ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for a City Villa of Approximately 180 sqm with Basement in Berlin
Created on: 18 Jun 2020 00:15
J
julimos
Hello everyone,
after reading a lot and gathering suggestions and ideas, I would like to present our building project and hope for advice on potential pitfalls as well as recommendations for optimizations or useful changes.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 710 sqm (7,645 sq ft), 19 m (62 ft) wide, approximately 37 m (121 ft) long
Slope: Completely flat
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: setback lines are 5 m (16 ft) from the street and 5 m (16 ft) from the right property boundary. Because it is a dead-end street, the driveway must be placed to the left of the house, leaving 14 m (46 ft) for house plus driveway. Therefore, the floor plan is about 10 m (33 ft) wide.
Edge development: None
Number of parking spaces: No requirement
Number of floors: up to 2
Roof type: -
Architectural style: §34 - almost all building types exist on this street
Orientation: -
Maximum heights / limits: 2-storey, open development, otherwise §34 Federal Building Code
Other requirements: -
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Brick-clad city villa, main windows and room orientation facing the garden to the rear
Basement, floors: Basement plus 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (1 and 4 years old)
Ground floor room requirements: Living room, kitchen, guest room, guest/additional bathroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children's rooms
Office: Currently partly home office, could become 100% home office
Guest stays per year: More than 50 nights
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Semi-open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: No
Garage, carport: Driveway with 1–2 parking spaces is sufficient
House Design
Who developed the plan: A mix of a professional planner (initial draft) and DIY adjustments
We particularly like: Floor-to-ceiling windows on ground and upper floors facing the garden (rear), open kitchen, short distances between kitchen and basement, and living room and upper floor
What we dislike: Large hallway upstairs – caused by the staircase orientation on the ground floor and the unfavorable lot shape
General contractor offer: 410,000 + approx. 120,000 additional costs/furnishing/floor coverings/painting/demolition of existing building (We plan to do much of this ourselves and have no extravagant demands)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 550,000
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-water heat pump (gas is too far away, borehole drilling not economical. Possibly vertical loop heat collector if space is sufficient according to heating load calculation, but the garden has several trees and installations that cannot or should not be removed)
If you had to give up, on which details/extensions
-could you do without: Additional toilet upstairs, although we currently miss it due to frequent guests
-could you not do without: Large windows to the garden/terrace & basement (There is still an existing (far too small) house with a basement on the plot. Without a basement, almost as much earth would have to be moved). We will not finish the basement initially (only tiling in the utility room and front basement area planned)
Why does the design look like it does now?
A mix of a standard design and many adaptations. The shape of the plot strongly dictates the form of the house, which can only be extended to the rear.
The basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters:
Does the floor plan work from your perspective? Should the staircase be rotated after all (with the drawback that the access to the upper floor passes through the "mudroom" area)?
Have we completely overlooked anything?
Thank you very much!
after reading a lot and gathering suggestions and ideas, I would like to present our building project and hope for advice on potential pitfalls as well as recommendations for optimizations or useful changes.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 710 sqm (7,645 sq ft), 19 m (62 ft) wide, approximately 37 m (121 ft) long
Slope: Completely flat
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: setback lines are 5 m (16 ft) from the street and 5 m (16 ft) from the right property boundary. Because it is a dead-end street, the driveway must be placed to the left of the house, leaving 14 m (46 ft) for house plus driveway. Therefore, the floor plan is about 10 m (33 ft) wide.
Edge development: None
Number of parking spaces: No requirement
Number of floors: up to 2
Roof type: -
Architectural style: §34 - almost all building types exist on this street
Orientation: -
Maximum heights / limits: 2-storey, open development, otherwise §34 Federal Building Code
Other requirements: -
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Brick-clad city villa, main windows and room orientation facing the garden to the rear
Basement, floors: Basement plus 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (1 and 4 years old)
Ground floor room requirements: Living room, kitchen, guest room, guest/additional bathroom
Upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children's rooms
Office: Currently partly home office, could become 100% home office
Guest stays per year: More than 50 nights
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Semi-open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: No
Garage, carport: Driveway with 1–2 parking spaces is sufficient
House Design
Who developed the plan: A mix of a professional planner (initial draft) and DIY adjustments
We particularly like: Floor-to-ceiling windows on ground and upper floors facing the garden (rear), open kitchen, short distances between kitchen and basement, and living room and upper floor
What we dislike: Large hallway upstairs – caused by the staircase orientation on the ground floor and the unfavorable lot shape
General contractor offer: 410,000 + approx. 120,000 additional costs/furnishing/floor coverings/painting/demolition of existing building (We plan to do much of this ourselves and have no extravagant demands)
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: 550,000
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-water heat pump (gas is too far away, borehole drilling not economical. Possibly vertical loop heat collector if space is sufficient according to heating load calculation, but the garden has several trees and installations that cannot or should not be removed)
If you had to give up, on which details/extensions
-could you do without: Additional toilet upstairs, although we currently miss it due to frequent guests
-could you not do without: Large windows to the garden/terrace & basement (There is still an existing (far too small) house with a basement on the plot. Without a basement, almost as much earth would have to be moved). We will not finish the basement initially (only tiling in the utility room and front basement area planned)
Why does the design look like it does now?
A mix of a standard design and many adaptations. The shape of the plot strongly dictates the form of the house, which can only be extended to the rear.
The basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters:
Does the floor plan work from your perspective? Should the staircase be rotated after all (with the drawback that the access to the upper floor passes through the "mudroom" area)?
Have we completely overlooked anything?
Thank you very much!
I like it better.
Reconsider the sofa position. The view faces a wall.
I would reduce the kitchen depth slightly and give more space to the dining area, or consider sliding doors.
The kitchen is ergonomically too deep. The dining area is very tight when the balcony door is open. Swing radius of the balcony door + 80cm (31.5 inches) minimum seating distance + table + 80cm (31.5 inches).
I didn’t notice anything in the upper floor. Is the wardrobe space in the bedroom and office sufficient for you?
Reconsider the sofa position. The view faces a wall.
I would reduce the kitchen depth slightly and give more space to the dining area, or consider sliding doors.
The kitchen is ergonomically too deep. The dining area is very tight when the balcony door is open. Swing radius of the balcony door + 80cm (31.5 inches) minimum seating distance + table + 80cm (31.5 inches).
I didn’t notice anything in the upper floor. Is the wardrobe space in the bedroom and office sufficient for you?
julimos schrieb:
People are often in the couch area to play, chat, or read, so I like when you can have a view towards the garden. It doesn’t take care of itself. I have already said: in summer, you either stay on the terrace or you have to do some gardening. During the darker months, a dark garden is quite boring as an evening activity.
Hello, first of all, thank you all very much! Without you, the current design probably wouldn’t have come about, and we like it much better than the one on page 1!!!
Good point, maybe we need a new sofa that’s “mirrored,” so our current one would actually fit.
Yes, luckily this doesn’t need to be finalized yet. For sliding doors, the opening would probably have to be a bit smaller. The kitchen being 15–30cm (6–12 inches) smaller might work; we’ll have to plan the kitchen exactly. If the closet in the hallway gets narrower, the door could be moved down a bit and shifted. The seating area now has 3.30m (11 feet) of space from the open door, which is 0.70m (2 feet) more than your minimum.
The bedroom has over 50% more than we currently have, and if we can put the closet in the hallway by the bathroom entrance, bedding etc. can go there. You never really have enough space in the office, but old stuff can also be stored in the basement.
Both are valid points, but from the sofa, we’d rather look out into the garden than at the neighbor’s house and, depending on the driveway, also at our car. And I hope we don’t have to work in the garden all summer.
haydee schrieb:
Reconsider the sofa position. The view is towards the wall.
Good point, maybe we need a new sofa that’s “mirrored,” so our current one would actually fit.
haydee schrieb:
I would give the kitchen a bit less depth and give more to the dining area. Or sliding doors.
Yes, luckily this doesn’t need to be finalized yet. For sliding doors, the opening would probably have to be a bit smaller. The kitchen being 15–30cm (6–12 inches) smaller might work; we’ll have to plan the kitchen exactly. If the closet in the hallway gets narrower, the door could be moved down a bit and shifted. The seating area now has 3.30m (11 feet) of space from the open door, which is 0.70m (2 feet) more than your minimum.
haydee schrieb:
I didn’t notice anything on the upper floor. Do you have enough closet space in the bedroom and office?
The bedroom has over 50% more than we currently have, and if we can put the closet in the hallway by the bathroom entrance, bedding etc. can go there. You never really have enough space in the office, but old stuff can also be stored in the basement.
ypg schrieb:
It doesn’t take care of itself. I already said: in summer, you either stay on the terrace or you have to do something in the garden; in the darker season, a dark garden is quite boring as an evening activity.
Both are valid points, but from the sofa, we’d rather look out into the garden than at the neighbor’s house and, depending on the driveway, also at our car. And I hope we don’t have to work in the garden all summer.
julimos schrieb:
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (1 and 4 years) So far, I haven’t really understood what the objections to a working standard design would be (?)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
I haven’t really figured out yet what would speak against a functional standard design (?)The orientation of the plot and the maximum house width (about 10m (33 feet)) in relation to the desired number of rooms and total area.
All the designs I have seen for approximately 10x12m (33x39 feet) are oriented along the "long" side of the house.
If you know of a standard design that would fit these requirements, I would of course be happy to hear about it!
julimos schrieb:
The designs I’ve seen for roughly 10x12m (33x39 feet) are all oriented along the “long” side of the house.Rectangular floor plans accessed via the gable end are less common but not exactly rare either. If neither the residents nor the site are particularly unusual, I wouldn’t rely on a custom design. Standardized plans simplify many aspects, especially when it comes to building a single-family home.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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