ᐅ 2 Bungalows on a 3,000 sqm Plot – Multigenerational Housing Project

Created on: 10 May 2019 11:04
O
Obermuh
Hello everyone,

First, a brief introduction. I’m Andy, 35 years old, married, and embarking on building a house for the first time. I’m an employee, my wife is self-employed, and together with my parents-in-law, we plan to develop a large plot of land. The plot is already purchased and fully paid for with equity. For the construction of the houses, we have a budget of around €1.2 million, of which about €600k come from the sale of existing properties (my parents-in-law’s single-family house and our condominium) and a financing commitment for up to €600k.

We are currently in the planning phase for a multi-generation project, but my main focus is our house (“House 1”). The parents-in-law have already completed the plans for their bungalow (basically a modified ground-floor layout of their current house). The design is mine, adapted by the general contractor, and is currently with the architect for further revisions. I would really appreciate any tips, feedback, and ideas you might have.

I’ll follow the provided questionnaire:

Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 2935 sqm (31582 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, see attachment
Floor space index (FSI): 0.2
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Building envelope: see attachment
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces:
Number of storeys: 1 full storey
Roof style: Flexible
Architectural style: Modern
Orientation: Southwest
Maximum heights: Roof ridge height 3.50 m (11.5 ft) on slope side
Additional requirements: see attachment

Two-column building plan with legend, symbols and surface patterns.


Client requirements
Building type: Bungalow
Basement, storeys: No basement, 1 storey
Number of occupants, ages: 2, aged 35 and 31. Planning for 2 children
Office: Yes, space for two desks and some filing
Guest bedrooms per year: 10-15
Open or closed architecture: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, island: Both yes
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: Nice to have but not essential
Music/sound wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: 2 garage spaces
Utility garden, greenhouse: Herb garden
Additional wishes: Dog shower

House design
Designed by: My design, implemented by the general contractor

What do you especially like? The atrium as a visual centerpiece and the related openness of the house

What do you dislike? Some wasted space, inconvenient furnishing of the walk-in closet due to 4 doors

Estimated cost according to architect/planner: €675k (approx. $720k) including paving, exposed concrete floor/wood flooring, painting, partial air conditioning, and additional upgrades. A horizontal roller shutter to close the entire atrium is also included (about €15k).

Personal price limit for the house including features: €750k (approx. $800k)

Preferred heating technology: Heat pump, photovoltaic system planned

If you had to give up something, on which details/extras
- could you compromise on: space in the parents’ area, 2 lift-and-slide doors in the atrium, lift-and-slide door in the living room
- could you not do without:

Why was the design made as it is?
After the attempt to build one large house including a granny flat on the front building plot was rejected, we are opting for two houses. To avoid further discussions about eaves height, we are building bungalows.

Contour lines:
Unfortunately, I cannot attach the PDF, but I hope the numbers are readable.

Topographic cadastral map: plot 11, land areas, terrain contours, blue polygon path.


Open space plan:

Floor plan: two houses (House 1, House 2) with paths, terraces and stairs.


Floor plan:

Floor plan of a single-family house with rooms, corridors, terrace and outdoor area.
O
Obermuh
14 Apr 2021 16:06
With several weeks of delay and still not completely finished, you can finally get a sense of what the courtyard will look like.


Innenhof mit Holzterrasse, zentraler Olivenbaum im Topf, umlaufende Glasfenster und Türen

Moderne Innenhof-Terrasse mit Holzdielen, Olivenbaum im Topf und umlaufenden Glasfassaden
S
shenja
19 Apr 2021 19:01
I like it very much.
Tannenwald21 Apr 2021 23:41
@Obermuh

I really like that you stayed true to your original house design, and in the end, it looks incredibly unique and beautiful! Not like a standard cookie-cutter house that looks the same as the neighbors’. When you enter, you see the atrium and the lovely olive tree and think, "Wow, this is a place I want to live in!" Great job!

I’m really looking forward to more pictures!
O
Obermuh
22 Apr 2021 10:05
@Tannenwald Thank you very much!

Now that we have been living here for a few weeks, I can say that most of the tips and recommendations here were certainly accurate and sensible. It would have been possible to build a similar living area more cheaply and with better usability, but with too much "optimization," individuality tends to be lost quickly.

Even though I skillfully ignored most of the tips here 😉 it was very helpful to be made aware of certain things.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed!
Tannenwald23 Apr 2021 15:27
Obermuh schrieb:

@Tannenwald Thank you very much!

Now that we've been living here for a few weeks, I can say that most of the tips and recommendations here were certainly correct and sensible. It would have been possible to build a similar living space more cheaply and with better usability, but with too much "optimization," individuality tends to get lost quickly.

Even though I skillfully ignored most of the tips here 😉 , it was very helpful to be made aware of certain issues.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed!
What would you do differently after all? Or which tips do you think you should have followed in hindsight?
O
Obermuh
23 Apr 2021 22:11
Oh, I wouldn’t change much, we really like it as it is. Maybe we should have stuck with the wooden floorboards instead of using wood-look tiles, but in the long run the tiles are probably easier to maintain... especially with our slightly incontinent senior dog.

Otherwise, it’s mostly aesthetic things I would do differently, but most of those can still be changed later.

What quickly became clear, for example, is that haydee was right and we’re really doing a lot of walking around.