ᐅ Floor plan design for a new build modern semi-detached house with 6-meter ceiling height and 239 square meters of living space

lucaskilam schrieb:

Is the attached picture sufficient?

No, I actually meant a drawn site plan, like a sketch showing the building boundaries and the property with dimensions. Black lines on white paper.
I also read something about the garden facing southwest. But on the aerial photo, it looks more like northwest, doesn’t it?

I’m having trouble with the interior views. They confuse me as well. It’s fine to experiment, but you should also take a neutral look at whether it actually looks good or is practical.

I see a shelf over 6 meters (20 feet) high. I know walls where shelves are 3 or 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) high, so ceiling-high. But there, you usually have a nice visual axis from the entrance of the open plan space, for example.
I doubt whether you want to implement that at 6 meters (20 feet), because you can’t really reach that height anymore to decorate or arrange furniture.
Then I see a couch right by the kitchen counter. Is that what you want? Is that what you’re spending money on? Just to have a gallery?
There are three kids’ rooms marked, and they are now in a fairly good orientation (I originally thought they would be more on the darker north side). I don’t consider them too small, but I get the impression that two different houses are being planned here. The neglected main house with unloved utility rooms and the three kids’ rooms—check and done—then a separate house (or extension), with a very high interior ceiling intended for a couple who wants a special ceiling height and to build their bedroom “nest” on a gallery or mezzanine. Have the children been born yet???

lucaskilam schrieb:

Ceiling height in the living area: approx. 6 m

Is that fixed or still open to discussion? From your original post and another forum, I understood that you were rather questioning it. And yes, some here have special and expensive houses, including views, mezzanines, galleries, or open spaces—but 6 meters (20 feet) is often viewed critically due to lack of coziness, sound transmission, etc. Those who have such open spaces and build them again have all been empty nesters (as far as I remember). You can go for more generous ceiling heights and other designs without children. With children, it might be a no-go if there’s no spatial separation. Also, you should consider whether the kids are old enough to handle galleries and the risk of open falls, or if those areas would become off-limits for them in their own home.

Personally, I wouldn’t go higher than 3 meters (10 feet) with a flat ceiling.
Instead of the open space, I could imagine designing the upper part of the ground floor (currently the open space) as a kind of taller sunroom, clearly separated as an extension and playing with the ceiling height. Separated from the upper floor. That way, you wouldn’t have problems with single-story zoning.

Then @Arauki11 mentioned something important: the entrance! The back is nicely planned, but the front entrance is neglected. I’m thinking again about the neglected main house. I mean, you have great options with southern exposure. Instead of planning the whole house, the open plan and parents’ extension are considered separately. I think that’s wrong. What’s the point if two-thirds of the house is planned boring and cramped inside, and the remaining third has to be “overdone” so much that it looks out of place?
And fundamentally, you shouldn’t forget the budget: there isn’t a million or more available now.

I placed the furniture myself to get a better sense of the space, so that is not relevant here. My main concern is the floor plan, especially the planned ceiling height of 6 meters (20 feet). This height is not yet final. Initially, it was our wish, almost a dream. However, we have come to realize that it may cause more problems than benefits. It is precisely because of these uncertainties that I found this forum, and I appreciate your helpful contributions—they are very valuable to us. We are taking notes on everything you share and will carefully organize and consider all advice. One thing is already decided: the entrance will be relocated to where the utility room currently is. It is unlikely that there will be a continuous ceiling height of 6 meters (20 feet) over the entire 4 × 11 meters (13 × 36 feet) area. Unfortunately. By the way, we also really like the idea of a conservatory or sunroom.

I can fully agree with what @ypg just said, and you can trust me that I completely understand that you want to build something special for yourself. However, I would advise you to let go of certain things, such as the gallery, the very high ceilings, the T-shaped bathroom, and all these fixed elements.

A carefully chosen architect should have the task of developing the design based on your needs. Maybe it will include a gallery or even a T-shaped bathroom and other features, but assuming these things as fixed from the start might cause unnecessary constraints elsewhere.

We often see here in the forum the insistence on a straight staircase. I used to like that as well, but in the end, it repeatedly messed up our floor plan. Now the staircase is designed according to what fit well, and we think it turned out especially stylish.

I find computer modeling with pictures risky; rather, visit show homes to get realistic impressions of sizes, spatial feeling, and so on.

As @ypg already said, we have successfully sent our children away long ago and once lived abroad in a house with very high ceilings and lots of glass, where we enjoyed living. So, within our possibilities, we dared to do the same here. With children, it would certainly have been different because you’d have to allocate at least three times 6.5 sq meters (70 sq ft) for them, which we two can freely use. Of course, this depends on the children’s ages (risk of falling), but that tends to settle quickly, as we saw during a recent visit.

I believe your spatial concept is not yet really fixed; once it becomes clearer, it will also become apparent whether a gallery makes sense or perhaps a staggered living level (which I had in the old house and found very elegant), or something else.

We were advised against high rooms with lots of glass for the usual reasons… who is supposed to clean that? I still don’t see that as a problem because we have not only a window-cleaning robot but also some tools that reach everywhere. However, no one needs a 6 m (20 ft) tall shelving unit because it’s neither practical nor visually appealing. Also, such large walls require appropriate decoration—for example, we bought a very large painting—chandeliers or something similar. From what I have seen in the photos so far, it looks like “too much”: those three bulky dormer blocks at the front, the small roof projections between them, and that hall-like area at the back—I really don’t like it; to me, it feels rather rough.

We have a conventional gable roof with a peak height up to 7.20 m (24 ft), which I would probably make a bit lower today, but it’s okay as it is. We don’t have any noise issues; I think it’s because of the roof slope and our floating plank floor with large rugs. The large acoustic picture on the wall, we probably didn’t need it, but we bought it just to be safe.

@wiltshire, for example, solved a noise problem with Lignotrend; that works well without additional measures.

So I also believe that height alone doesn’t add charm to a space but rather the interplay with the other rooms and areas.

I’ll share an older picture of our open gallery. A pure “corridor gallery” without a real living area wouldn’t appeal to me, and maybe it’s just not the right time or place for that with children.

What are the ages of all the residents?

Perhaps you need to change architects, but I would immediately pin this design up and have it RE- and REDRAWN freehand once. In my opinion, the third step was taken before the second here. We have a whole folder full of drafts, ideas, and drawings—take the time you need.

lucaskilam schrieb:

Originally, it was our wish, our dream.

Are you dreaming of a 6m (20 feet) high ceiling? Wow.
As mentioned before, try to let go of such fixed ideas, but still make sure it will be something special in your eyes.

lucaskilam schrieb:

One thing is already certain: the entrance will be moved to where the utility room currently is.

Something like that shouldn’t really be set in stone. The architect should be able to plan freely. It seems you tend to finalize such "unnecessary" details in your mind beforehand.
What I might decide for myself, for example: a highly insulated house, possibly at least partially a wooden facade or maybe a bold exterior color, a master bedroom with a nice view of the greenery, comfortable ceiling heights throughout, possibly folding windows but at least very generous glazed fronts in the open-plan living area with external blinds at least on the south side, air conditioning, a separate TV room, a stylish internal staircase without fixed design, a covered terrace area, walk-in showers without doors, an inviting entrance area (inside and out), and so on – in other words, features that still give the architect real freedom.

lucaskilam schrieb:

I am planning to demolish my existing semi-detached house and build a modern residential home on my property.

Isn’t that going to be an issue? What does the architect say about carrying out the demolition? Obviously, the neighboring house shouldn’t be damaged.
Did you live in the semi-detached house yourself, or did you just buy the plot now?

lucaskilam schrieb:

Our share of the property is 1027 sqm (11,055 sq ft). There is a fixed building area defined, and the property is located in 21109 Hamburg.

Did you buy a house with a bunker?

Take a look at the neighboring buildings—not directly next door, but the many houses in the neighborhood where single-story construction also applies.
What about a basement that extends outward? Is it allowed there to build single-story plus basement? That would give you several options, for example, a split-level design. Some people have probably already done this when individually remodeling their semi-detached houses there.
If there is an old development plan, for example from the 1960s, that would still be legally binding. However, the houses are partly much older—the pre-war semi-detached houses could be remodeled freely. How does Hanse Haus handle this? Also with preliminary building inquiries?
Do you know the neighbors? I would go and check the doorbells and ask if they had any problems with the building authorities regarding their projects.

Arauki11 schrieb:

What are the ages of all the residents?

Thank you very much for the tips. We are 40, 39, 10, 8, and 2 years old.