Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 780 sqm (8397 sq ft)
Slope: 4.5 m (15 ft) over 30 m (98 ft), approximately 6% incline, sloping from east to west
Floor area ratio: 0.25
Plot ratio: 0.35
Edge development: Located within an existing neighborhood
Number of parking spaces: Large double garage including 2-3 spaces in front
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: "Urban villa" (The house is located in a very rural area at about 930 m (3051 ft) above sea level)
Orientation: Southwest
Maximum height/limits: Maximum building height: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Urban villa, hipped roof, single-family home
Basement, floors: Fully basement with semi-integrated double garage, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: Us (both 27 years old) + 2 planned children
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: See plan
Office: Primarily family use or home office? Mainly family use, but who knows? (Home office)
Guest bedrooms per year: Rare, maybe 2-3 times per year (max)
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern style: Modern?
Open kitchen with island
Dining capacity: 6-8 seats
Fireplace: Not decided yet (Heating will be via ground source heat pump, possibly an additional Swedish wood stove)
Music/sound wall: No
Balcony, rooftop terrace: Covered terrace on southwest side, open terrace on garage roof facing northwest for flowers, herbs, etc.
Garage, carport: Very large garage for 2 cars including workshop
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No, not planned currently
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine
House Design
Who designed the plan: First draft by us, no contact with an architect yet
What do you particularly like?
Large open living and dining area with kitchen and big window fronts. (Direct access to terrace / garden)
What don’t you like? So far nothing 🙂
Price estimate according to architect/planner: n/a
Personal price limit for house including equipment: n/a
Preferred heating technology: Ground source heat pump
If you have to give up something, on which details/extra features could you do without?
- Could do without: Covered seating area, can be added later if needed.
- Cannot do without: Integrated double garage
Notes
Due to the slight slope descending towards the neighborhood street, a (semi-)integrated garage seems ideal for this project from my point of view. The garage should also be used as a workshop and storage space (for lawnmower, winter tires, bicycles).
The outdoor and storage room in the basement should be understood as follows: We are enthusiastic fans of various mountain sports (mountain biking, climbing, skiing, ski touring, hiking, snowshoeing), which requires a lot of equipment and clothing. Therefore, we want a room (as close to the garage as possible) where all the equipment can be stored. We also want a small sink there for cleaning shoes or filling water bottles, etc. 🙂
I’m also unsure whether separating the laundry room and heating room makes sense or not. (In my parents’ house, it’s one big room, which works very well…)
On the ground floor, we want a large window front with sliding windows. The covered terrace should also have a glass roof (with adjustable shading) if possible, so the living and dining area doesn’t get too dark.
Any feedback is welcome, and I thank you in advance for the first assessment of our floor plan. (We are not architects: Please forgive the rather rough dimensioning 🙂
Regards from Switzerland
Seisler
Plot size: 780 sqm (8397 sq ft)
Slope: 4.5 m (15 ft) over 30 m (98 ft), approximately 6% incline, sloping from east to west
Floor area ratio: 0.25
Plot ratio: 0.35
Edge development: Located within an existing neighborhood
Number of parking spaces: Large double garage including 2-3 spaces in front
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: "Urban villa" (The house is located in a very rural area at about 930 m (3051 ft) above sea level)
Orientation: Southwest
Maximum height/limits: Maximum building height: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Urban villa, hipped roof, single-family home
Basement, floors: Fully basement with semi-integrated double garage, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: Us (both 27 years old) + 2 planned children
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: See plan
Office: Primarily family use or home office? Mainly family use, but who knows? (Home office)
Guest bedrooms per year: Rare, maybe 2-3 times per year (max)
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern style: Modern?
Open kitchen with island
Dining capacity: 6-8 seats
Fireplace: Not decided yet (Heating will be via ground source heat pump, possibly an additional Swedish wood stove)
Music/sound wall: No
Balcony, rooftop terrace: Covered terrace on southwest side, open terrace on garage roof facing northwest for flowers, herbs, etc.
Garage, carport: Very large garage for 2 cars including workshop
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No, not planned currently
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine
House Design
Who designed the plan: First draft by us, no contact with an architect yet
What do you particularly like?
Large open living and dining area with kitchen and big window fronts. (Direct access to terrace / garden)
What don’t you like? So far nothing 🙂
Price estimate according to architect/planner: n/a
Personal price limit for house including equipment: n/a
Preferred heating technology: Ground source heat pump
If you have to give up something, on which details/extra features could you do without?
- Could do without: Covered seating area, can be added later if needed.
- Cannot do without: Integrated double garage
Notes
Due to the slight slope descending towards the neighborhood street, a (semi-)integrated garage seems ideal for this project from my point of view. The garage should also be used as a workshop and storage space (for lawnmower, winter tires, bicycles).
The outdoor and storage room in the basement should be understood as follows: We are enthusiastic fans of various mountain sports (mountain biking, climbing, skiing, ski touring, hiking, snowshoeing), which requires a lot of equipment and clothing. Therefore, we want a room (as close to the garage as possible) where all the equipment can be stored. We also want a small sink there for cleaning shoes or filling water bottles, etc. 🙂
I’m also unsure whether separating the laundry room and heating room makes sense or not. (In my parents’ house, it’s one big room, which works very well…)
On the ground floor, we want a large window front with sliding windows. The covered terrace should also have a glass roof (with adjustable shading) if possible, so the living and dining area doesn’t get too dark.
Any feedback is welcome, and I thank you in advance for the first assessment of our floor plan. (We are not architects: Please forgive the rather rough dimensioning 🙂
Regards from Switzerland
Seisler
sirhc schrieb:
I think those are already quite substantial dimensions. If that is an ordinary house, then you Swiss are to be envied. 😉So, the building footprint (excluding the additional protruding garage) is about 100 sqm (9x11 m (29.5x36 ft)). Is that substantial? I don’t know. My parents’ house had the same dimensions. But I never found it huge or small, just right – that’s why we tentatively decided on this size.
sirhc schrieb:
I don’t really like the angled wall (play area) on the ground floor. I would straighten it and add a storage room in the hallway. We don’t really like that corner yet either. On the other hand, we already have a storage room next to the kitchen…
sirhc schrieb:
Since there is a separate children’s bathroom, I wouldn’t make the master bathroom accessible from the hallway. Generally, having two doors/entrances to a bathroom is always inconvenient. But that’s a matter of taste. That’s definitely worth considering, yes. However, the children shouldn’t be forbidden to use the “master bathroom” just because it’s called that… :-)
matte1987 schrieb:
By the way, a 4.5 m (15 ft) height difference over a 30 m (98 ft) length corresponds to a slope of 15%, not 6% (just as a side note). Correct, sorry. It’s precisely 8.5° or a 15% slope.
matte1987 schrieb:
I’m not trying to convince you, but a split-level design might be interesting for you. We will probably end up with something like this. That would certainly disrupt our entire concept ;-) I don’t think it’s right for us at the moment, but I will definitely do some more research on that…
Bauexperte schrieb:
It’s all relative.
For example, a nurse in Switzerland earns around 120,000 EUR/year; she needs that annual salary to cover ongoing rent and other expenses.
In the end, these are _just_ numbers 😉 It really makes no sense to argue about DE-CH prices/wages. Wages in Switzerland and living costs are much higher than in Germany, so it doesn’t really make sense for me to discuss Swiss prices in a German forum… :-) Let’s just stick to the floor plan: Thanks :-D
Seisler schrieb:
That would, of course, throw our entire concept off ;-) I don’t think it’s suitable for us at the moment, but I will definitely do some more research on it......
I know that feeling; it’s happened to me 10–15 times already 😉 We’ve gone through everything from a classic three-story house, to a house with a granny flat, to a four-story building with a roof terrace, to a bungalow with an added kids’ room. You have to find the right fit first, and above all, you need to understand what’s really important to you.
You’ve reached a point where, in my opinion, it would be necessary to bring in professional help. I would therefore recommend finding an architect.
A few notes on your floor plan:
I don’t like the play corner either. The angled wall somehow doesn’t fit at all.
Here are two suggestions that I think would work better:
The play corner would still be there, and the wardrobe fits neatly into the niche.
Or like this, which would provide enough space for a large wardrobe with a small bench, so you can sit down while putting on or taking off shoes.
In any case, I would try to create a sightline from the small sliding window at the bottom of the plan, through the entrance to the living room, and the front door.
Is the sofa shown about the size of your own?
Upstairs: The master bedroom is very tight. With a structural (shell) dimension of 3.07 meters (10 ft), you end up with just over 3 meters (approximately 10 ft) of usable width. Our double bed is 1.95 meters (6 ft 5 in) wide. That leaves about 53 centimeters (21 inches) on each side. It works, but it’s not comfortable.
I would, therefore, position the bed with the headboard against the east wall.
You currently have just over 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) of wardrobe length for both of you. Are you sure that’s enough? For me/us, it would be way too little and would barely be sufficient for one person.
The hallway upstairs will probably be very dark without the double casement window.
Seisler schrieb:
No, you’re not quite seeing it correctly 🙂
The terrain slopes down toward the neighborhood street. (So it’s roughly drawn like the ramp to the front door.) This means that in the northeast we have a lot of material (4.5m (15 feet)) and in the southwest “nothing” (0m (0 feet)).
To illustrate better, I’ve added a photo showing the “original terrain.”
This means that in the northeast we need to excavate some soil, and in the southwest we need to add some material (to level everything).
By the way, the neighbors on the left and right have done the same.
Regarding the costs: I’m not sure it makes sense to share the numbers here since the house will be built in Switzerland. Prices in DE and CH are obviously not at the same level. 🙂 But we estimate about 700,000 euros for the entire project excluding the land, which is actually a “quite normal” house in Switzerland 🙂 (So for this price you won’t get a huge or luxury mansion, just for your info)No, I almost understood it correctly since you also spoke from east to west.
You will need to build up the terrain in the west if you plan a terrace or an exit there.
So I see this as a sloping plot with a less-than-ideal orientation.
Standard one- or two-story houses usually don’t fit well on such plots; they tend to look like they were forced rather than designed with skill. Also, you should carefully consider whether it’s appropriate to alter the terrain this extensively.
In your case, I would probably consider a terraced or split-level design.
I always strongly recommend hiring an architect experienced with building on slopes.
But maybe I’m seeing problems where there aren’t any, if others have done it this way as well!? 😉
Seisler schrieb:
So the house footprint (excluding the additional projecting garage) is about 100 sqm (9x11 m / 30x36 ft). Is that considered substantial?9x11 m (30x36 ft) alone is not necessarily large, but with two full storeys plus a basement, I do find it considerable. However, that might just be my subjective impression, as all the houses in my family are somewhat smaller.
matte1987 schrieb:
Here is still the play corner available. The wardrobe fits in the niche. I think this idea is very good. Many thanks!
matte1987 schrieb:
Is the couch the size of your own? No, it’s just a 3D model from the internet. Size 2x3m (6.5x9.8 feet).
matte1987 schrieb:
Upper floor: The master bedroom is very tight. With a raw structural dimension of 3.07m (10 feet), you’ll have a little over 3 meters (10 feet) left in the end. Our double bed is 1.95m (6.4 feet) wide. That leaves about 53cm (21 inches) on each side. It works, but isn't comfortable.
I would therefore put the bed with the headboard against the east wall.
You only have a little over 2m (6.5 feet) of wardrobe length for both of you. Are you sure that’s enough? For me/us, that would be way too little and would barely suffice for one person. Moving the bed is also a good idea. Wardrobe: At the moment, we only have a 2m (6.5 feet) long wardrobe as well, which is actually enough for both of us. But you’re right, a bit bigger never hurts ;-)
matte1987 schrieb:
The hallway on the upper floor would probably be very dark without a double casement window. Yes, we definitely need to plan a roof window on the north side of the roof (we want to keep the south side free, if possible, for a future photovoltaic system).
ypg schrieb:
No, I almost understood correctly since you also mentioned east to west.
You need to build up the land on the west side if you’re planning a terrace or an exit there.
So, I see this as a sloping plot with a less-than-ideal orientation.
Standard one- or two-story houses usually don’t fit on such lots; they often look forced rather than well designed. Also, one should think twice before heavily modifying the terrain of a plot like this.
In your case, I would consider a terrace construction or split-level design.
I always recommend an architect experienced in hillside construction.
But maybe I see problems where there aren’t any, if others are doing the same!? 😉 OK, then we understood each other correctly :-D
Somehow, I still don’t see the entire slope problem clearly, but maybe I’m underestimating it. What I should add: I measured the height difference of 4.5m (15 feet) “only” from an online geoportal. Even though we Swiss have the most accurate maps in the world (at least that’s what we say 🙂), I wouldn’t fully trust that it’s 100% correct. In reality (see photo from Google Street View), the whole thing looks somehow a bit flatter...
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Hello,
Unfortunately, I had to delete the jpg; Google doesn’t like it and gets quite difficult when you don’t comply.
Regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte
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