Hello,
we have been living in our own single-family house for a long time and now want to build a new one. I did not expect it to be so difficult to design a suitable floor plan. Every change affects another requirement. We are now at an impasse and can’t think of any further improvements. I hope your fresh perspectives and honest feedback will help us here.
Thank you in advance for all comments.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size 1,220 sqm (13,130 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio (FAR) – not specified
Building coverage ratio – not specified
Building envelope, building line and boundary – none
Edge development – detached double garage 7 m (23 ft) (optional triple garage)
Number of parking spaces – 3
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – hipped roof 25°, 80 cm (31.5 inches) overhang
Architectural style – classic
Orientation – entrance = northeast
Maximum heights/limits – none
Additional requirements – none
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa, subtly modern, low hipped roof, KfW55 standard
Basement, number of storeys – 2 storeys, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons – 2x 40 years, 1x 11 years, 1x 7 years
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) – see design
Office: family use or home office? – yes, 2 days per week
Guest sleepers per year – 5–6 times per year
Open or closed architecture – GF open, UF closed
Traditional or modern construction – somewhere in between
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes/yes
Number of dining seats – 6–8
Fireplace – no
Music/speaker wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – no, but covered terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport – detached garage
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for specific choices
Open living-dining area, lots of light, no narrow spaces, harmonious proportions and symmetry, cozy
Smooth roof tiles
House design
- Do-it-yourself planning
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Upper floor layout, stairwell
What do you not like? Why?
- Children’s rooms vary in size
- Office could be larger
- Orientation not quite optimal
- Ground floor lacks a bit of flair
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000 without garage
Personal budget for house including fixtures: €500,000
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump
If you had to do without anything, which details or expansions?
- Could do without: basically nothing, most things are already optimized (open space, fireplace, and other extras)
- Cannot do without:
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor be better designed, and are there any major design errors?
In the aerial photo, it is the lower house on the right.
The shaded area roughly represents the paved surface.
Driveway passes two L-shaped bungalows in grey.
we have been living in our own single-family house for a long time and now want to build a new one. I did not expect it to be so difficult to design a suitable floor plan. Every change affects another requirement. We are now at an impasse and can’t think of any further improvements. I hope your fresh perspectives and honest feedback will help us here.
Thank you in advance for all comments.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size 1,220 sqm (13,130 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio (FAR) – not specified
Building coverage ratio – not specified
Building envelope, building line and boundary – none
Edge development – detached double garage 7 m (23 ft) (optional triple garage)
Number of parking spaces – 3
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – hipped roof 25°, 80 cm (31.5 inches) overhang
Architectural style – classic
Orientation – entrance = northeast
Maximum heights/limits – none
Additional requirements – none
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa, subtly modern, low hipped roof, KfW55 standard
Basement, number of storeys – 2 storeys, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons – 2x 40 years, 1x 11 years, 1x 7 years
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) – see design
Office: family use or home office? – yes, 2 days per week
Guest sleepers per year – 5–6 times per year
Open or closed architecture – GF open, UF closed
Traditional or modern construction – somewhere in between
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes/yes
Number of dining seats – 6–8
Fireplace – no
Music/speaker wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – no, but covered terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport – detached garage
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for specific choices
Open living-dining area, lots of light, no narrow spaces, harmonious proportions and symmetry, cozy
Smooth roof tiles
House design
- Do-it-yourself planning
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Upper floor layout, stairwell
What do you not like? Why?
- Children’s rooms vary in size
- Office could be larger
- Orientation not quite optimal
- Ground floor lacks a bit of flair
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000 without garage
Personal budget for house including fixtures: €500,000
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump
If you had to do without anything, which details or expansions?
- Could do without: basically nothing, most things are already optimized (open space, fireplace, and other extras)
- Cannot do without:
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor be better designed, and are there any major design errors?
In the aerial photo, it is the lower house on the right.
The shaded area roughly represents the paved surface.
Driveway passes two L-shaped bungalows in grey.
P
pagoni202023 Dec 2020 12:21I would place the fireplace exactly there as well, although you can still choose which style or model fits best. For example, we opted for a stainless steel exterior chimney, which saves space inside, looks quite nice in my opinion, and doesn’t go through the upper floor.
I actually like the second version of the above illustration almost better.
I actually like the second version of the above illustration almost better.
A
Alessandro23 Dec 2020 12:58pagoni2020 schrieb:
I would place the chimney exactly there, although you can still choose which size/model fits best. For example, we went with a stainless steel external chimney, which saves space inside, looks quite nice in my opinion, and doesn’t run through the upper floor.
I actually prefer the second version of the layout mentioned above. Wow. Every time I see houses with a shiny chrome external chimney, I just think, "how awful."
Ysop*** schrieb:
The chimney is in the way and is not really a room divider. Well, the subtle (?) difference between divider, separator, and splitter might be worth a closer look ;-)
Marco180 schrieb:
The sofa is a placeholder used by the architect. Then unfortunately, the architect herself is just a placeholder too :-(
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
P
pagoni202023 Dec 2020 13:11Alessandro schrieb:
Wow. Every time I see houses with a chrome exterior chimney, I think, "how terrible"...I know what you mean, but like many things, for me it’s about the individual design. Often these chimneys are just slapped onto the house wall afterward, which I usually don’t like either. You can stop by for an espresso sometime 😉. We were offered one powder-coated in black or something similar anyway. Nothing’s decided yet, we want to check it out first soon, but we like the idea. We’re also planning a full wood cladding on the outside... it’ll work out 😀 ... and if it actually turns out ugly, you don’t have to pay for your coffee.
A
Alessandro23 Dec 2020 13:15Unfortunately, I don’t know of any house where I like this solution, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. Aside from that, the chimney also radiates some heat to warm the house, which is not the case with an external chimney.
Schimi179123 Dec 2020 13:27pagoni2020 schrieb:
Often, something like that is retrofitted onto the exterior wall, which I often don’t like either. I only know this because of a required building permit / planning permission. Friends of ours have a wood-burning stove and an oil heating system sharing the same flue. If the heating system is or were to be replaced, simultaneous operation of the wood stove and the heater on the same flue would no longer be allowed, and an external chimney would have to be installed. Whether this is actually the case, I am not certain. Maybe exceptions are possible under certain conditions.
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