ᐅ Is a 193 sqm urban villa with a north-facing orientation practical?
Created on: 30 Nov 2020 18:52
R
RotesDach
Dear house building forum,
Since we (2 adults, 2 adults) have often been able to gather helpful tips here as readers, we would like to introduce our house construction plan (town villa, 193 sqm (2077 sqft)) because we are interested in your opinion. This is our first (and only) time building a house. There is certainly a chance that some of you might find something you would do differently for objective or subjective reasons.
Our main questions and considerations relate to the following points:
--> Would you dimension the house differently (for example, plan it longer or wider)?
--> Would you position the garden, terrace, driveway, garage, and entrance differently to achieve more of a south or west orientation?
Or is there simply no way to get more out of this plot, and we have to live with the north orientation? We look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Since we (2 adults, 2 adults) have often been able to gather helpful tips here as readers, we would like to introduce our house construction plan (town villa, 193 sqm (2077 sqft)) because we are interested in your opinion. This is our first (and only) time building a house. There is certainly a chance that some of you might find something you would do differently for objective or subjective reasons.
Our main questions and considerations relate to the following points:
- The plot of land (509 sqm (5482 sqft)) faces north, meaning the road is to the south (road width 19 m (62 feet), depth: 25–27 m (82–89 feet)). We are unsure to what extent our current north-facing design of the open-plan living area and terrace
- a) (despite very large windows) provides enough light inside the house. The windows are 2.50 m (8 feet) high and 2 m (6.5 feet) wide. The relatively generous ceiling height of 2.87 m (9.4 feet) is also important to us in order to create a sense of spaciousness and airiness.
- b) offers us an outdoor space that is not exclusively dark and shady. Therefore, we have planned a second smaller (side) terrace on the south side. I would also like to create some raised beds for vegetables and hope this will help us make the best use of the shady plot. Unfortunately, there is not much space for planting on the east side either.
- We find the open-plan living area generous in terms of square meters, but we also fear that 10 m (33 feet) in length might be a bit tight. We need and want a large open kitchen as well as a very large dining table (1.60 m x 1.60 m (5.25 ft x 5.25 ft), extendable to 2.50 m (8.2 ft)), hence the width of 5.50 m (18 feet) in the open-plan area.
- Is the hallway wide enough? This is often where things pile up when the family is getting ready to go out and everyone is putting on jackets and shoes.
- Is the utility room sufficient? It houses the air-to-water heat pump and technical equipment, and it is meant for laundry (dryer, washing machine, laundry baskets, drying racks).
- We are completely satisfied with the upper floor, even though we know many would have arranged it differently.
--> Would you dimension the house differently (for example, plan it longer or wider)?
--> Would you position the garden, terrace, driveway, garage, and entrance differently to achieve more of a south or west orientation?
Or is there simply no way to get more out of this plot, and we have to live with the north orientation? We look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Thank you very much for your feedback!
RotesDach schrieb:
But it also comes down to the cost. [...] Apart from the sofa and TV, most furniture is not intended for the living room. Money can’t be the argument when, on the other hand, the Anstattvilla concept is implemented at a size one third larger than the standard. Simply "putting fewer pieces of furniture in" won’t make it look as sophisticated as great architecture, just like one swallow doesn’t make a summer. In fact, this is aptly expressed here:
haydee schrieb:
An empty area suggests space that isn’t really there or is excessive. I maintain that this needs to be completely new; tinkering around won’t lead to any success.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Money can’t be an argument when, on the other hand, the “Anderstantvilla” concept is implemented at one third larger than the standard...
I stick to my point: this needs to be new, tinkering around won’t lead to success here. I agree.
Most people can create a coherent and spacious overall design for four persons within 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft). And if you allow for the necessary extra half meter (about 20 inches) on a square floor plan, this results in 20 sqm (215 sq ft) more, which is completely unnecessary unless you insist on retaining the square shape.
ypg schrieb:
And if you allow for a necessary half meter on a square floor plan, it results in an additional 20 square meters, which is completely unnecessary unless you insist on keeping the square shape. On the other hand, if you add the same half meter to one dimension of the original square floor plan while simultaneously reducing the other dimension by the same amount, you actually lose a quarter of a square meter on paper, but surprisingly feel like you have gained two square meters. The theoretical gain of two and a quarter square meters per floor from this trade-off can be invested, for example, on the ground floor to prevent congestion in the coatroom area :-)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
R
RotesDach2 Dec 2020 18:04It is perfectly reasonable to want a large bedroom. We have already explained the reasons for this in detail. If we had divided the room into a sleeping area and a dressing area (which we do not want) or even made it into an additional children’s room, no one would say anything. So once again: the floor plan above is final for us and exactly to our taste.
Our question mainly referred to whether enough light enters the open-plan living area. We are happy to discuss that.
By the way, I find hampshire’s approach quite interesting. Probably very few architects or homebuilders ask this sort of question. For us, a lot of the activity takes place around the kitchen island and the dining table. That’s why the kitchen island is planned to be 1.20 m by 3 m (4 feet by 10 feet). I find that quite difficult to implement in an L-shaped open-plan space. Thanks, UJS-Nord, for your drawing! I have tried several times to integrate the kitchen island into other open-plan layouts but have not yet been successful.
We are not fixated on a square shape at all. The fact that it will be a city villa is simply due to the fact that we are building a two-story house; that’s what it can be called. Some people may not like the term, but that’s what it is. It has nothing to do with aspiring to be a villa. It is simply a house without sloped ceilings.
Our question mainly referred to whether enough light enters the open-plan living area. We are happy to discuss that.
By the way, I find hampshire’s approach quite interesting. Probably very few architects or homebuilders ask this sort of question. For us, a lot of the activity takes place around the kitchen island and the dining table. That’s why the kitchen island is planned to be 1.20 m by 3 m (4 feet by 10 feet). I find that quite difficult to implement in an L-shaped open-plan space. Thanks, UJS-Nord, for your drawing! I have tried several times to integrate the kitchen island into other open-plan layouts but have not yet been successful.
We are not fixated on a square shape at all. The fact that it will be a city villa is simply due to the fact that we are building a two-story house; that’s what it can be called. Some people may not like the term, but that’s what it is. It has nothing to do with aspiring to be a villa. It is simply a house without sloped ceilings.
RotesDach schrieb:
Is the hallway wide enough? Yes.
RotesDach schrieb:
Is the utility room sufficient? No.
RotesDach schrieb:
Would you size the house differently (for example, design it longer or wider)? Yes.
RotesDach schrieb:
Would you relocate the garden, terrace, driveway, garage, and entrance to gain a more south- or west-facing orientation? Yes.
RotesDach schrieb:
Or is there simply no more potential to be gained from this plot? No.
RotesDach schrieb:
Our question mainly referred to whether enough light enters the open-plan area. We’re happy to discuss that. In my opinion: no.
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