ᐅ General Criticism Regarding Architecture, Layout, and Exterior Appearance
Created on: 29 Nov 2018 13:55
C
Christian K.
House Design
Who designed it: Architect
What we like: Layout, lots of natural light, practical despite design focus, space-saving (more garden area)
What we dislike: Some of the exterior appearance, many stairs
Why does the design look the way it does?
We generally like the Bauhaus style but not monotonous buildings. Since we don’t have enough space for a nice Bauhaus-style house, we preferred a city villa or a modern pitched roof. However, we then saw designs with a setback floor, which we liked.
Advantages of the setback floor: Bedrooms and bathrooms separated (from the children, etc.), nice views, smaller building footprint, easier installation of photovoltaic systems
Disadvantages of the setback floor: Many stairs (especially challenging later in life), no roof space for storage
What do you think are its main strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: Orientation—for example, stairs located on the north side, bright staircase avoiding a dark space, bathrooms with morning light, corner windows providing more evening light
Weaknesses: Front exterior facade
Our "problem"
The architect incorporated our requirements (number of rooms, storage for existing furniture, etc.), and the original design looked prettier, but—for example—we didn’t want floor-to-ceiling windows in the children’s rooms. The height of the window sills visually isn’t ideal but works better for room use.
Our problem is that we are uncertain about the design because it is quite unusual. Also, considering a possible future sale: While we probably won’t sell, it could happen in an emergency. Then the question is whether the unique design might deter many buyers.
If we had chosen a city villa or pitched roof, we probably wouldn’t have these concerns and might have less garden space but more storage.
Maybe we also hesitate because we only have this one option and feel somewhat pressured to accept it. It could be that if we saw another design with a city villa or pitched roof, we might still choose this design because we would then have alternatives and a better basis for comparison. Do you understand what I mean?
What is the main fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
1. Could there be issues with the architecture if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments on the design?
P.S. The facade color will be gray and not the brown tone shown in the drawings.
Who designed it: Architect
What we like: Layout, lots of natural light, practical despite design focus, space-saving (more garden area)
What we dislike: Some of the exterior appearance, many stairs
Why does the design look the way it does?
We generally like the Bauhaus style but not monotonous buildings. Since we don’t have enough space for a nice Bauhaus-style house, we preferred a city villa or a modern pitched roof. However, we then saw designs with a setback floor, which we liked.
Advantages of the setback floor: Bedrooms and bathrooms separated (from the children, etc.), nice views, smaller building footprint, easier installation of photovoltaic systems
Disadvantages of the setback floor: Many stairs (especially challenging later in life), no roof space for storage
What do you think are its main strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: Orientation—for example, stairs located on the north side, bright staircase avoiding a dark space, bathrooms with morning light, corner windows providing more evening light
Weaknesses: Front exterior facade
Our "problem"
The architect incorporated our requirements (number of rooms, storage for existing furniture, etc.), and the original design looked prettier, but—for example—we didn’t want floor-to-ceiling windows in the children’s rooms. The height of the window sills visually isn’t ideal but works better for room use.
Our problem is that we are uncertain about the design because it is quite unusual. Also, considering a possible future sale: While we probably won’t sell, it could happen in an emergency. Then the question is whether the unique design might deter many buyers.
If we had chosen a city villa or pitched roof, we probably wouldn’t have these concerns and might have less garden space but more storage.
Maybe we also hesitate because we only have this one option and feel somewhat pressured to accept it. It could be that if we saw another design with a city villa or pitched roof, we might still choose this design because we would then have alternatives and a better basis for comparison. Do you understand what I mean?
What is the main fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
1. Could there be issues with the architecture if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments on the design?
P.S. The facade color will be gray and not the brown tone shown in the drawings.
C
Christian K.5 Dec 2018 15:19dertill schrieb:
To add my two cents:
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, and then half of them are blocked by a sofa right in front. This not only blocks the outside view, but the sofa itself then offers a view of... a wall with a black TV box.
This is not a one-off case; it’s done quite frequently.
My personal suggestion would be to rotate the sofa 180° for a double view outside: from the sofa itself and from the dining area, without any obstructed views.
Solution for the TV box, which probably won’t be sold as much in 10 years anyway: a short-throw projector / laser projector mounted on the ceiling above the window with a retractable screen. Yes, this also bothers us, and your suggestion will be implemented sooner or later.
Regarding the rest of the discussion... My actual two questions were:
1. Do you think there could be architectural issues if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments on the design?
The second question was heavily discussed and the discussion certainly shifted focus. In hindsight, the additional documents make sense, and people wanted the floor area ratio, plot ratio, etc. I also find it unfair to accuse us of not filling out the questionnaire properly. I could be sarcastic and claim that the first post wasn’t read, since the questionnaire was answered. Yes, some questions were left unanswered, but I gave the reasons for that.
We left some questions unanswered because we did not want the discussion to get too detailed. As I said, see the questions that were actually relevant. Of course, one is always wiser in hindsight.
The discussion was great in the first few posts, and nobody minded the absence of the cadastral map or that things like the broadcasting fee were missing. But then it derailed as soon as we disagreed, and the mood got worse. I certainly contributed to that as well, but I do not take full blame for it.
Here’s another good example of how the topic gets sidetracked. Although no one ever mentioned a sloping site and the drawings accurately represent reality, these were labeled as “distorted.” Then it was speculated that it might be a hillside plot, and therefore a basement might make more sense. These are exactly the kinds of discussions we wanted to avoid, because such threads cannot cover all topics at once.
I hope you understand what I mean, and maybe I’m wrong too, but I find some of the messages here not very friendly.
To satisfy your curiosity, here is the cadastral map and traffic area
Strange, I feel a bit offended now. To my knowledge, I asked politely for the missing information. It was not clear here that the original poster did not want a discussion about the basement or floor plan. And isn’t it legitimate to ask about the slope when so much backfilling is required?
So if you prefer it that way:
This is a rather nice house. Period.
So if you prefer it that way:
This is a rather nice house. Period.
Christian K. schrieb:
Although there was never any mention of a sloping site That doesn’t mean much; in the picture, many of the shown designs are placed on a green “Lego baseplate,” which represents all elevations as flat levels, while in reality the plots are as uneven as a military training ground after a mole infestation.
Christian K. schrieb:
and the drawings exactly represent reality, yet these are described as 'distorted.' In a “3D” isometric view, the weighting of dimensions and perspectives is generally hard to judge for an “outside” observer, whereas the core team here has plenty of experience reading zoning plans and survey maps (with elevation markers).
Christian K. schrieb:
Then it drifted off [...] but I don’t take full blame for that. Drifting off is a strong word, and blame even more so.
Christian K. schrieb:
My actual two questions were:
1. Do you think there could be problems with the architecture if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments about the design? To summarize:
1. I don’t see any problem with the architecture; the house is definitely not far from mainstream taste, although depending on the location it might cross the avant-garde boundary of a rural village. A buyer will never say they would have paid more for a more pronounced S-shaped facade or give you a hard time for offering a house without a built-in dressing room.
2. My general comment is that what I would do differently is purely a matter of personal taste. You will use your sauna without us, so it doesn’t matter whether you build it or not—as with all our suggestions, they are merely a quarry to pick from or ignore. You should pay attention to the correlation between terrain modeling and drainage as well as elevation survey points for the eaves height, etc. You can put your aquarium inside our sauna.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
C
Christian K.5 Dec 2018 16:45@kaho674
This wasn’t directed at you specifically. I deliberately left out quotes here to avoid anyone feeling offended. For the past few pages, people (myself included) have been feeling quickly attacked and reacting accordingly. You are an example with your last two lines.
This wasn’t directed at you specifically. I deliberately left out quotes here to avoid anyone feeling offended. For the past few pages, people (myself included) have been feeling quickly attacked and reacting accordingly. You are an example with your last two lines.
C
Christian K.5 Dec 2018 16:5311ant schrieb:
That doesn’t mean much; in the picture, many of the shown designs are placed on a green “Lego base,” which represents all heights as flat levels, whereas in reality the plots are uneven like a military training ground after a mole infestation.
In a “3D” isometric view, the weighting of dimensions and perspective is generally difficult to assess for “outsiders,” while here at least the “core team” is quite experienced in reading development plans and survey maps (with elevation markers). OK, I understand, but the house will not be built on uneven ground; it will be prepared beforehand. Of course, many designs are drawn on flat land and don’t match the actual situation. However, our architect has accurately drawn the road and so on. Naturally, there is some skepticism.
The “issue” in the new development area is that the construction road is currently about 1.3m (4.3 ft) above the ground. Therefore, essentially all plots have to be raised. In neighboring municipalities, this has already been the case, and most then position the slab (if there is no basement) at street level. Whether that means the top edge, bottom edge, etc. In my opinion, no one will leave their plot that low, because that would likely cause problems with rainwater. So far, we want the bottom edge of the foundation to be at street level.
For me, this is already off-topic, but I’m happy to answer the questions.
Christian K. schrieb:
So far, we want to measure from the bottom edge of the floor to the top edge of the street.
For me, however, this is already off-topic, It’s not necessarily off-topic just because it goes beyond your original question. For example, if you calculate heights from the manhole cover and the development plan uses the original ground level, your design will end up truncated, and the bedroom will have to be moved to the lower floor.
Or if your neighbor raises their ground level less, your carport will be set back from the boundary by a water runoff channel.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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