ᐅ House Floor Plan with a Separate Apartment – Suggestions for Improvement?
Created on: 31 Aug 2022 12:31
M
MarlenP
Hello everyone,
we plan to build a house with two residential units on a 472m2 (5,079 sq ft) plot of land (Unit 1: 143.39m2 (1,543 sq ft) / Unit 2: 69.57m2 (749 sq ft)).
The second unit is intended for my parents, while the main unit is for my family, which includes my spouse and three children (ages 7, 13, and 17).
Since our plot is relatively small, we want to build a compact house to maximize the garden space.
We are currently in the final planning stage and would appreciate your feedback on our project.
We have a feeling that we might have overlooked some important aspects or not paid enough attention to certain details because our planning focus was mainly on the compactness of the house.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 472m2 (5,079 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Perimeter development: south and east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: south/west
Maximum heights / limits: 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, number of storeys: no basement
Number of occupants and ages: Unit 1 – 5 people (ages 43, 38, 17, 13, 7); Unit 2 – 2 people, both over 60
Space needs on ground floor / upper floor:
Office: family use or home office? -
Number of guest stays per year: 2-3 times per year
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern build style: modern
Open kitchen, with or without island: open kitchen, no island
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routines, also reasons why certain features are included or excluded
The house should be compact but still feel spacious.
House Design
Planning by:
- planner from a construction company
- architect: by the architect
- do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is a relatively small house with two residential units.
What do you dislike? Why? Maybe some rooms (children’s rooms and the rooms in the secondary unit) are too small?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000€
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 650,000€
Preferred heating system: district heating
If you had to give up something, which details or expansions
- could you do without: basically nothing – we have already minimized everything.
- could you not do without: the planned number of rooms
Why did the design end up like it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes
A mix of many examples from various magazines…
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We wanted the house to be as compact as possible. Maybe we focused too much on compactness and neglected other important aspects.
What do you like about the house, what do you not like so much, and what would be unacceptable?
we plan to build a house with two residential units on a 472m2 (5,079 sq ft) plot of land (Unit 1: 143.39m2 (1,543 sq ft) / Unit 2: 69.57m2 (749 sq ft)).
The second unit is intended for my parents, while the main unit is for my family, which includes my spouse and three children (ages 7, 13, and 17).
Since our plot is relatively small, we want to build a compact house to maximize the garden space.
We are currently in the final planning stage and would appreciate your feedback on our project.
We have a feeling that we might have overlooked some important aspects or not paid enough attention to certain details because our planning focus was mainly on the compactness of the house.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 472m2 (5,079 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Perimeter development: south and east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: south/west
Maximum heights / limits: 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, number of storeys: no basement
Number of occupants and ages: Unit 1 – 5 people (ages 43, 38, 17, 13, 7); Unit 2 – 2 people, both over 60
Space needs on ground floor / upper floor:
Office: family use or home office? -
Number of guest stays per year: 2-3 times per year
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern build style: modern
Open kitchen, with or without island: open kitchen, no island
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routines, also reasons why certain features are included or excluded
The house should be compact but still feel spacious.
House Design
Planning by:
- planner from a construction company
- architect: by the architect
- do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is a relatively small house with two residential units.
What do you dislike? Why? Maybe some rooms (children’s rooms and the rooms in the secondary unit) are too small?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000€
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 650,000€
Preferred heating system: district heating
If you had to give up something, which details or expansions
- could you do without: basically nothing – we have already minimized everything.
- could you not do without: the planned number of rooms
Why did the design end up like it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes
A mix of many examples from various magazines…
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We wanted the house to be as compact as possible. Maybe we focused too much on compactness and neglected other important aspects.
What do you like about the house, what do you not like so much, and what would be unacceptable?
I completely lack understanding for this cozy treatment of the construction company right now. First, they plan such rubbish, and now they’re acting all high and mighty. I would definitely throw their plans right back in their faces.
Always remember, you’re the one paying for the whole operation. So everything better follow your lead.
Always remember, you’re the one paying for the whole operation. So everything better follow your lead.
Yes, that only makes the situation worse and more appalling. Just consider the cold-bloodedness with which the company here—how shall I put it—“blackmails” the customer.
The family is likely committing their labor for a lifetime to this investment. Instead of respecting that with proper planning, they receive this uninhabitable mess from the supposed professional. And now they are expected not to complain, because otherwise everything will become more expensive. That is simply outrageous. Construction boom or not—I would have a few things to say about that. Sorry, but stories like this really make me angry.
The family is likely committing their labor for a lifetime to this investment. Instead of respecting that with proper planning, they receive this uninhabitable mess from the supposed professional. And now they are expected not to complain, because otherwise everything will become more expensive. That is simply outrageous. Construction boom or not—I would have a few things to say about that. Sorry, but stories like this really make me angry.
K a t j a schrieb:
Yes, that doesn’t make the situation better but rather more contemptible. Just think about the cold-blooded manner in which the company is - how should I put it - the only word that comes to mind is “blackmailing” the customer here.
The family is likely committing their lifelong labor to this investment. Instead of honoring that with proper planning, they get this unlivable mess from a professional(!). And now they are not even allowed to complain, because otherwise everything will become more expensive. That is simply outrageous. Construction boom or not – I’d like to have a word with that. Sorry, but stories like this make me angry. Sorry, but I see it differently, and maybe you should reconsider your perspective and anger.
Even a general contractor must calculate costs and, especially nowadays, cannot hold prices fixed. Anyone who watches reports about how a medium-sized company currently calculates or struggles with budgeting and therefore cannot guarantee a fixed price does not talk about contemptible behavior, cold-bloodedness, or blackmail: they just state the facts when a client waits for their building permit / planning permission and then, once they have it, says: stop, we have to rethink, we might want to make changes... Why should the builder keep their price under those circumstances?
If you hire a general contractor / main contractor, you do not have a creatively free architect, but rather an employee who has to balance efficiency and customer wishes (which are often unspoken) on a modest standard employee salary. Somewhere there has to be a difference between a turnkey house and a custom home with an architect. But expecting a brilliant solution from a €5 (5 USD) mystery box that also fits on a sausage finger is unrealistic.
The original poster didn’t consider several aspects of space planning. That can happen.
The original poster also ended the previous thread here... regardless of whether they were satisfied or not: you use your opportunities and possibilities and make the best of them.
I also don’t know if the accessory apartment (which actually isn’t one) was already discussed when the property was purchased... because here I see a big misunderstanding about the term “accessory apartment”: with even one extra room, it hardly remains a subordinate accessory unit... the hierarchy is only distinguished by the number of children’s rooms.
He didn’t solve it that poorly after all, in your eyes he would have to give up because there is no such thing as a “jack of all trades.” There is always a big compromise... and frankly, it’s up to the client to reconsider their wishes. And you, @K a t j a, also planned the challenge of a second staircase here, which has been heavily criticized...
I had to ask three times over about 15-20 pages to get the seniors’ ages and some other details.
Only then did I optimize my design. If the original poster were my client, that probably would have meant an increase in costs.
ypg schrieb:
Anyone who hires a construction management / contract supervision service (BU/GU) does not get a creatively free architect but rather an employee who has to balance efficiency and the often unspoken customer wishes on a modest standard employee salary. There has to be a difference between a turnkey house build and a custom home with an architect. But expecting a brilliant solution in a €5 (approx. $5.50) surprise package, that also fits a sausage finger, seems unrealistic to me. You are of course right that buying cheap often means paying more later. And anyone who blindly stumbles through such an investment without paying attention definitely shares some responsibility. You also don’t know how many times the construction manager has already said, “this will be tight.” Still, I see a clear advisory responsibility when the planner starts including children's furniture in the plans (reminds me of the tiny tables often found in medical offices).
K a t j a schrieb:
Unfortunately, I completely don’t understand this cozying up to the construction company right now. I am just as unable to follow you here as with
K a t j a schrieb:
and now they’re trying to act tough. That’s why I thought last night that you had posted a comment in the wrong thread – but I just saw with our critic-abuser who has the semi-detached house that you even explicitly quoted this post in reference to here, so it must really have been meant to belong here. Can you tell me the post number where I missed the "cozying up"?
The general contractor did plan badly here, of course, but you can’t blame them for that, because it was "euthanasia on demand." When a client orders a three-family house’s requirements to be squeezed into a single-family house with a granny flat, it is naturally gua[r]anteed[/r] that this will never be ergonomic or elegant.
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