ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Passive House Single-Family Home with Basement, 220 m²
Created on: 6 Jan 2021 16:35
S
Sebastian_83
Hello dear forum members,
I hope you all had a good start into the new year.
I would like to briefly introduce our project and would really appreciate your opinions and feedback on the current design.
Our preliminary building permit was approved by the local authority in November 2020, and we are now in the floor plan development phase with an architect.
We were not convinced by the first draft, so we started planning on our own during our free time.
Here are the key details to consider:
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size approximately 400m² (4300 sq ft)
Slope – none
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building envelope 10m x 13m (33 ft x 43 ft), see attachment (marked in dark blue)
Edge development: Directly attached to existing building
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 3 levels – basement, ground floor, upper floor with 1.5m (5 ft) knee wall inside (+ open attic)
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Settler house / Passive house in timber frame construction
Orientation: see image
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height 9.2m (30 ft), eave height 4.8m (16 ft), knee wall inside 1.5m (5 ft)
Client requirements
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 toddlers
Space requirements for ground and upper floors: approximately 75m² (800 sq ft) each
Office: family use or home office? Home office twice a week
Guest sleepers per year: 2 times 2 persons
Open or closed architecture: see design
Conservative or modern style: see design
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: yes, already installed
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage in existing building available
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden bed planned
House design
Designer: Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
Location of living room, lots of light with evening sun, direct access to quiet garden area
Open intermediate ceilings on upper floor for extra space in children’s rooms and office above bedroom
What do you not like? Why?
Office location not yet fully decided if attic is suitable. Basement option might be too dark over time despite light well...
Cost estimate by architect/planner: –
Personal budget limit for house, including fixtures: –
Preferred heating system: groundwater heat pump and underfloor heating
If you have to give up something, which features or extensions
Features you could give up: Sauna
Features you cannot give up: Large kitchen
Why is the design like it is now?
When the children eventually leave home, the separability of the stairwell for future upper floor rental use is important.
From this, the entrance area was developed, and after many discussions with my wife, it turned out as it is now.
The architect’s first draft was a more standard design that did not really align with our preliminary discussion. Probably due to the Christmas rush, he had no more time but wanted to submit something. There was actually no time pressure on our side.
Outstanding topics are:
- Floor heights / ceiling thicknesses / general floor construction
- How far back the house should extend (for daylight input to southwest windows in living room)
- Fixed or movable partition between dining room and living room?
- Design of basement light well
- Design of gallery ceiling / gallery room height
- Are the children’s rooms large enough?
- Windows: Check general window sizes
Upper floor:
- Skylights in children’s and bedroom: how to clean?
- Skylight in bathroom?
- Skylight in upper floor corridor? Where (considering extension) and how to clean?
- Where to place windows in stairwell?
Ground floor:
- Size of both living room windows
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
General criticism and comments are very welcome; there is always room for improvement. I am open to honest feedback, but please keep it constructive.
Personal note at the end:
A considerable amount of time and thought has gone into this. Still, since it’s self-designed, there are certainly some construction errors. Please excuse that – I’m not a professional, and with a family, you often don’t have time to work everything out perfectly. But I hope this is still useful.
Thank you all & best regards
I hope you all had a good start into the new year.
I would like to briefly introduce our project and would really appreciate your opinions and feedback on the current design.
Our preliminary building permit was approved by the local authority in November 2020, and we are now in the floor plan development phase with an architect.
We were not convinced by the first draft, so we started planning on our own during our free time.
Here are the key details to consider:
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size approximately 400m² (4300 sq ft)
Slope – none
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building envelope 10m x 13m (33 ft x 43 ft), see attachment (marked in dark blue)
Edge development: Directly attached to existing building
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 3 levels – basement, ground floor, upper floor with 1.5m (5 ft) knee wall inside (+ open attic)
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Settler house / Passive house in timber frame construction
Orientation: see image
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height 9.2m (30 ft), eave height 4.8m (16 ft), knee wall inside 1.5m (5 ft)
Client requirements
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 toddlers
Space requirements for ground and upper floors: approximately 75m² (800 sq ft) each
Office: family use or home office? Home office twice a week
Guest sleepers per year: 2 times 2 persons
Open or closed architecture: see design
Conservative or modern style: see design
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: yes, already installed
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage in existing building available
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden bed planned
House design
Designer: Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
Location of living room, lots of light with evening sun, direct access to quiet garden area
Open intermediate ceilings on upper floor for extra space in children’s rooms and office above bedroom
What do you not like? Why?
Office location not yet fully decided if attic is suitable. Basement option might be too dark over time despite light well...
Cost estimate by architect/planner: –
Personal budget limit for house, including fixtures: –
Preferred heating system: groundwater heat pump and underfloor heating
If you have to give up something, which features or extensions
Features you could give up: Sauna
Features you cannot give up: Large kitchen
Why is the design like it is now?
When the children eventually leave home, the separability of the stairwell for future upper floor rental use is important.
From this, the entrance area was developed, and after many discussions with my wife, it turned out as it is now.
The architect’s first draft was a more standard design that did not really align with our preliminary discussion. Probably due to the Christmas rush, he had no more time but wanted to submit something. There was actually no time pressure on our side.
Outstanding topics are:
- Floor heights / ceiling thicknesses / general floor construction
- How far back the house should extend (for daylight input to southwest windows in living room)
- Fixed or movable partition between dining room and living room?
- Design of basement light well
- Design of gallery ceiling / gallery room height
- Are the children’s rooms large enough?
- Windows: Check general window sizes
Upper floor:
- Skylights in children’s and bedroom: how to clean?
- Skylight in bathroom?
- Skylight in upper floor corridor? Where (considering extension) and how to clean?
- Where to place windows in stairwell?
Ground floor:
- Size of both living room windows
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
General criticism and comments are very welcome; there is always room for improvement. I am open to honest feedback, but please keep it constructive.
Personal note at the end:
A considerable amount of time and thought has gone into this. Still, since it’s self-designed, there are certainly some construction errors. Please excuse that – I’m not a professional, and with a family, you often don’t have time to work everything out perfectly. But I hope this is still useful.
Thank you all & best regards
S
Sebastian_837 Jan 2021 12:50Thank you for your responses, feedback, and suggestions.
Yes, we will also reconsider swapping the living room and kitchen. However, that would likely result in a pass-through kitchen, and I am not sure how practical that would be. Do you have any experience or recommendations on how to handle that well?
For the sauna, I don’t necessarily need natural light, but I understand the concern. I’m not entirely satisfied with the current layout either, but the room is planned more with the idea of “better than no sauna.” I also don’t want light wells in the backyard. It’s always a compromise, and we are still looking for the best possible solution.
The terrace will be in front of the house; behind the house, there will probably also be a small area in the garden for a small table and garden chairs.
I hope the shading on the southwest side will be sufficient with roller shutters (external blinds).
Basically, next week, when our architect is back, we will continue working with him on the planning.
He is very good and will certainly help us find the best possible compromise based on our now more concrete ideas and with some more time, using the draft as a starting point.
We will also continue the budget discussion with him then, which I did not want to handle here. He has already given us the budget range we need to stay within.
Thanks again for your time and all the feedback, and feel free to share further suggestions or criticism.
Wishing you all well and good health.
Yes, we will also reconsider swapping the living room and kitchen. However, that would likely result in a pass-through kitchen, and I am not sure how practical that would be. Do you have any experience or recommendations on how to handle that well?
For the sauna, I don’t necessarily need natural light, but I understand the concern. I’m not entirely satisfied with the current layout either, but the room is planned more with the idea of “better than no sauna.” I also don’t want light wells in the backyard. It’s always a compromise, and we are still looking for the best possible solution.
The terrace will be in front of the house; behind the house, there will probably also be a small area in the garden for a small table and garden chairs.
I hope the shading on the southwest side will be sufficient with roller shutters (external blinds).
Basically, next week, when our architect is back, we will continue working with him on the planning.
He is very good and will certainly help us find the best possible compromise based on our now more concrete ideas and with some more time, using the draft as a starting point.
We will also continue the budget discussion with him then, which I did not want to handle here. He has already given us the budget range we need to stay within.
Thanks again for your time and all the feedback, and feel free to share further suggestions or criticism.
Wishing you all well and good health.
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