ᐅ Single-family house floor plan, 200 m², 2 full stories, garage, no basement

Just a quick example from Bien-Zenker: a variant of the 200 m² (2,150 sq ft) CONCEPT-M 170 Villingen-Schwenningen model (which also has a single-pitch roof).

Schorsch_baut schrieb:

I would rather install the urinal in the corner behind a wall than so close next to the sink.

I wouldn’t include a urinal at all. But feel free to show how you would arrange it.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

What exactly would you do differently? Everything?

Well, I would actually do everything differently. Starting with not developing a plot of land the size of at least five building lots with just a single-family house and leaving the unused land untouched, even though it would be a "game changer" financially. And of course, I would never expect an architect,

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

I do think that the architect should draw what the client wants.

because that’s a classic own goal (or an unavoidable fool’s duty, depending on your point of view). Mind you, even with over forty years of experience in residential design, I would never tell an architect “That’s fine as it is, just draw it like that.” Even a specialist doctor seeks a second opinion from a colleague when they need surgery themselves.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

The floor plan isn’t final, that’s why I posted it here: to get feedback and other perspectives from you. We have already drawn several floor plans ourselves (using floor plan software), which were quite different from each other. We then couldn’t see the forest for the trees. But in reality, we really like this one best.

My last contact with Austrian forests was a long time ago, but here I only see one single draft of “several, quite different” designs – which obviously makes it impossible for any other perspective that one of the others might be considered better in any respect or successful overall. If all previous layouts were created with floor plan software, that already explains a lot – at least the limitation that narrows the view so much that one now thinks it is focused and perfectly sharp.

A professional floor plan process NEVER starts with a drawing, but with a room program, which you create using one of several methods and then qualify, i.e. assigning location characteristics, relationships, and sizes to the rooms; after that, the rooms are distributed across the building levels. And mind you: floor plan design as such is not the start of the design process. I’m not familiar with the Austrian practices here, but something like the HOAI that we “Piefkes” have probably exists there as well, so that no master of architecture is methodologically left alone. I’m not allowed to link here, but searching for “Ein Hausbau-Fahrplan, auch für Sie: das Phasenmodell der HOAI!” in quotes should be helpful. I do not provide consulting in Austria and only have one architect contact in the Salzburg area.

From my point of view, it is “a violation of the Hippocratic oath” for a master builder if a fully qualified architect with a completed degree is willing to swap roles with the client and act as a mere draftsman and rubber stamp.

As a discussant of the specific draft, I am missing practically all relevant basics: the site plan excerpt is deficient in several ways (too small in scale, without any elevation data). And I don’t quite believe in the generosity of the municipality without any basics – even in a small village, the fire chief/head of the parish council/mayor does not approve everything just because their apricot brandy is good ;-)

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hanghaus2023 schrieb:

I wouldn’t include a urinal at all. But feel free to show how you would arrange it.

Well, just like your suggestion, but swapping the toilet and the urinal. That should also fit the space if the sink is planned to be only 40-50cm (16-20 inches) wide.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

And under the category "what I wouldn’t do again," the staircase with landing has never come up.

I was not criticizing the staircase with landing itself, but rather that it is built into the wall. It’s not centrally located; it’s positioned to the side of the hallway and, judging by the floor plan, it’s just there, hidden away. Since a staircase plays an important role in a single-family home, you should somehow be able to sense it when entering the house, as many paths lead directly upstairs.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

The thing is, we want a long, narrow house because the south side is really nice and can’t be blocked. A square house is also nice,

I wasn’t criticizing long, narrow houses either. It’s not just black and white when the intense critique is on the dark side. There are many long, narrow houses designed to feel more inviting, including those with a staircase in the hallway and without echo problems. In principle, a straight staircase fits better in a narrow house. This naturally leads to a different hallway layout.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

And especially, does anyone buy new furniture every week that has to be carried upstairs?

That question doesn’t really make sense. Moving a chair or a chest of drawers to the other floor isn’t uncommon. Or bringing a 2-meter (6.5 feet) ladder or a sleeping child upstairs—these things happen regularly.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

In summer, everyone has the external blinds down because the sun is too intense.

As I said before, it’s not just black and white; you combine different elements. During planning, there are more options than extending a long hallway in a narrow house and blocking out the sun permanently with an extreme overhang.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

I can’t understand what you mean by old-fashioned; what exactly is modern?

That term was used by you.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

I do think that the architect should draw what the client wants.

hausbauer_93 schrieb:

We then couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

...and now the architect is supposed to draw your trees, even though, as you say yourself, you were overwhelmed?!
Let’s take the architectural highlight of this house, namely its volume: it’s immediately clear that a layperson doesn’t know how to use projections, overhangs, or other façade design elements to reduce a bulky or crude impression.
The architect isn’t even asked whether the design could be improved—they simply draw the trees you hand over. In the end, you get trees but no forest, even though with many practiced elements and expertise on better solutions, a great house—a beautiful forest—could be created. But you don’t request that. You give the architect trees, and he draws trees. If you now want to change the architect’s knowledge based on the forum’s opinions, then as a draftsman he won’t be willing to share his expertise with you anymore.

For a layperson, a forest consists of trees; for a professional, it includes other landscaping like clearings and terrain modeling, stones, and so on, so residents feel comfortable in many situations.

kati1337 schrieb:

Sure. Once finished, it didn’t look as bulky anymore. In our new house, we’ll also have a 120cm (47 inch) kitchen island again.

Cool! Thanks.
The layout is actually quite similar to ours.
Is the dishwasher located next to the oven? Was that the perfect spot for you, or would you arrange it differently? Is it too far from the sink?