ᐅ Floor plan for a 160 sqm urban villa – Requesting advice!
Created on: 28 Jan 2019 09:23
B
Bauherrin92
Hello everyone,
we are planning to build an urban villa with 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) plus a basement in rural Bavaria. Since we are now in the crucial phase of floor plan design, we would really appreciate your opinions and suggestions for improvements.
The following issues concern us the most:
1. Arrangement of the house and garage on the plot: The garage has been deliberately placed on the west side to create distance from the neighbor. To catch the evening sun, the house has been set back. However, I wonder if this looks "good," as I have never seen such an arrangement before. We are also undecided whether the garage should be detached or attached to the house (possibly with access through the pantry?). On the plans, the garage is at the neighbor’s boundary. There is currently no house there.
2. The cloakroom and dressing room seem too small to comfortably place proper wardrobes and move around freely.
3. In general, I feel the overall design could still be improved, including the arrangement of windows.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge development: garage yes
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof style: open construction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa, 2 full storeys, hipped roof
Basement, storeys: basement, ground floor, first floor
Number of people, age: two adults, schoolchild, expecting a baby
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: three bedrooms, spacious living-dining area, separate cloakroom, shower toilet on the ground floor
Office: none
Guest bedrooms per year: none
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 4–10 (when guests visit)
Fireplace: yes
Garage, carport: prefabricated double garage
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
- Cloakroom in a niche
- Shower toilet on the ground floor, later for the teenage daughter
- Large children’s rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden
- Dressing room in the master bedroom
- Pantry for yellow bags (recycling waste bags), vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, pasta stock, etc.
House design
Who made the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Basement: fine as is
- Ground floor: large pantry, L-shaped kitchen/living/dining area
- Upper floor: large children’s rooms
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: layout of toilet and cloakroom
- Upper floor: dressing room and bathroom possibly too small
- detached garage
Preferred heating technology: undecided so far
If you had to give up something, which details/upgrades would you skip?
- Could give up: access from garage into the house
- Could not do without: pantry, dressing room, cloakroom
Why has the design turned out as it is now? Our wishes were implemented by the planner
We look forward to your advice!!!
P.S.: The red circle is supposed to indicate north, sorry, it couldn’t be done otherwise!
we are planning to build an urban villa with 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) plus a basement in rural Bavaria. Since we are now in the crucial phase of floor plan design, we would really appreciate your opinions and suggestions for improvements.
The following issues concern us the most:
1. Arrangement of the house and garage on the plot: The garage has been deliberately placed on the west side to create distance from the neighbor. To catch the evening sun, the house has been set back. However, I wonder if this looks "good," as I have never seen such an arrangement before. We are also undecided whether the garage should be detached or attached to the house (possibly with access through the pantry?). On the plans, the garage is at the neighbor’s boundary. There is currently no house there.
2. The cloakroom and dressing room seem too small to comfortably place proper wardrobes and move around freely.
3. In general, I feel the overall design could still be improved, including the arrangement of windows.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge development: garage yes
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof style: open construction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa, 2 full storeys, hipped roof
Basement, storeys: basement, ground floor, first floor
Number of people, age: two adults, schoolchild, expecting a baby
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: three bedrooms, spacious living-dining area, separate cloakroom, shower toilet on the ground floor
Office: none
Guest bedrooms per year: none
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 4–10 (when guests visit)
Fireplace: yes
Garage, carport: prefabricated double garage
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
- Cloakroom in a niche
- Shower toilet on the ground floor, later for the teenage daughter
- Large children’s rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden
- Dressing room in the master bedroom
- Pantry for yellow bags (recycling waste bags), vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, pasta stock, etc.
House design
Who made the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Basement: fine as is
- Ground floor: large pantry, L-shaped kitchen/living/dining area
- Upper floor: large children’s rooms
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: layout of toilet and cloakroom
- Upper floor: dressing room and bathroom possibly too small
- detached garage
Preferred heating technology: undecided so far
If you had to give up something, which details/upgrades would you skip?
- Could give up: access from garage into the house
- Could not do without: pantry, dressing room, cloakroom
Why has the design turned out as it is now? Our wishes were implemented by the planner
We look forward to your advice!!!
P.S.: The red circle is supposed to indicate north, sorry, it couldn’t be done otherwise!
The ceiling heights seem acceptable to me, but I personally wouldn’t build below 2.55m (8 ft 4 in). The window width, on the other hand, is quite small. Ours are 175 x 135cm (69 x 53 inches) rough opening size, and I already find that rather tight. Of course, it also depends on the quantity.
The 80cm (31.5 inches) space behind the garage is complete nonsense. What is supposed to happen there? You might as well give it away to the neighbor. I would rather make the garage wider and enjoy having more space inside.
The 80cm (31.5 inches) space behind the garage is complete nonsense. What is supposed to happen there? You might as well give it away to the neighbor. I would rather make the garage wider and enjoy having more space inside.
No, the windows are not small (for example, each child’s room has one standard and one floor-to-ceiling window) — they are just smaller than what Oberhubers think is necessary, based on current trends. The ceiling height is the same: 2.50 meters (8 feet 2.5 inches) — forget about 4 cm (1.5 inches) more — that’s not a cramped size, and I don’t care if others prefer more spacious dimensions. I would argue that an extra step depth makes a bigger practical difference.
Let’s not forget, this is about Biedermüller’s family home, not some flashy city mansion.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Let’s not forget, this is about Biedermüller’s family home, not some flashy city mansion.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
The ceiling height would be far too low for me; I wouldn’t plan for a finished ceiling height under 2.60 m (8.5 ft), preferably 2.70 m (8.9 ft). For floor-to-ceiling windows, the plan usually shows the rough opening size, so the floor construction still needs to be subtracted from that. For a double-leaf window you want to walk through, you should allow at least 1.76 m (5.8 ft) in width (or, of course, more).
Best regards
Sabine
Best regards
Sabine
Curly schrieb:
For a double-leaf window you want to walk through, you should choose at least 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) in width—or, of course, more. If we're talking about symmetrical double-leaf patio doors, I would recommend 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in) or 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in); 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) is okay for asymmetrical double-leaf patio doors, but for French balconies, 1.51 m (5 ft) is sufficient even if symmetrical.
Curly schrieb:
I would never plan finished ceiling heights under 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in)—preferably 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in) or higher. Where does this craze for needing king-size ceiling heights come from?
Olivia Jones may be tall, but even if she wanted to wear a hat on top of high heels, she’s never been a guest in my house or, I assume, for most of the other forum members.
When I visit my uncle, who has ceiling heights of 2.38 m (7 ft 10 in) and sometimes even only 2.32 m (7 ft 7 in), I never have to stoop while walking through his house. Neither does he, even though he’s taller than me.
Le Corbusier considered rooms of 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in) suitable for a resident who is just under 1.83 m (6 ft) tall. In my opinion, it’s rather illogical to build rooms even higher today than in times when lamps used to hang from the ceilings.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
The height of the rooms definitely affects the comfort factor. Low ceilings can quickly feel cramped and oppressive. A neighbor has a standard ceiling height of 2.40 meters (7 ft 10 in) from a prefab home manufacturer – I immediately found that uncomfortable. However, this also depends a lot on the size of the rooms. In my opinion, a 40 m² (430 sq ft) living room and a ceiling height of 2.40 meters (7 ft 10 in) just don’t work well together.
Additionally, there are nowadays wardrobes that are as tall as 2.40 meters (7 ft 10 in). Try fitting those in if you only have 2.45 meters (8 ft) of ceiling height!
Additionally, there are nowadays wardrobes that are as tall as 2.40 meters (7 ft 10 in). Try fitting those in if you only have 2.45 meters (8 ft) of ceiling height!
This is not just a misconception; it simply looks much better. In the past, rooms were smaller, and there was no combined living-dining-kitchen area larger than 40sqm (430 sq ft). In smaller rooms, a low ceiling height doesn’t feel quite as cramped. We used to have about 2.50m (8 ft 2 in) ceiling height and managed fine, but now we have 2.70m (8 ft 10 in), and there is simply no comparison—the 20cm (8 inches) difference makes a big impact, and we like it much better this way.
Best regards
Sabine
Best regards
Sabine
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