ᐅ Preliminary Floor Plan Design for a Hillside House in the Second Row

Created on: 26 Nov 2021 18:36

frank1982

Hello,

there are two of us, and we have a nice plot of land in a small village. The plot is on a northwest-facing slope, and the house with garage must be built in the second row. Preliminary approval for construction with this rough plan has already been granted:

Lageplan eines Grundstücks mit Wohnhaus, Garage und Zufahrt sowie Grundstücksgrenzen sichtbar

Orientation: North is at the top. The neighboring houses (17, 15) are already built, and the driveway is about five meters (16 feet) wide. The garage must have green roofing (city requirement).

Our architect created a first draft based on our wishes (below). We are very pleased with the exterior and think the house and garage integrate nicely into the plot. However, we are still unsure whether the interior layout works as planned.

We look forward to your opinions—please provide honest feedback.

Questionnaire with answers:

Development plan/restrictions

Plot size: 650 m² (7000 sq ft)
Slope: Yes, northwest-facing
Building envelope, building line and boundary: sketch
Edge development: Yes
Number of parking spaces: 2 garages (one with higher clearance for a box van)
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern
Further requirements: rough placement of house and garage predetermined (see sketch)

Client requirements

Style and building type: modern, appealing, streamlined, and functional
Basement, floors: Yes, entrance through the basement (due to slope)
Number of occupants, age: 2, 40 years old
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): dining & living on GF, sleeping in attic
Office: family use or home office? Home office (2x)
Guest visitors per year: several times a year
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern but not cold/impersonal
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6, extendable to 18
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no (TV mounted on wall)
Balcony, roof terrace: optional (we currently have one in front of the attic office, but it is not essential)
Garage, carport: double garage on basement level
Utility garden, greenhouse: yes, no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for preferences:

- Sheltered terrace with roof covering
- Walk-in closet
- Guest room
- Two offices (home offices)
- Large kitchen and dining area
- Smaller, somewhat separated living area with sofa facing TV and outdoors
- Guest toilet on ground floor with urinal
- Bedroom with just bed and bedside tables (wardrobes separate in walk-in closet)
- Bathroom with double sinks, walk-in shower with masonry walls (no glass), bathtub, toilet
- Basement: heating/technical room with ventilation system, laundry/drying room, storage cellar, hobby/workshop cellar
- Living area about 120 m² (1300 sq ft)

House design

Planner: architect
Most liked features? Building, orientation on terrain, connection between house and garage, visible entrance
What is not liked and why? Terrace too small, utility/pantry room behind kitchen too large, too many corridors, bedroom located in southwest (heat issues)
Cost estimate by architect/planner: not yet available
Personal budget for house including fittings: €450,000
Preferred heating system: open, aiming for KFW40 standard (possibly only KFW55 due to cost)
Key question about the floor plan in 130 characters: Do you see any problems or possible improvements? Preferably a smaller living area.

Views:

Moderne 3D-Hausansicht mit Garage, Auffahrt und grünem Garten vor blauem Himmel

3D-Modell eines weißen Einfamilienhauses mit Terrasse, Garten und Baum – Frontansicht

Moderner weißer Einfamilienhaus-Modell mit Garage, Garten und Zufahrt.

Basement floor plan with garage and driveway:

2D-Grundriss eines Hauses mit Garage, Flur, Küche und Bad, klare Raumnutzung

Ground floor plan:

2D Grundriss eines Hauses mit Küche, Esszimmer, Wohnzimmer, Terrasse und Garten.

Attic floor plan:

2D-Grundrissplan des Obergeschosses mit Schlafzimmer, Büro, Bad und Treppenhaus

Section:

Schnitt durch ein mehrgeschossiges Haus mit Innentreppen, Wänden und Treppenläufen

11ant26 Nov 2021 23:47

I’d say, within the given framework, that’s quite acceptable.

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

hampshire27 Nov 2021 00:52

The design reflects your requirements except for the budget framework and is quite well done.
The guest area could possibly qualify as a separate apartment for funding purposes.
The two garage doors with different heights are rather unusual.
I don’t like the office located between the bathroom and bedroom, but I don’t see any real practical disadvantage.

Ibdk1427 Nov 2021 12:57

I also quite like it. However, I don't understand the entrance area in the basement. You enter through the door and then immediately have to open another door behind it to go upstairs? At first, I thought the stairs went the other way, but this seems a bit strange to me – or maybe I'm missing something.

11ant27 Nov 2021 13:07

#10

hampshire schrieb:

The two garage doors of different heights are quite distinctive.

... but due to the interlocking of the building structures, this makes sense here. Otherwise, I would have suggested making both doors the same height, among other design reasons. However, custom sizes also increase costs – so it's a relief to need them for only a few units.

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

frank198227 Nov 2021 14:07

#11

ypg schrieb:

1. The sofa doesn’t have a view, but it does get the southern sun.
2. Cloakroom is not really planned anywhere, instead there’s a quiet corner in the main hallway.
3. The sleeping area is a bit uncomfortable for the person sleeping in front, and the walk-in closet is rather tight.
4. The terrace faces away from the sun... it might feel a bit damp or chilly.
5. So: 2 home office rooms in the basement with southern exposure.
6. Ground floor: spacious living area, with the living room facing north with a view; dining/kitchen area to the south.

1. We noticed that too. We would also have liked to swap the living room and kitchen so the kitchen gets the sun and the living room is somewhat darker. It was designed this way so the living room is a bit separated. Do you have any ideas on how to swap them but still keep that separation?

2. Cloakroom is a good point, we hadn’t thought about that yet, thanks!

3. We plan to rotate the bed in the bedroom 90° counterclockwise, then it will be comfortable for both. However, we would like to swap the bedroom and office behind the bathroom, but unfortunately, the bedroom doesn’t fit well into that room.

4. Do you mean because of the short wall? The architect included it as a screen towards the street. We thought that was good because it’s probably quite windy up there. Still, we’re concerned the terrace might get too little sun, especially if the roof overhang is enlarged.

5. We would prefer not to have the offices in the basement since we’re there all day and it would feel like working in a cellar...

6. We like the idea of the living room facing north but also want a separation between the kitchen and dining area.

frank198227 Nov 2021 14:09

#12

11ant schrieb:

I would say, within the given framework, it’s quite acceptable.

“Quite acceptable” for a custom-designed house by an architect… hmm. What would you change?

ᐅ Preliminary Floor Plan Design for a Hillside House in the Second Row

Reaktionen