plus standard is met, connection is voluntary.
If you have to give up something, on which details/extensions
- can you forgo: straight staircase (if other staircase types are better suited for 10 x 10 m), roof terrace
- cannot forgo: office, guest WC + shower on ground floor, bedroom not directly adjacent to children’s room, pantry, access from garage to house, children’s rooms at least 15 sqm (160 sq ft)
Why did the design turn out this way?
- The maximum width of the house of 10.2 m (33 ft) is based on the plot width of 16.5 m (54 ft). 6.3 m (20 ft) is allocated for the double garage. The house depth is therefore 10 m (33 ft) (hipped roof: square floor plan is advantageous + if deeper than 10 m, the floor space index would be exceeded + hardly any garden space would remain)
- The office on the ground floor could be used as a third children’s room if needed (not currently planned) and later as a care room
- Bedroom is not adjacent to the children’s rooms
- Both children’s rooms have access to the roof terrace on the garage
- Direct access from the garage to the house
- Open living and dining area
- Large children’s rooms (approx. 17 sqm (183 sq ft))
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
- Is the straight staircase suitable for a 10 x 10 m layout, or are there better options?
- Is the space sufficient for 4 people, or would you recommend a basement?
- Open to all comments
H
hampshire28 Jul 2021 08:43Myrna_Loy schrieb:
In summer, people tend to spend more time outdoors and are less likely to sit in the window seat. I would design the window seat so that in summer you are positioned exactly between inside and outside. So, consider the opening mechanism. Maybe something like a sliding sash that moves upward, as used in England…
A stove requires much more space than its footprint. In a small house, it easily takes up 20-30% of the living area. If that is the priority: fine.
M
Myrna_Loy28 Jul 2021 09:01hampshire schrieb:
I would design the seating window so that in summer I would be sitting exactly between indoors and outdoors. So, consider the opening mechanism carefully. Maybe something like a sliding mechanism upwards, as seen in England…
I often drive past a modern villa near Starnberg where all the windows visible from the street are designed as sliding windows. A very beautiful house. About two years ago, I requested several quotes to design a 1.60 x 1.20 m (5.25 x 3.94 ft) window for the hallway in that style. The offers ranged between 3500 and 5000 euros.I would solve it this way. That way, the seating window wouldn’t be hidden behind the sofa backrest, and it would be possible to create a cozy gathering area when more people are present. The chimney flue could be placed above between the two children’s room doors. This way, you’d have a clear view of the fireplace, TV, and garden from the sofa. The kitchen wall is shortened, and the living room wall straightened. The last 1.5 stair steps are already embedded in the ceiling and can therefore be built over. The wardrobe could be placed under the stairs?
H
hampshire28 Jul 2021 12:59Myrna_Loy schrieb:
The quotes ranged between 3500 and 5000 euros.A nice window seat is not exactly a cost-optimized piece of furniture. I find the price range perfectly reasonable, and when you consider the cost per seating spot over its lifespan in years, it’s not particularly expensive at all.M
Myrna_Loy28 Jul 2021 13:03hampshire schrieb:
A nice window seat is definitely not a cost-optimized piece of furniture. I find the price range completely reasonable, and when calculated as cost per seat over the lifetime in years, it’s not particularly expensive at all.That wasn’t a window seat, but rather a small interior window to bring light into a staircase. It would have been a fully custom-made piece, with the mechanism also ordered separately and special profiles manufactured for it. I don’t even want to imagine the price for triple glazing at twice the size :p11ant schrieb:
And I want to differentiate this for myself: I absolutely agree it’s good, but relatively speaking, I think it’s even better to tailor the wishes to the house size. In my view, a separate dressing room is already borderline in a slightly enlarged standard detached villa as a basic model, whereas between a bay window and a fireplace, it clearly requires a choice of one or the other. Since everyone here already knows that I — hopefully more kindly than @driver55 — don’t hide my true feelings, I’ll openly hint: if your partner is smart, she’ll choose the bay window. After all, that is the more charming “actually a bit overdressed for the house size” feature of the two. I also think it will be difficult to accommodate both given the space constraints...
The bay window is fixed and non-negotiable.