Hello forum community,
Now that we own the plot, our planning is progressing further and is already quite advanced.
Our design basically fits within the given framework conditions.
These are as follows:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 3000 m2 (due to slope and development plan, only about 1600 m2 (17,200 sq ft) is buildable)
Slope: yes
Site occupancy index (floor area ratio): 0.1
Floor area ratio: 0.1
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 20 m (65.6 ft) east and west
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: no restrictions
Number of stories: 1
Roof type: no restriction
Style: no restriction
Orientation: no restriction
Maximum heights / limits: none
Other requirements: none
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mono-pitched roof
Basement, stories: one full story with an additional recessed upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults over 50 plus one child, 12 years old
Space requirements in ground and upper floors:
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Annual guest sleepers: 10, including children
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern building style: a mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony / roof terrace: yes (structurally necessary)
Garage, carport: yes, probably both
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things are preferred or avoided
House Design
Who designed it:
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself X
What do you particularly like? Why? It was a long planning phase due to the maximum exterior dimensions. Otherwise, it would not work.
What do you not like? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000
Preferred heating technology: ground-source heat pump with horizontal collector trench
Now, we want to focus on the floor plan itself. Do you see any potential for optimization? It only represents the rough draft for the architect. Windows, doors, and interior walls can still be changed freely.
We are allowed only an exterior footprint of 114 m2 (1,227 sq ft). We meet this with the current layout. Also, only one story is allowed. With the recessed upper floor, we are trying to gain some additional space.
The neighboring buildings look similar, some with basements. Due to the slope, a basement on this plot would require enormous earthworks and is therefore not feasible.
The staircase has always been the biggest challenge and has ruined all previous attempts. We believe we have now found a workable solution.
Please take a look at the plans. We are always open to critical comments.
Best regards
Now that we own the plot, our planning is progressing further and is already quite advanced.
Our design basically fits within the given framework conditions.
These are as follows:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 3000 m2 (due to slope and development plan, only about 1600 m2 (17,200 sq ft) is buildable)
Slope: yes
Site occupancy index (floor area ratio): 0.1
Floor area ratio: 0.1
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 20 m (65.6 ft) east and west
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: no restrictions
Number of stories: 1
Roof type: no restriction
Style: no restriction
Orientation: no restriction
Maximum heights / limits: none
Other requirements: none
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mono-pitched roof
Basement, stories: one full story with an additional recessed upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults over 50 plus one child, 12 years old
Space requirements in ground and upper floors:
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Annual guest sleepers: 10, including children
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern building style: a mix of both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony / roof terrace: yes (structurally necessary)
Garage, carport: yes, probably both
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things are preferred or avoided
House Design
Who designed it:
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself X
What do you particularly like? Why? It was a long planning phase due to the maximum exterior dimensions. Otherwise, it would not work.
What do you not like? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 400,000
Preferred heating technology: ground-source heat pump with horizontal collector trench
Now, we want to focus on the floor plan itself. Do you see any potential for optimization? It only represents the rough draft for the architect. Windows, doors, and interior walls can still be changed freely.
We are allowed only an exterior footprint of 114 m2 (1,227 sq ft). We meet this with the current layout. Also, only one story is allowed. With the recessed upper floor, we are trying to gain some additional space.
The neighboring buildings look similar, some with basements. Due to the slope, a basement on this plot would require enormous earthworks and is therefore not feasible.
The staircase has always been the biggest challenge and has ruined all previous attempts. We believe we have now found a workable solution.
Please take a look at the plans. We are always open to critical comments.
Best regards
Musketier schrieb:
Utility room with 2 doors is hardly usable
No practical/little space for a wardrobe
“Attachment” in the basement space is poorly usable
Can a toilet and sink fit in the guest bathroom? – Doors might collide
90-degree staircase with solid walls, probably won’t be able to get larger cabinets or a sofa around the corner, right?
What is in utility room 2?
Doors partially block usable floor space in the rooms without reason.
Some doors open inward/outward differently It’s simply due to the staircase. We have tried every possible option.
The doors are also not fully planned yet. There definitely needs to be some fine-tuning. The architect has to work on that, of course, as do we.
If necessary, furniture can also be brought in from outside, either via the roof terrace or through the garage if possible.
Utility room 2 is, as the name suggests, a second utility room. It is mainly intended to house electrical equipment, pump controls, and possibly a storage tank. Otherwise, it would have been a dead corner.
N
nordanney5 Mar 2025 17:17Tuwok70 schrieb:
This definitely still needs some fine-tuning. The architect will need to work on it further as well.If you already have an architect, then you should make sure to have them work for the money you’re paying. After all, they studied for many years to design a suitable floor plan for you.So forget about DIY and instead provide the architect with a detailed program of requirements:
- Room schedule (which rooms, number of rooms, desired sizes)
- Lifestyle structure (e.g., home office, always cooking in a closed kitchen, visiting guests 43 times per year)
- Budget including any work you plan to do yourself
I’m sorry to say this so bluntly, but in my opinion, it doesn’t make sense to try to “save” this floor plan anymore. There are too many things that don’t work. Therefore, it will be much easier for a trained architect to design something new from scratch than to try to improve what’s already there.
May I ask why you would like the bedroom on the ground floor? The reason I’m asking is that I believe it would be more cost-effective and practical to swap the bedroom and the office. The upper floor should be designed so that the bathroom is accessible from the office/bedroom and the children’s room without having to pass through another room. In the ground floor, this could save space and, of course, reduce the cost of the bathroom. Alternatively, if you want to keep the option open to have everything necessary on the ground floor as you get older and avoid stairs, you could plan a shower bathroom there and skip a separate toilet. The office could then be designed on the ground floor so that it can be easily converted into a bedroom later in life.
As it stands, I find 2 bathrooms plus a guest toilet simply too much considering the available space and budget.
May I ask why you would like the bedroom on the ground floor? The reason I’m asking is that I believe it would be more cost-effective and practical to swap the bedroom and the office. The upper floor should be designed so that the bathroom is accessible from the office/bedroom and the children’s room without having to pass through another room. In the ground floor, this could save space and, of course, reduce the cost of the bathroom. Alternatively, if you want to keep the option open to have everything necessary on the ground floor as you get older and avoid stairs, you could plan a shower bathroom there and skip a separate toilet. The office could then be designed on the ground floor so that it can be easily converted into a bedroom later in life.
As it stands, I find 2 bathrooms plus a guest toilet simply too much considering the available space and budget.
Enrico02 schrieb:
I'm sorry to say it so bluntly, but in my opinion, it doesn’t make sense to try to "save" this floor plan. There are many issues. Therefore, it will be much easier for a trained architect to design something new from scratch than to try to improve this one. That’s exactly the challenge. The exterior dimensions are fixed. We can still change anything inside. The top floor with a 7° (7-degree) roof pitch is also fixed.
Enrico02 schrieb:
May I ask why you would like to have the bedroom on the ground floor? Sure. Because we want to build with our old age in mind. We are already over 50. And I don't want to renovate again.
Similar topics