Hello! We are currently on the third iteration of the plans for our house together with an architect. The two images below are based 90% on the architect’s proposals for the ground floor, while I have currently designed the upper floor myself. The orientation on the plot is fixed, meaning we get evening sun from the left side of the plan. At the moment, our terrace faces south, which is unbearable during summer, so we have moved the seating area to the northeast. That doesn’t bother us since we plan to have outdoor heaters anyway. The garage must remain on the left side of the plan because all utility connections are located there. The house will have an asymmetrical gable roof with a 35° pitch facing the street (southwest, for photovoltaic panels) and 25° facing the garden. The ridge runs parallel to the street. As a result, the garden side has almost no knee wall, while the street side is about 1.80 m (6 feet) high.
Here are the parameters first:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 780 m² (approximately 8,400 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Plot ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, setback line, and boundary: 5.5 meters (approximately 18 feet) to the street (especially in front of the garage, though currently not quite enough in the plan), 3 meters (approximately 10 feet) on the right side of the plan
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: gable roof, pitch 25-35°
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: entrance 31° southwest
Maximum height / restrictions: two full storeys
Other requirements: none
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, storeys: no basement, slightly less than two full storeys
Number of residents, age: 1x 38, 1x 31, 1x dog, possibly 1x child
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: based on individual rooms, total just under 200 m² (about 2,150 sq ft)
Office: space for two persons needed
Guest bedrooms per year: 2-3
Open or closed architecture: rather closed, kitchen to be separable, possibly with sliding door
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: “semi-open,” cooking island integrated in a U-shape
Number of dining seats: 8 in dining area, 3 in kitchen
Fireplace: at least pre-installed
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage on left side of plan, carport on right
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: maybe, garden is large enough
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also explanations why certain things are wanted or not: direct access from garage to house
House Design
Who designed the plans? Architect + own modifications
What do you like most? Why? Entry area, access through the garage (dog cleaning area), lots of glass in the living room, covered seating area outside
What do you dislike? Why? Upper floor, rooms possibly too small, guest WC on ground floor actually too big due to recessed front door
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 700,000 € without land (land already owned)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: 700,000 €
Preferred heating technology: heat pump + photovoltaic
If you have to give up on which details / expansions
-can give up: living room size, bedroom size, possibly a child’s room (we only want one child anyway, but life happens…)
-can’t give up: pantry
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is this a coherent and well-functioning plan?
Here are the images
Here are the parameters first:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 780 m² (approximately 8,400 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Plot ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, setback line, and boundary: 5.5 meters (approximately 18 feet) to the street (especially in front of the garage, though currently not quite enough in the plan), 3 meters (approximately 10 feet) on the right side of the plan
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: gable roof, pitch 25-35°
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: entrance 31° southwest
Maximum height / restrictions: two full storeys
Other requirements: none
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, storeys: no basement, slightly less than two full storeys
Number of residents, age: 1x 38, 1x 31, 1x dog, possibly 1x child
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: based on individual rooms, total just under 200 m² (about 2,150 sq ft)
Office: space for two persons needed
Guest bedrooms per year: 2-3
Open or closed architecture: rather closed, kitchen to be separable, possibly with sliding door
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: “semi-open,” cooking island integrated in a U-shape
Number of dining seats: 8 in dining area, 3 in kitchen
Fireplace: at least pre-installed
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage on left side of plan, carport on right
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: maybe, garden is large enough
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also explanations why certain things are wanted or not: direct access from garage to house
House Design
Who designed the plans? Architect + own modifications
What do you like most? Why? Entry area, access through the garage (dog cleaning area), lots of glass in the living room, covered seating area outside
What do you dislike? Why? Upper floor, rooms possibly too small, guest WC on ground floor actually too big due to recessed front door
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 700,000 € without land (land already owned)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: 700,000 €
Preferred heating technology: heat pump + photovoltaic
If you have to give up on which details / expansions
-can give up: living room size, bedroom size, possibly a child’s room (we only want one child anyway, but life happens…)
-can’t give up: pantry
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is this a coherent and well-functioning plan?
Here are the images
Kalimba schrieb:
Is this a coherent plan? 🙂Hmm, not really. Maybe you could share the architect’s complete drafts. For your upper floor, I would immediately ask where the children’s bathroom drains to? Through the living room? I’m also not very keen on the room layout with these angled door intersections. The start of the staircase on the ground floor is kind of annoying, isn’t it? You’ll probably spend most of the time maneuvering around it or stepping over it. Is there a cabinet in front of the utility room entrance? Planning a cabinet door there would seem very odd to me. It’s one of the most frequently used doors. You want something sturdy with a proper handle for quick access. No soft-close or any unnecessary gimmicks.
The setback in the entrance area is also a very unfortunate choice if it creates that useless niche in the guest restroom.
The site plan on the property is missing.
Even if you don’t want a sunny terrace right now, that doesn’t mean you have to block it out completely. Facing east is probably the darkest orientation you can pick. With that huge garage on the west side, I would find it too dark.
K a t j a schrieb:
Maybe you could show the architect's full drafts.That doesn’t help in this case, since the latest plans are very different—the kitchen has moved and is much too small. We’ve already changed that and I’m waiting for the updated plans. I just sketched a quick version myself in advance.K a t j a schrieb:
For your upper floor, I’d ask right away where the kids’ bathroom drains to? Through the living room? Also, the room layout with these angled door junctions doesn’t look great to me.Good point, I’m not really happy with that either, but I can’t think of a better solution if the small bathroom stays. We could move it completely down over the utility room, but then I’d have a kids’ bedroom directly next to the master bedroom, which I wanted to avoid.K a t j a schrieb:
Is there a cupboard in front of the utility room entrance?Yes, it’s meant to be a “hidden” entrance, similar to concealed pantry doors. The longer I look at it, the more I think I’d end up constantly hanging jackets there. We’ll see.K a t j a schrieb:
The recess in the entrance area is also really unfortunate if it creates that useless niche in the guest bathroom.True, the recess is currently 75cm (30 inches), but I actually quite like it. Maybe the wall will just be made thicker and the niche will go away.K a t j a schrieb:
Site plan on the plot is missing.Attached below.K a t j a schrieb:
Just because you don’t want a sun terrace now doesn’t mean it has to be completely ruled out. Facing east is about as dark as you can get. With that huge garage on the west side, it’d be too gloomy for me.There will also be a terrace in front of the living room, but I quite like the covered seating area in front of the kitchen. We currently live very close by, so the sunlight situation is well known. Neither visually (glare) nor thermally is it comfortable to stay there for long. The sun really shines there until it sets. I’m hoping the glass surfaces in the living room will still bring some light to the seating area.Phew. Strong opinions here. Anyway, could you give me a few points to help me understand what exactly is so bad about the ground floor? As I mentioned, I designed the upper floor myself, so that’s not the architect’s fault. I moved the staircase out a bit to create more space upstairs; originally, it was almost flush with the wall and didn’t protrude as much.
Adding more windows on the ground floor is really difficult because on the right side of the plan there’s a garage, and next to it a two-and-a-half-story building. On the left side, there’s also a garage right on the property line, and next to it, toward the garden, there’s a neighbor’s terrace. People end up looking in from the side. Only the front and back have nothing like that.
In the architect’s first draft, the garage wasn’t as long toward the garden, and there was a side window there.
Adding more windows on the ground floor is really difficult because on the right side of the plan there’s a garage, and next to it a two-and-a-half-story building. On the left side, there’s also a garage right on the property line, and next to it, toward the garden, there’s a neighbor’s terrace. People end up looking in from the side. Only the front and back have nothing like that.
In the architect’s first draft, the garage wasn’t as long toward the garden, and there was a side window there.
Similar topics