ᐅ Urban villa, 180 sqm, no basement + double garage

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size
687 sqm (7,395 sq ft)
Slope
No / approx. 1m (3 ft) slope side to side - zero slope lengthwise
Site coverage ratio
0.4
Floor area ratio
0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Setback 3m (10 ft) at front (in floor plan), window from there 16m (52 ft) – total 19m (62 ft) from boundary
Edge development
Allowed on both sides for garage – maximum building height 3.2 m (10.5 ft)
Number of parking spaces
2 mandatory
Number of floors
2 full stories
Roof style
No flat roof
Architectural style
Urban villa
Orientation

Maximum heights / limits
Ridge height 6.5 m (21 ft), eaves height 10.5 m (34 ft) – measured from street reference point (center)
Additional requirements

Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type
Urban villa fixed – hip roof (no pyramid/campanile roof)
Basement, floors
No basement, instead 2 full stories (usable attic space?)
Number of occupants, ages
36 + 32 + 2 + planned
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Ground floor: Kitchen, dining, living + office/bathroom + utility/technical room
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, 2 bathrooms, children’s bathroom next to utility room upstairs – against dryer use, laundry will be air-dried, so washing on upper floor is questionable and carefully considered.
Office: family use or home office?
Mandatory: Both adults to be able to work 100% from home
Overnight guests per year
Plenty – usually 2 guests for 2-3 weekends per month
Open or closed architecture
Open: open kitchen, open void
Traditional or modern construction
Does not matter
Open kitchen, kitchen island
L-shaped counter rather than island, but open.
Number of dining seats
8
Fireplace
Desired
Music / stereo wall
Unnecessary
Balcony, roof terrace
Not needed upstairs
Garage, carport
Double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse
Exists, accessible within minutes next to garage with lift and already owned
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences or exclusions
1. My wife cannot use straight stairs, therefore a winder or landing is mandatory
2. Open void and lots of light are mandatory
3. Fireplace desired
4. We can and do work a lot from home. Usually one adult is at home during the day: priority ground floor for living, upper floor for sleeping
5. Utility room upstairs not preferred. We air-dry laundry outdoors

House Design
Who planned it:
- Do-it-yourself: my wife and I, using ArchiCAD software provided by an acquaintance
What do you particularly like? Why?
5.4–6 m (18–20 ft) windows are mandatory. / Ability to separate office + children’s room from living areas.
Use of the full 17 m (56 ft) width
Children’s rooms about 16 sqm (172 sq ft) each + open void and usable circulation space next to them.
What do you dislike? Why?
All 3 bathrooms – we need input on these and possibly use pantry or under-stair space?
Cost estimate according to architect / planner:
None available
Personal budget limit for house including equipment:
500,000 (local currency) – plot already owned including ancillary costs
Preferred heating system:
Gas condensing boiler or air-source heat pump competing

If you have to compromise, on which details or extensions
- you can do without:
Shower in guest WC
Pantry – possibly use space under stairs and utility room
- you cannot do without:
Bathtub, dressing room, window to terrace.

Why is the design the way it is now? For example:
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
and your input here.

What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
We love the way the stairs lead straight down into the kitchen.
Windows up to 6 m (20 ft) wide
Dressing room 3 m (10 ft) long / usable with bathroom
Minimal circulation space

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

- The upper bathroom(s)? Help with layout including windows
Priority 1!!

- Structural support above the 5–6 m (16–20 ft) sliding window on the ground floor
Priority 2

- Utility/technical rooms are currently combined / separating wall to “dark” technical corner possible
- Open void above could mean 17 m (56 ft) high walls?
- How to use space under stairs? Can hall open directly into kitchen? Perhaps even attach wall to stairs?
- Maximum ceiling height and daylight at 6.5 m (21 ft) ridge height?
- Pantry? Yes or no?

What I can do without:
Discussion about open void. Yes, odor and noise versus openness. This is a conscious decision.

Note: We decided to build in June.
Bought the plot and started planning early July during vacation.
Now the first own idea is set, after reading many tips here, but overall we have only been working on it for about 6 weeks

Christobal schrieb:

Are you against using dryers and the laundry is always hung to dry, so doing laundry on the upper floor is pointless and questionable?

Do you mean;
We are against dryers and therefore dry laundry outside, so it makes more sense to have the washing machine on the ground floor? Please use full sentences for such complex topics.

Otherwise:
A width of 1.75 meters (5 feet 9 inches) is already very narrow, even for a utility room... and 1.2 meters (3 feet 11 inches) for the pantry is simply a waste of space without benefit. Personally, I don’t like the hallway on both the ground and upper floors at all. In my opinion, the kitchen does not have enough tall cabinets or countertop space.
The kitchen has a lot of circulation area... the 6.10 meters (20 feet) indicate that less usable space is actually available.

Somehow this looks like an unprofessional, makeshift design.

Give the transition between the house and garage facade a shadow edge. Also, take a bit of harshness out of the facades. The spatial effect in the master bathroom suffers from the awkward layout.

Christobal schrieb:

- The upper bathroom / bathrooms? Help with the layout including window positioning, priority 1!!
- Structural load capacity above the 5-6m (16-20 ft) sliding window on the ground floor, priority 2
- Utility room and technical room are still combined / partition wall to separate the "dark" technical area is possible

I don’t quite understand the priorities (just content-wise). What do you mean by "dark technical area"? Are you referring to the colorful boiler as opposed to the "white goods"?

Christobal schrieb:

1. My wife cannot walk straight stairs, so spiral or landing is mandatory

Not even my psychiatrist has heard of a straight stair phobia yet.

Christobal schrieb:

Can the hallway to the kitchen disappear? Is it even possible to move a wall right up to the stairs?

Once again, I’m at a loss for words :-(

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Hello everyone,
sorry.
First note: amateurish, because I’m an amateur. I didn’t expect anything else.

About the pantry:
My parents have one about 3m x 1m (10ft x 3ft), so I’m familiar with it, but the question mark is there intentionally.
Omitting it would also allow for tall cabinets facing the hallway.
Is a room width of 3.7m (12ft) acceptable for an L-shaped kitchen?

Regarding the utility/technical room:
It seems the 1.7m (5.5ft) space is only for gaining natural light. Otherwise, the guest bathroom could take the full width, and the utility room could be without daylight.
When I say “technical room in the dark,” I mean that this room currently has about 14sqm (150 sq ft), but depending on how space under the stairs can be used, it might be an option to place the technical equipment behind the stairs and possibly add a partition wall between the passage doors to the utility/technical room. That’s what I meant by “putting it in the dark.”
I’m not referring to the major appliances.

I understand your concerns about corridors. Downstairs, it’s a closet workaround, although I personally doubt the purpose of the corridor leading to the staircase.
Upstairs, the bathroom layout is still rather undefined within a roughly square area. The hallway turns a corner to avoid a trapped bathroom layout. We don’t want to have to go through the bedroom again to get out.
As I said myself, these bathrooms are still annoying.

Thanks.

Hello everyone

A quick sketch again to explain what I mean by separating the technical area and what it means:
"Extending the wall from the kitchen to in front of the stairs"

However, I don’t want to distract from my priority topics hallway/bathroom.

I also find the house facade too plain. The garage will be moved closer to the house. In addition, a canopy will be added, extending from the garage to the front door. You can see this in many current new housing developments. We have only been working on this for days/weeks, not months.

Thanks for any advice.

Christobal schrieb:

First comment: amateurish, since I’m an amateur.

I have seen much less mature and less feasible amateur attempts here before. At least you handle the program well enough that I have some doubts about your amateur status.
Nevertheless, considering

Christobal schrieb:

Now there's the first original idea, even after reading many tips here, but overall we've only been working on it for about 6 weeks

I would "rather see" you start with classic sketch paper first.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/