ᐅ Floor plan of an urban villa with a request for suggestions for improvement

Created on: 10 Jul 2015 23:32

Hello everyone
After some time of reading, gathering information, and searching for a suitable plot, we were able to start further planning our house project and would appreciate great suggestions for improvements and feedback on our current floor plan.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 440m2 (approximately 4,735 sq ft)
Slope: none
Building window, building line, and boundary: setback distance: 3m (10 feet) from the street, 4m (13 feet) from the neighboring property
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: hip roof
Architectural style: townhouse villa

Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: townhouse villa with a hip roof, 30° pitch
Basement: yes, 2 levels
Number of occupants: 5 (2 adults, 3 children between 1 and 6 years old)
Space requirements on the ground floor: closed kitchen, living room with bay window, office, guest WC with shower
Space requirements on the upper floor: 4 bedrooms and bathroom
Office: intended to be used as a playroom and guest room
Closed kitchen with dining table
Fireplace
Garage

House Design
Planning by: together with the planner from the construction company
Challenges:
- The plot is not very large and has an irregular shape, which limits options for the house layout. Could it be designed differently?

Access is only possible from the west/southwest side. The minimum setback to the street must be 3m (10 feet), and 4m (13 feet) to the neighboring property. We would prefer the garage not to be directly attached to the house, but are uncertain how to realize this.

- The staircase has no natural light and might be somewhat dark.
- Is the living room too narrow?

Thank you very much in advance for your opinions and suggestions.

marv4513 Jul 2015 16:26

Am I correct in understanding that your staircase to the upper floor starts in the living room? That means your children have to pass by you every time they want to go upstairs – with friends and so on. Later, as teenagers, their friends or partners would sneak quietly through the living room? That wouldn’t work for me...

Musketier13 Jul 2015 17:14

Manu1976 schrieb:

- Bedroom far away from the bathroom

Since this topic keeps coming up, here’s a simple question:
Does it really matter whether the elderly have to take the "long" way or the kids?
In theory, kids should spend a lot more time in their bedrooms than we adults spend in the bedroom. Accordingly, the kids would be making the trip much more often.
It may be that in 20 years I’ll need to get up at night more often and think differently, but by then the kids might have already moved out and the floor plan will be completely different.

Keep in mind, we’re talking about a maximum of 5 meters (16 feet), not a marathon.

Manu197613 Jul 2015 17:40

I might consider turning the small middle bedroom into the bathroom. This would place it in a central location, so everyone would have roughly the same distance to it. The drainage could then be routed through the office. It would be a bit more complex, but not impossible.

Legurit13 Jul 2015 19:45

#10

The higher the lintel, the more light you get – quite simple.
You didn’t address the fundamental problem with the dark room on the upper floor.
What is the structure of the interior walls?
The floor-to-floor height is 2.70 meters (8 ft 10 in), the clear ceiling height is 2.45 meters (8 ft), with a 20 cm (8 inch) floor slab and 5 cm (2 inch) floor buildup on the upper floor – or am I misunderstanding this?

EveundGerd13 Jul 2015 21:05

#11

I would have the architect redraw the plans from scratch, incorporating the new information you now want to take into account.

muejoh14 Jul 2015 09:46

#12

BeHaElJa schrieb:
The higher the lintel, the more light you get – quite simple.
You haven’t addressed the fundamental problem of the dark room on the upper floor.
What is the wall construction of the interior walls?
The floor-to-ceiling height is 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in), the clear height is 2.45 m (8 ft), with a 20 cm (8 in) floor slab and 5 cm (2 in) floor buildup on the upper floor – or am I misunderstanding something?

Currently, the floor-to-ceiling height on the upper floor is as you wrote: 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in) minus 20 cm (8 in) for the ceiling slab and 5 cm (2 in) for the floor buildup (no underfloor heating planned on the upper floor at this stage). The windows are 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) high and each 80 cm (31 in) wide. Obviously, they are located on the north and east corner, but so far we have assumed this will be sufficient (1.60 m by 1.60 m [5 ft 3 in by 5 ft 3 in]). The only alternative I currently see to increase brightness is to enlarge the window on the east side (at the top of the plan) by another 80 cm (31 in), and then do the same on the ground floor for a uniform appearance.

We have briefly discussed the floor construction, which doesn’t cost much more. Is the difference of one brick course so significant? Would the approx. 25 cm (10 in) be noticeable? Would you then also raise the windows higher?
Has anyone got higher ceilings, and is it worthwhile?

I still need to ask about the interior wall construction. We have a follow-up appointment tomorrow.

Thanks

ᐅ Floor plan of an urban villa with a request for suggestions for improvement

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