ᐅ Architect-designed house floor plan with a recessed upper level

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 485 sqm (5220 sq ft)
Slope: No slope on the property, but the site will be raised about 1 m (3 ft) above street level due to terrain adjustment
Floor Area Ratio: 0.4
Building Coverage Ratio: Not specified
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See plan
Peripheral building: Within standard guidelines
Number of parking spaces: TBD
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: Flat roof as specified by the development plan
Architectural style: Modern
Orientation: Garden facing west
Maximum heights/limits: Max building height: 10.50 m (34 ft)
Additional requirements: According to the development plan, no fences or hedges are allowed in the front yard. However, our plot is on the edge of the development area along an existing street. On the opposite side of the street (outside the development area), most houses have fences, so exemption from this regulation might be possible.

Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Modern, cubic
Basement, floors: Partial basement, ground floor, upper floor, penthouse floor
Number of people, ages: M 35, F 34, planning for 1-2 children
Office: M 100% home office, F 40-60% home office, two separate offices needed
Overnight guests per year: few
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, kitchen island
Number of dining seats: TBD
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace
Garage, carport: somewhat larger single garage, no double garage needed
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for preferences:

• Possibly a sauna in the penthouse floor. If so, a bathroom should be relocated there and the penthouse floor slightly enlarged. Otherwise, the penthouse floor will serve as a study/guest room.
• Originally no basement was planned, only a utility room on the upper floor. Due to terrain raising, a partial basement now seems reasonable. Currently considering replacing the utility room with a gallery/open space.

House Design
Planner: Architect

What do you particularly like? Why?
Overall, the layout meets our expectations well, for example modern exterior, lots of natural light, large kitchen.

What do you dislike? Why?

• The living room is located at the front as per the architect’s recommendation, placing the kitchen towards the garden. The idea was to protect the living area from street views with a hedge or similar. However, fences or hedges in the front yard are prohibited (see above), so adequate privacy seems difficult. On the other hand, the house is raised relative to the street (finished floor level 30.60 m (100.4 ft), street: 29.50 m (96.8 ft)), which may provide some privacy. I’m unsure if the architect fully considered the fence restriction. Currently, we are thinking about swapping the kitchen and living room.
• The lounge area was not explicitly requested by us and seems like an afterthought to use extra space.
• The dressing room is somewhat oversized.
• The entrance from the garage into the house feels too “American” and might be removed. This would mean a longer path from the garage to the kitchen for unloading groceries.

Price estimate by architect: €725,000 (construction + incidental building costs)
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: TBD
Preferred heating system: District heating (mandated)

If you have to give up on something, which details/extensions
-can you forego: lounge, gallery, sauna, possibly one child’s room
-can’t you forego: two offices (one in the penthouse floor, one on the upper floor)

Why is the design the way it is now?
This is the architect’s first draft, which we see as a basis for further revisions.

What is the key/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What general feedback do you have for us to bring into the next discussion with the architect (besides points under “dislikes”)? I will post the next revision of the floor plan here.

Apologies for the rough dimensions. I added them myself and they are not exact to the last decimal.

Hello Stefan,
a design where every square meter does not count that much because every dollar needs to be saved is always a bit of a relief. Accordingly, you don’t have to deal with tight constraints in a stressful way.
This often makes it easier for the architect to handle sight lines and so on, so that everything looks balanced.
I have a few questions:

stfn_86 schrieb:

Due to the terrain elevation, a partial basement probably makes sense.

Why is the terrain being raised at all?

stfn_86 schrieb:

Number of parking spaces: TBD

stfn_86 schrieb:

Number of dining spaces: TBD

stfn_86 schrieb:

Fittings: TBD

And what does this TBD mean?

Regarding the design:
1. I immediately looked at the living room on the east side and thought right away: it lacks a focal wall, a protective wall regardless of the street. I would also skip the larger east window here and bring in a cozier room layout. Two birds with one stone 😉
2. Then the lounge or west side: my first thought is that the utility room should probably be to the right of the kitchen. It seems a waste to have it on the south side in my opinion... so I would mirror the western room layout and, of course, adjust the space accordingly (the kitchen would need to be rotated or something). So from right to left: garage – utility room – kitchen (– lounge). The lounge could also become a home office.
3. I don’t like the upper floor: the route to the bathroom is too long for you. Bathrooms in the south and southwest, children’s rooms in the east. I would definitely rearrange this.
This leads to
4. Staircase: to avoid the long corridor on the upper floor, I would rotate the stairs towards the dining area.
5. The kitchen definitely belongs next to the main terrace where you eat and drink in summer!

stfn_86 schrieb:

On the opposite side of the street (outside the development area), most houses have fences, so exemption from the zoning plan could be possible?

I think probably not: different development area, different zoning plan, different rules. But that’s no problem, see above.

Great introduction

I agree with ypg.

I find the house a bit large for the plot.

ypg schrieb:

Why is the site being raised at all?

This is an area that would be flooded by about 0.5m (20 inches) in an extreme HQ event. I assume that's why the site is being raised.

ypg schrieb:

And what does this TBD mean?

TBD stands for "To Be Determined". Regarding the budget, we naturally gave the architect a range, which was slightly exceeded by the estimate but still manageable for us.

Thank you very much for the additional tips – I will take them into account.

I don’t find the storage room on the exterior wall facing the garden without a window very practical. If you don’t want any windows there, I would consider mirroring the room to the opposite side inside the house and instead add a window from the kitchen looking out to the garden. But that’s a matter of personal taste. I find the office extremely small for such a large house, especially if everyone plans to spend more time working from home now. Its location right next to the children’s bedrooms could also be a source of frustration... On the upper floor with a roof terrace, if you really want everything to be green (green roofs), I would at least plan for an outdoor faucet for watering. There is probably no water supply in the studio. The staircase takes up a huge amount of space, which only became clear to me first on the upper floor and then in the basement. I wonder if such a basement room really makes sense. Compared to the staircase, there is relatively little basement space left......

stfn_86 schrieb:

Number of parking spaces: TBD

stfn_86 schrieb:

TBD stands for "To Be Determined" – meaning it is still to be decided.

The question about the "number of parking spaces" refers to how many are required per housing unit according to the development plan.