ᐅ Modern single-family home designed by an architect in southern Germany

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 701 m² (8,435 sq ft)
Slope: None
Floor Area Ratio: 0.4
Building envelope: Marked in the current plan as “brackets”; rotation of the building envelope has been tentatively approved by the planning authority
Number of parking spaces: Garage within the garage building envelope (existing and to be retained from 1980, 6.48 m x 4.48 m (21 ft 3 in x 14 ft 8 in))
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof style: Gable roof, 45°–55° pitch
Architectural style:
Orientation:
Maximum heights/limits: Top of roof = 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in); ridge height 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
Further requirements:

Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Modern single-family house.
Basement = Yes. Number of floors =
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults in their early 30s and 2 small children (3 years & 0.5 years)
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Office: Home office—currently 5 days a week; after Covid likely 4 days a week
Overnight guests per year: So far, no regular overnight guests.
Open architecture, modern design, open kitchen, preferably with a cooking island
Number of dining seats: When the whole family is present, 12 adults and 4 children
Fireplace: No
Music/stereo wall: Hi-fi only; TV will be located in the attic level (top floor)
Roof terrace: Yes.
Technology: Controlled mechanical ventilation, KNX smart home system
Garage, carport: Garage already exists
Utility garden, greenhouse: Vegetable garden planned but manageable in size for two children and one full-time earner

House Design
Designer: Architect
What do you especially like? Spacious entrance area despite the small building envelope. Large living/kitchen area
What do you dislike? The floor plans for ground floor and first floor have already been revised once; this version 2 now meets our expectations. The attic layout could still be improved. It is planned to be used as a guest room and TV room.

My architect strongly favors building to the highest energy efficiency standards. The energy consultant believes KfW 55 standard is just achievable – I want to avoid excessive insulation because otherwise the living space would shrink too much due to the very small building envelope. I would prefer KfW 55 standard, but I expect the planned photovoltaic system to compensate for the slightly higher energy consumption.

The floor height on the ground floor has been increased by one stair step (+1 step = about 30 cm (12 in)) after consultation with heating engineers due to the ventilation system. Plans are being updated accordingly. I am quite alone on this, as my architect has never designed a house with controlled mechanical ventilation before.

Architect’s cost estimate: 690,000 €
Personal maximum budget for house including fixtures and fittings: See architect’s cost estimate

Preferred heating system: Air-to-water heat pump or ground-source heat pump (mainly due to noise concerns in the garden and slightly better cooling performance via underfloor heating). Payback on ground-source heat pump likely won’t occur within my lifetime.

If you had to make compromises, on which details or extensions
-could you compromise: Sun deck or the entire attic floor in an emergency.
-could not compromise: The landing staircase, even if it is not very space-efficient.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

I believe we have created a good floor plan with the architect. I hope you can review the plans with fresh eyes to prevent me from overlooking possible issues. I also welcome ideas for bathroom and kitchen layouts.

With that, I now venture from quietly reading to stepping into the lion’s den. I will provide scaled plans with dimensions after receipt if desired.