ᐅ Floor plan, Bauhaus style with a setback upper floor

Hello everyone,

we are planning to build a single-family house in a new residential area. According to the development plan, only one full storey is allowed, and since we do not want a bungalow or a gable roof, we will build with a recessed upper floor. The design will be in Bauhaus style with a flat roof/parapet.

The plot measures 550 m² (5,920 sq ft), with a building envelope 17.9 m (59 ft) wide and 12 m (39 ft) deep.
The house should have a living area of about 140-150 m² (1,510-1,615 sq ft). In addition, a double garage with a rear storage room is planned (6 x 9 m / 20 x 30 ft). The house will be fully clad in brick; a basement is not desired. Currently, there are three of us living there, but at least one more child is planned.

I have an architect who is preparing the plans based on my specifications.

Additional information about the plot/development plan:
- Not a sloped site
- Site coverage ratio 0.4
- Floor area ratio 0.6
- Corner plot
- Building envelope is set 2.5 m (8 ft) behind the street
- Orientation to the south
- No other restrictions; the storage room behind the garage may extend beyond the building envelope

Ground floor wishes:
Rooms: kitchen, dining and living room, utility room, home office, guest toilet, pantry, possibly a separate technical room
- Open floor plan, i.e., kitchen and living area not separated. However, the living space should be visually distinct from the kitchen and dining area
- Spacious entrance area with a wardrobe niche, preferably hidden to the side
- Hallway should not feel like a narrow corridor
- Kitchen with two rows of cabinets and a door to the terrace
- All living room walls should be long enough for a media wall, possibly rearranged later
- Possibly a connection from the utility room to the garage
- Small home office
- Utility room/pantry should be connected to the kitchen to allow laundry to be carried directly to the garden
- Staircase preferably with a landing
- Covered area to the garage, or at least a covered entrance door

Upper floor wishes:
- 2 children’s bedrooms
- Bedroom only large enough for bed and wardrobe with enough space to walk comfortably
- Spacious bathroom with bathtub, shower, one sink, and toilet
- Since the recessed upper floor is planned with a maximum of 50-60 m² (540-645 sq ft), there will be no large hallway, just the essentials

I have already drawn the concept for the dining and living area with terrace, but I am still missing ideas for the entrance area and room layout. The floor plan attached was the first idea, but I have since enlarged the living room (see sketch). Please do not evaluate the doors in the floor plan, as they were inserted provisionally.

As mentioned, the upper part of the ground floor (kitchen, dining room, living room) is almost fixed for me. Only the entrance area with hallway, wardrobe, utility room, home office, and staircase do not yet satisfy me. It would also be nice to highlight the staircase a bit.

I want to plan the upper floor towards the end once I know how many square meters I will have available. The ground floor should have 90-100 m² (970-1,080 sq ft). The shape of the ground floor can still vary depending on the design. Due to the long terrace front in the living room, the house will now be more rectangular. The house/garage should be built directly on the front left property boundary.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it before, but how many storeys are permitted?

Correction, I found it.

What you are planning for the upper floor is not considered a recessed storey in NRW. With your plan, your building counts as two storeys, unless you get the planning authority to approve a deviation from the zoning plan.

toxicmolotow schrieb:
..,
What you are planning on the upper floor is not considered a recessed floor in NRW. With your plan, your building is two stories high, unless you manage to get the building authority to approve a deviation from the development plan.

Hello Tox, could you briefly explain how a full story is defined in NRW?

@mihaco
The storage room is not suitable for furnishing as planned. It would be better to create a pantry under the stairs here: doors in the wall structure, so you get a 1-meter (3.3 feet) deep closet.

Best regards in brief

Thank you for your responses.

According to the architect, the recessed top floor can also be realized with only a minimal setback from the upper floor. I had been assuming a one-meter setback. Apparently, he has already designed several houses like this in the same new development, and these have been approved by the district authorities. I will discuss this again. The upper floor is not a priority for me at the moment; it could also be set back accordingly on the roof of the ground floor.

@ypg The storage room in the floor plan is too narrow to pass through with laundry, so I have already widened it in my sketch.

The volume of the building complex seems awkward to me. On the garage side, I would not set back the upper floor sideways as well; I would rather set it back from the front.

I don’t like the staircase at all. An L-shaped staircase could be more appealing here.

mihaco schrieb:
The floor plan in the attachment was the first idea, but I then enlarged the living room (see sketch).

The clarity/comprehensibility of the sketch for outsiders leaves much to be desired...

toxicmolotow schrieb:
With your plan, your building is two stories,

I agree with ypg on this: specifically, why exactly? Which characteristic of a recessed upper floor (stepped floor) is not met here?

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A setback floor (so that it is not considered a full storey) must, among other things, be set back by one meter (3 feet) on all sides. The only exceptions are extensions connected to other building sections (such as terraced houses or semi-detached houses) and the stairwell.

However, I don’t see any setback at the front or back. In my view, this setback is essential for a setback floor.