ᐅ Floor plan of a single-family house approximately 300 sqm, plot size 780 sqm
Created on: 17 Nov 2021 16:26
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_MPCAP_
Hello dear forum members!
I recently discovered this housebuilding forum and am impressed by the constructive feedback participants provide when discussing floor plan drafts.
A few months ago, I purchased a plot of land for a detached single-family home in an established residential area on the outskirts of a major German city. The plan is now to build a high-quality single-family house on this plot. The design will be carried out with an architect, and the construction is intended to be managed through separate trade contracts. A construction manager will also be hired.
Over the past few weeks, I have discussed three design drafts with the architect in iterative steps. I am generally quite satisfied with the current third draft. At the same time, I am not a professional and this is my first time building a house. I am sure there are aspects in the floor plan that I overlook or have not yet identified as problematic. I am extremely grateful for any feedback from forum members!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 780 sqm (8400 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site occupancy index (floor area ratio for footprint): 0.4
Floor space index (total buildable floor area ratio): 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: BUILDING ENVELOPE: 14 meters (46 ft) wide, 15 meters (49 ft) deep; BUILDING LINE 5 meters (16 ft) deep into the plot; BUILDING BOUNDARY 20 meters (66 ft) deep into the plot
Adjacent buildings: Detached single-family houses stand on both left and right sides
Parking spaces: Each side (left and right) will have a garage directly at the property boundary, 3 meters (10 ft) wide each
Number of floors: 1 full floor; the upper floor is restricted to not exceed 75% of the ground floor area
Roof shape: No requirements
Architectural style: (Neo) Classical
Orientation: The plot is oriented east-west (street side facing west, garden side facing east)
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height 8.6 meters (28 ft)
Other requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: Neo-classical style, detached single-family home
Basement, floors: Fully finished basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of occupants, age: Planned for a family with three children (currently childless, but the house is planned and built with future family growth in mind)
Space requirements ground floor and upper floor: Three children’s bedrooms, home office, spacious living area, generous walk-in closet
Office: Family use or home office? Home office
Overnight guests per year: Not frequent
Open or closed design concept: Rather open
Conservative or modern building style: More conservative/classical
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 8 to 10
Fireplace: Yes
Music / stereo wall: Yes
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Yes, two garages
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences
House Design
Who designed it: Architect
- Contractor’s designer
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? Overall, I already quite like the floor plan
What do you not like? Why? Open question: The master bedroom currently faces the street (however, it is a low-traffic street in a residential area)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Construction costs about 3,400 EUR per sqm (approximately 316 USD per sq ft) of living space plus 20% additional costs (architect, structural engineer, surveyor, construction manager, etc.) plus land acquisition plus furnishings
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating system: Research still ongoing
If you have to give up anything, what details/features
- can you do without:
- cannot do without:
Why is the design like it is now? e.g.
Standard draft from the planner?
Which requests have been implemented by the architect? This is the architect’s third draft. For example, a conservatory was planned in an earlier draft, the kitchen was enlarged, the room program on the upper floor was changed, and other fine-tuning adjustments were made.
A mixture 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, summarized in 130 characters?
I AM BASICALLY SATISFIED WITH THE CURRENT FLOOR PLAN FROM THE ARCHITECT (THIS IS THE THIRD DRAFT AFTER MANY REFINEMENTS BY ME), BUT INSPIRED BY THE EXPERTISE IN THIS FORUM AND THEREFORE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ANY CRITICAL FEEDBACK OR OBSERVATIONS.
I recently discovered this housebuilding forum and am impressed by the constructive feedback participants provide when discussing floor plan drafts.
A few months ago, I purchased a plot of land for a detached single-family home in an established residential area on the outskirts of a major German city. The plan is now to build a high-quality single-family house on this plot. The design will be carried out with an architect, and the construction is intended to be managed through separate trade contracts. A construction manager will also be hired.
Over the past few weeks, I have discussed three design drafts with the architect in iterative steps. I am generally quite satisfied with the current third draft. At the same time, I am not a professional and this is my first time building a house. I am sure there are aspects in the floor plan that I overlook or have not yet identified as problematic. I am extremely grateful for any feedback from forum members!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 780 sqm (8400 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site occupancy index (floor area ratio for footprint): 0.4
Floor space index (total buildable floor area ratio): 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: BUILDING ENVELOPE: 14 meters (46 ft) wide, 15 meters (49 ft) deep; BUILDING LINE 5 meters (16 ft) deep into the plot; BUILDING BOUNDARY 20 meters (66 ft) deep into the plot
Adjacent buildings: Detached single-family houses stand on both left and right sides
Parking spaces: Each side (left and right) will have a garage directly at the property boundary, 3 meters (10 ft) wide each
Number of floors: 1 full floor; the upper floor is restricted to not exceed 75% of the ground floor area
Roof shape: No requirements
Architectural style: (Neo) Classical
Orientation: The plot is oriented east-west (street side facing west, garden side facing east)
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height 8.6 meters (28 ft)
Other requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: Neo-classical style, detached single-family home
Basement, floors: Fully finished basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of occupants, age: Planned for a family with three children (currently childless, but the house is planned and built with future family growth in mind)
Space requirements ground floor and upper floor: Three children’s bedrooms, home office, spacious living area, generous walk-in closet
Office: Family use or home office? Home office
Overnight guests per year: Not frequent
Open or closed design concept: Rather open
Conservative or modern building style: More conservative/classical
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 8 to 10
Fireplace: Yes
Music / stereo wall: Yes
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Yes, two garages
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences
House Design
Who designed it: Architect
- Contractor’s designer
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? Overall, I already quite like the floor plan
What do you not like? Why? Open question: The master bedroom currently faces the street (however, it is a low-traffic street in a residential area)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Construction costs about 3,400 EUR per sqm (approximately 316 USD per sq ft) of living space plus 20% additional costs (architect, structural engineer, surveyor, construction manager, etc.) plus land acquisition plus furnishings
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating system: Research still ongoing
If you have to give up anything, what details/features
- can you do without:
- cannot do without:
Why is the design like it is now? e.g.
Standard draft from the planner?
Which requests have been implemented by the architect? This is the architect’s third draft. For example, a conservatory was planned in an earlier draft, the kitchen was enlarged, the room program on the upper floor was changed, and other fine-tuning adjustments were made.
A mixture 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, summarized in 130 characters?
I AM BASICALLY SATISFIED WITH THE CURRENT FLOOR PLAN FROM THE ARCHITECT (THIS IS THE THIRD DRAFT AFTER MANY REFINEMENTS BY ME), BUT INSPIRED BY THE EXPERTISE IN THIS FORUM AND THEREFORE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ANY CRITICAL FEEDBACK OR OBSERVATIONS.
_MPCAP_ schrieb:
1. Regarding the lighting in the center of the house, the plan is to install a larger glass element in the middle of the roof on the street side (i.e., the west side) of the building. On either side of this, two dormers are planned, as shown in the design. The glass element would illuminate the entire air space and thus the center of the house – according to the architect, the light entering through this glass roof element would be roughly eight times greater than that of a normal vertical window. Opinions from the forum are very welcome! With all due respect, that sounds like architectural nonsense. How is the light supposed to reach the living space then? Is one of the children’s rooms for Einstein Junior, who researches light refraction, or is this going to end up like in the Blues Brothers?
Seriously, if the west side faces the street, you should at least try to preserve the south side. And if I were to add a light element on the west side, it would be for a nice private roof terrace or loggia—search for Velux roof balcony online. That would have practical use for enjoying sunset drinks or as a play area for the kids, rather than wasted volume in the air.
Speaking of which, 95sqm (1023 sq ft) of open-plan space plus 20sqm (215 sq ft) for the entrance hall (and another 20sqm (215 sq ft) of air space above) doesn’t feel generous but rather overwhelming due to the hall-like layout and lack of division. Add to that the absence of natural sunlight—this really just won’t work. You’re wasting a lot of space where it’s not needed and where it even feels unlivable, and then there’s this:
ypg schrieb:
Anyway: on this topic, I noticed the toilet doesn’t work, it is located beneath the knee wall and is not accessible 😉 Furthermore, the children’s bathroom is far too small. A guest has to go through the hallway to reach the bathroom if the ground-floor office is to serve as a guest room. The garage layout doesn’t work either. Obsessive symmetry, structural issues, and lighting problems have already been mentioned.
If it absolutely has to be large and expensive, consider a U-shaped house with distinct functional zones instead. This would also allow you to better use the depth of the plot. By the way, how does the house north of you look? The footprint looks interesting.
I know people who live in a very similar house. It’s slightly larger and has an additional floor.
They also have two 3-meter (10-foot) garages attached to the house on the left and right, each with a driveway gate. Unfortunately, their cars are quite large as well, matching the size of the house. Now they always park in front of the garages because it’s difficult to get in and out, and the passage to the house, like in your case, is next to the left garage. However, the car is right up against the house wall there.
Like you, they have a huge, imposing entrance hall with a large chandelier. It definitely looks impressive, but they say it causes a lot of noise (stone stairs, stone floor, smooth walls), so they wouldn’t design it that way again. Also, the entrance hall takes up a lot of space, making the rooms adjoining on the left and right rather narrow.
They only have windows facing the garden at the front in the open-plan living area, but these face west, and the living area is very deep, just like yours. It’s really very dark in there, and they have since installed indirect ceiling lighting throughout to reduce the gloominess.
They also have two 3-meter (10-foot) garages attached to the house on the left and right, each with a driveway gate. Unfortunately, their cars are quite large as well, matching the size of the house. Now they always park in front of the garages because it’s difficult to get in and out, and the passage to the house, like in your case, is next to the left garage. However, the car is right up against the house wall there.
Like you, they have a huge, imposing entrance hall with a large chandelier. It definitely looks impressive, but they say it causes a lot of noise (stone stairs, stone floor, smooth walls), so they wouldn’t design it that way again. Also, the entrance hall takes up a lot of space, making the rooms adjoining on the left and right rather narrow.
They only have windows facing the garden at the front in the open-plan living area, but these face west, and the living area is very deep, just like yours. It’s really very dark in there, and they have since installed indirect ceiling lighting throughout to reduce the gloominess.
Dear forum members,
Thank you very much for the feedback on the draft here in the forum. Based on this, I have worked with the architect to further advance the planning. You can find the current version in the attachment. The following additions will be passed on to the architect for the next draft:
A brief note on the raised questions:
-House orientation: The building envelope is quite clearly defined by the development plan, namely 14 meters wide and 15 meters deep. Building deeper is not allowed, which makes ideas such as an L-shaped house difficult to realize. All houses on the street are oriented east/west. Rotating the house 90 degrees to face south does not make sense in my view, because then there would be no garden in front of the living room but instead a direct view of the neighbor’s garage on the right. I understand the argument that a southern orientation is generally preferable, but unfortunately, I have to take the realities of the plot into account.
-Double garage on the north side: With a 6-meter wide double garage, the house would only be allowed to be 11 meters wide instead of 14 meters, because the 3-meter setback on the south side must still be observed. This would result in a significant loss of space. Is slightly better lighting really worth such a considerable loss of area? I would be interested in your opinions!
-Guest room: This is planned for the basement. The office on the ground floor is therefore not intended as a guest room.
-Garages: These are now wider than previously planned and should hopefully provide sufficient space for getting in and out comfortably.
I would really appreciate your feedback!
Thank you very much for the feedback on the draft here in the forum. Based on this, I have worked with the architect to further advance the planning. You can find the current version in the attachment. The following additions will be passed on to the architect for the next draft:
- Add a large window area on the upper right side of the living room
- Rearrange the TV (rotate it 90 degrees clockwise and then mount it on the wall below)
- Continuous garage door on the left side
- Consider: small window or skylight for the TV area (this would provide an additional independent seating area, for example, if you want to have some quiet time away from the children)
- Consider: extend the wall between the office and TV area slightly upwards
- Consider: glass roof over the balcony!? (Thought: it wouldn’t be visible from below and would improve the brightness of the entrance area)
A brief note on the raised questions:
-House orientation: The building envelope is quite clearly defined by the development plan, namely 14 meters wide and 15 meters deep. Building deeper is not allowed, which makes ideas such as an L-shaped house difficult to realize. All houses on the street are oriented east/west. Rotating the house 90 degrees to face south does not make sense in my view, because then there would be no garden in front of the living room but instead a direct view of the neighbor’s garage on the right. I understand the argument that a southern orientation is generally preferable, but unfortunately, I have to take the realities of the plot into account.
-Double garage on the north side: With a 6-meter wide double garage, the house would only be allowed to be 11 meters wide instead of 14 meters, because the 3-meter setback on the south side must still be observed. This would result in a significant loss of space. Is slightly better lighting really worth such a considerable loss of area? I would be interested in your opinions!
-Guest room: This is planned for the basement. The office on the ground floor is therefore not intended as a guest room.
-Garages: These are now wider than previously planned and should hopefully provide sufficient space for getting in and out comfortably.
I would really appreciate your feedback!
_MPCAP_ schrieb:
I would really appreciate your feedback! It should be well known by now that a lack of dimensions is not appreciated here. By the way, there are rumors that someone once died from over-symmetrizing. At the top, there are two load-bearing walls, with the left one having no counterpart on the ground floor. In the garage on the left side of the plan, you can only exit comfortably if the car is driven in backward or if it is right-hand drive.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
_MPCAP_ schrieb:
Dear forum members,
Thank you very much for the feedback on the design here in the forum. Based on this, I have worked with the architect to further advance the planning. You can find the current status attached. The following additions will be shared with the architect for the next draft:
- Add a large window area at the top right in the living room
- Rearrange the TV (rotate 90 degrees clockwise and then attach it to the wall below)
- Continuous garage door on the left side
- Consider: small window or transom window for the TV area (this would create a separate seating area, for example, when some quiet time from the children is needed)
- Consider: raise the wall between the office and TV area a bit higher
- Consider: glass roof over the balcony? (Thought: it would not be noticeable from below and would improve the brightness of the entrance area)
A brief note on the questions raised:
-House orientation: The building site is clearly defined by the development plan, being 14 meters wide and 15 meters deep (46 feet by 49 feet). Building deeper is not allowed, which makes designs like an angled house difficult to implement. All houses on the street are oriented east/west. Rotating the house 90 degrees to face south does not make sense in my view, because then there would be no garden in front of the living room, but rather a direct view onto the neighbor’s garage on the right. I understand the argument that a southern orientation is generally preferable, but I must also consider the realities of the plot.
-Double garage on the north side: With a 6-meter wide (20 feet) double garage, the house would only be allowed to be 11 meters (36 feet) wide instead of 14 meters (46 feet), because the 3-meter (10 feet) setback on the south side still has to be maintained. This would result in a significant loss of space. Is the slightly better lighting really worth such a large reduction in area? I would be interested to hear your opinions!
-Guest room: This is planned to be built in the basement. The office on the ground floor is therefore not intended to be a guest room.
-Garages: These are now wider than previously planned and should hopefully provide sufficient space for getting in and out.
I would really appreciate your feedback! Hello, I came across your post while searching for east-facing gardens 🙂
Have you already started building? Have you stuck with the plans? We are currently planning a very similar house with an east garden and the street on the west side. I would be happy to hear about your experiences.
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