ᐅ Floor Plan Single-Family Home 165 sqm First Draft – Architect Dissatisfied
Created on: 27 Oct 2024 14:06
K
Kirschsaftlady
Hello everyone,
since we are not completely satisfied with the first draft from our architect and find it difficult to translate our wishes into a design ourselves, or because some things might even be incompatible, we would appreciate suggestions and tips.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 954 sqm (10,270 sq ft)
Slope: approximately 1 m (3.3 ft) downward from the street along the entire length
Floor-space index (FSI): 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see architect’s plan
There is a development plan, but all exceptions we want have been approved without issues or have already been permitted for our street.
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: gable roof, single-family house, possibly with a bay window
Basement, floors: slab-on-grade, 2 full stories with a sufficiently high knee wall, small storage space under the roof
Number of occupants, age: currently 2 adults and one toddler, planning for an additional child
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF):
GF: combined utility and technical room, entrance area, cloakroom niche, guest bathroom with shower, office, open living-dining-kitchen area. Pantry, storage under the stairs
UF: 2 children’s rooms at least 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, master bedroom with walk-in closet, family bathroom with walk-in shower and double sinks, hallway with daylight and preferably space for a chair or a small table for a sewing machine
Office: family use or home office? Home office nearly daily
Guests per year: hardly any
Open or closed layout: semi-open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: semi-open (visually screened) with attached island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: either a double garage or a garage with carport
Additional wishes:
Stairs either straight or with a landing, not spiral
Living-dining-kitchen area should not be arranged in a single line without privacy screens, all areas with a view into the garden
Prefer an additional access from the garage/carport through the utility room
Master bedroom oriented top left on the plan, bed with a view out of a floor-to-ceiling window into the garden. Preferred access to the bedroom through the dressing room or the dressing room behind the wall behind the bed (headboard).
Prefer children’s rooms not adjoining the master bedroom wall-to-wall
I will link a plan of a kitchen we really liked in a show house
Prefer the stairs to be naturally lit
Living room at least as large as in the current plan
House Design
Designed by: architect
What do you particularly like? Why? The ground floor, except kitchen and dining area, especially the living room, is well separated and without direct view into the kitchen. The dining area feels somewhat cramped; the kitchen should be wider rather than longer, as currently the attached island looks lost.
What do you dislike? Why? Kitchen and dining area, walk-in closet cramped in a niche, bathroom too large, upper floor hallway without windows. Window areas in the master bedroom and also in the dining-kitchen area too large, cloakroom niche too small.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: none yet, a discussion about the design is still pending.
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: excluding the plot, with all additional costs, survey, and soil report, we still have a budget of 600,000. It will be a prefabricated house, possibly painting and partial flooring done by ourselves, landscaping also mainly DIY and not immediately.
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with photovoltaic system
If you have to give up on certain details/extensions:
-can you do without: children’s room next to the master bedroom, storage and office could move upstairs if necessary, utility and technical rooms separated, second access not mandatory, pantry access directly from kitchen as well as from utility room not mandatory, bay window not essential as long as it doesn’t make the layout too open
-can’t you do without: stair shape, room layout, bedroom location, “semi-open” living-dining-kitchen area, cloakroom integrated into a niche
Why is the design the way it is?
There was an on-site meeting where brainstorming on paper followed. The current draft more or less resulted from this, but it was not yet final with dimensions and sizes, so for example, the problem with the kitchen and dining area was not visible. We communicated the negative points about the upper floor on site and actually expected a new alternative afterward.
I think all relevant information is included above; I’m happy to provide more if needed.
The dining table does not have to be directly in front of the kitchen; the focus is solely on the kitchen layout itself.
Thanks in advance for all your tips!
since we are not completely satisfied with the first draft from our architect and find it difficult to translate our wishes into a design ourselves, or because some things might even be incompatible, we would appreciate suggestions and tips.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 954 sqm (10,270 sq ft)
Slope: approximately 1 m (3.3 ft) downward from the street along the entire length
Floor-space index (FSI): 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see architect’s plan
There is a development plan, but all exceptions we want have been approved without issues or have already been permitted for our street.
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: gable roof, single-family house, possibly with a bay window
Basement, floors: slab-on-grade, 2 full stories with a sufficiently high knee wall, small storage space under the roof
Number of occupants, age: currently 2 adults and one toddler, planning for an additional child
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF):
GF: combined utility and technical room, entrance area, cloakroom niche, guest bathroom with shower, office, open living-dining-kitchen area. Pantry, storage under the stairs
UF: 2 children’s rooms at least 15 sqm (160 sq ft) each, master bedroom with walk-in closet, family bathroom with walk-in shower and double sinks, hallway with daylight and preferably space for a chair or a small table for a sewing machine
Office: family use or home office? Home office nearly daily
Guests per year: hardly any
Open or closed layout: semi-open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: semi-open (visually screened) with attached island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: either a double garage or a garage with carport
Additional wishes:
Stairs either straight or with a landing, not spiral
Living-dining-kitchen area should not be arranged in a single line without privacy screens, all areas with a view into the garden
Prefer an additional access from the garage/carport through the utility room
Master bedroom oriented top left on the plan, bed with a view out of a floor-to-ceiling window into the garden. Preferred access to the bedroom through the dressing room or the dressing room behind the wall behind the bed (headboard).
Prefer children’s rooms not adjoining the master bedroom wall-to-wall
I will link a plan of a kitchen we really liked in a show house
Prefer the stairs to be naturally lit
Living room at least as large as in the current plan
House Design
Designed by: architect
What do you particularly like? Why? The ground floor, except kitchen and dining area, especially the living room, is well separated and without direct view into the kitchen. The dining area feels somewhat cramped; the kitchen should be wider rather than longer, as currently the attached island looks lost.
What do you dislike? Why? Kitchen and dining area, walk-in closet cramped in a niche, bathroom too large, upper floor hallway without windows. Window areas in the master bedroom and also in the dining-kitchen area too large, cloakroom niche too small.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: none yet, a discussion about the design is still pending.
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: excluding the plot, with all additional costs, survey, and soil report, we still have a budget of 600,000. It will be a prefabricated house, possibly painting and partial flooring done by ourselves, landscaping also mainly DIY and not immediately.
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with photovoltaic system
If you have to give up on certain details/extensions:
-can you do without: children’s room next to the master bedroom, storage and office could move upstairs if necessary, utility and technical rooms separated, second access not mandatory, pantry access directly from kitchen as well as from utility room not mandatory, bay window not essential as long as it doesn’t make the layout too open
-can’t you do without: stair shape, room layout, bedroom location, “semi-open” living-dining-kitchen area, cloakroom integrated into a niche
Why is the design the way it is?
There was an on-site meeting where brainstorming on paper followed. The current draft more or less resulted from this, but it was not yet final with dimensions and sizes, so for example, the problem with the kitchen and dining area was not visible. We communicated the negative points about the upper floor on site and actually expected a new alternative afterward.
I think all relevant information is included above; I’m happy to provide more if needed.
The dining table does not have to be directly in front of the kitchen; the focus is solely on the kitchen layout itself.
Thanks in advance for all your tips!
Unfortunately, I also find this design, to put it bluntly, unsuitable.
Huge areas, but no practical storage space. Bedroom sized for a 250 cm (98 inch) wardrobe.
The kitchen definitely needs to be planned differently, with the island parallel to the main kitchen units. And this now so "modern" pantry passage through the tall cabinet wall—instead of having a proper passage, cabinets with internal pull-outs would provide the same storage capacity while saving the technically more complex passageway.
The bathroom is a nightmare, with 18 sqm (194 sq ft) but only 120 cm (47 inches) maximum for the washbasin.
The upper floor is a dark hole since the hallway receives no natural light, as the staircase is completely internal and doesn’t bring any natural light from there either.
And again, the forced passage from the garage into the house. As arranged here, it creates two traffic paths, reducing the utility room area of 11.5 sqm (124 sq ft) effectively to a maximum of 7 to 8 sqm (75 to 86 sq ft), squeezed into the upper left of the room, and also requires additional circulation space.
On a positive note, I do like the separation of the living area for now.
Huge areas, but no practical storage space. Bedroom sized for a 250 cm (98 inch) wardrobe.
The kitchen definitely needs to be planned differently, with the island parallel to the main kitchen units. And this now so "modern" pantry passage through the tall cabinet wall—instead of having a proper passage, cabinets with internal pull-outs would provide the same storage capacity while saving the technically more complex passageway.
The bathroom is a nightmare, with 18 sqm (194 sq ft) but only 120 cm (47 inches) maximum for the washbasin.
The upper floor is a dark hole since the hallway receives no natural light, as the staircase is completely internal and doesn’t bring any natural light from there either.
And again, the forced passage from the garage into the house. As arranged here, it creates two traffic paths, reducing the utility room area of 11.5 sqm (124 sq ft) effectively to a maximum of 7 to 8 sqm (75 to 86 sq ft), squeezed into the upper left of the room, and also requires additional circulation space.
On a positive note, I do like the separation of the living area for now.
Let me ask you directly: what is the architect’s profession?
Unfortunately, we don’t know the plot of land or the building envelope, so it’s difficult to make constructive suggestions. What is meant by the "site visit": you at the architect’s office?
My plans used to be that bad too, but I was only about twenty years old then.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Unfortunately, we don’t know the plot of land or the building envelope, so it’s difficult to make constructive suggestions. What is meant by the "site visit": you at the architect’s office?
My plans used to be that bad too, but I was only about twenty years old then.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Kirschsaftlady schrieb:
Thanks for the tip! Here is the ground floor plan. Unfortunately, the north arrow is not that simple because it is exactly over the architect’s logo, which I obviously don’t want to show. I’ve reuploaded the site plan with the arrow, but unfortunately, it’s cropped at the bottom.
As additional info, there is currently no neighboring development. I could swear that I have seen this ground floor plan or a very, very similar one here before.
I can only agree with @MachsSelbst. Having an office on the upper floor would solve many problems, and there is definitely enough space for it, just by looking at the size of the bathroom.
Especially on the ground floor, you already need quite a bit of space for the pantry, guest bathroom with shower, technical/utility room, etc.
Also, the staircase—which is supposed to be straight or with a landing—naturally takes up more space... And placing the staircase neither in the entrance area nor in the living area logically requires additional space as well.
To be clear, I completely understand and would keep all the requirements.
Simply put the office upstairs and start designing the floor plan from scratch; with the available size, all wishes can be fulfilled.
Especially on the ground floor, you already need quite a bit of space for the pantry, guest bathroom with shower, technical/utility room, etc.
Also, the staircase—which is supposed to be straight or with a landing—naturally takes up more space... And placing the staircase neither in the entrance area nor in the living area logically requires additional space as well.
To be clear, I completely understand and would keep all the requirements.
Simply put the office upstairs and start designing the floor plan from scratch; with the available size, all wishes can be fulfilled.
H
hanghaus202328 Oct 2024 13:33I have optimized the kitchen a bit to create a proper island.
The bathroom never works with a shower. It’s way too small. Cars are not allowed to reverse into the garage. What kind of architect designs something like this?
The bathroom never works with a shower. It’s way too small. Cars are not allowed to reverse into the garage. What kind of architect designs something like this?
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