Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 931 sqm (10,016 sq ft)
Slope: yes
Development according to § 34 Building Code
Number of parking spaces: 4 (two separate and two in front of the garage)
Number of floors: Basement and ground floor
Roof type: hipped roof, 22 degrees
Style: classic
Orientation: south/west
Client Requirements
Basement: yes, due to sloped plot
Floors: 2
Number of occupants: 3 adults plus two children: 3 months and almost 3 years
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use in guest room and an additional room for home office
Overnight guests per year: 5
Open floor plan
Conservative and/or modern construction style
Open kitchen with half island
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: yes
Balcony: yes, later terrace on the south side on the roof of the planned prefabricated garage
Garage: double garage as prefabricated unit directly adjacent
House Design
Planner: Architect
What we like most: the large living/dining/kitchen area
What we like less: possibly the hallways
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 350,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
Hello dear forum,
We would like to present our planned house now and would appreciate some honest feedback. We are generally very happy with it and have already submitted the building permit / planning permission application. But maybe there is still something we don’t see.
The ground floor (or basement level) will be completely open at the front, so we want to enter the house at ground level or drive in through the garage. The other sides will partly be embedded in the slope.
The two smaller children’s bedrooms on the upper floor are planned for the first years of the children. When they get older, they will move to the ground floor where the two larger rooms are.
Please don’t take the furniture layout too seriously. This does not matter at this stage.
Best regards and many thanks!!!
Plot size: 931 sqm (10,016 sq ft)
Slope: yes
Development according to § 34 Building Code
Number of parking spaces: 4 (two separate and two in front of the garage)
Number of floors: Basement and ground floor
Roof type: hipped roof, 22 degrees
Style: classic
Orientation: south/west
Client Requirements
Basement: yes, due to sloped plot
Floors: 2
Number of occupants: 3 adults plus two children: 3 months and almost 3 years
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use in guest room and an additional room for home office
Overnight guests per year: 5
Open floor plan
Conservative and/or modern construction style
Open kitchen with half island
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: yes
Balcony: yes, later terrace on the south side on the roof of the planned prefabricated garage
Garage: double garage as prefabricated unit directly adjacent
House Design
Planner: Architect
What we like most: the large living/dining/kitchen area
What we like less: possibly the hallways
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 350,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
Hello dear forum,
We would like to present our planned house now and would appreciate some honest feedback. We are generally very happy with it and have already submitted the building permit / planning permission application. But maybe there is still something we don’t see.
The ground floor (or basement level) will be completely open at the front, so we want to enter the house at ground level or drive in through the garage. The other sides will partly be embedded in the slope.
The two smaller children’s bedrooms on the upper floor are planned for the first years of the children. When they get older, they will move to the ground floor where the two larger rooms are.
Please don’t take the furniture layout too seriously. This does not matter at this stage.
Best regards and many thanks!!!
Personally, I would also prefer the living area to be on the ground floor, but I think that really comes down to personal taste. I have a friend who loves sitting on her balcony, even though she has a garden... So if that’s what someone wants, that’s fine. However, I would at least plan a staircase from the balcony directly down to the garden.
The entrance area is completely poorly planned. If this really comes from an architect, that alone is a reason to question their qualifications, sorry. There are too many doors, small rooms with no space for furniture, so how are you supposed to fit four people in there when you all come home together? Or even with strollers? This needs to be redesigned, and if nothing else, the extended utility room should be removed—meaning directly from the garage into the hallway, with the utility room rectangular in shape.
Both bathrooms would be too small for my personal taste; I prefer them a bit more spacious. But again, that’s a matter of preference.
What is an absolute no-go, though, is the walk-in closet in the bedroom. There is no space for any wardrobes at all. If my poor eyesight doesn’t deceive me, the depth at the bottom of the plan measures 70cm (27.5 inches) including the wall—so about 60cm (24 inches) of usable internal space. A wardrobe needs to have a minimum depth of 60cm (24 inches), and it’s not nailed to the wall; it stands a few centimeters away. On the other side, 49cm (19 inches) including the wall is indicated. I do believe you don’t need two 60cm (24-inch) wardrobes, since T-shirts, sweaters, etc., can be stored folded—but you do need 60cm (24 inches) if you want to hang clothes. However, this is just too tight! Also, plaster will be added to the walls, and you need at least 40cm (16 inches) of internal space to lay down T-shirts, sweaters, etc., comfortably. In short, both sides of the walk-in closet are too small for 60cm (24 inch) and 40cm (16 inch) (45cm (18 inch) would be better here) wardrobes! The window is currently planned to be 1 meter (39 inches) wide, so the space between the wardrobes as it is now is probably less than 1 meter, which means the window will be partially blocked. OK, you could install a narrower window, but still, there will be less than 1 meter (39 inches) of space between the wardrobe sides. That’s not very generous, and if the window remains as planned, you can’t even open it properly. Honestly, an architect just should not make a mistake like this!
What I also don’t quite understand is the open space above the living area. Is a gallery planned there? If so, why isn’t there a staircase leading directly up from the living area? That would make sense to me. As it stands, it’s simply an open void above, which only increases heating costs, serving no other purpose. I like the idea of a gallery—it would have been possible here—but as I said, it should be accessible from the living area. You could create a library upstairs and set up a cozy reading nook, for example. Or move the TV upstairs. But I see something labeled as a cold storage room. And I can’t see at all how you’re supposed to get up there. Is some sort of pull-out staircase planned? In that case, I would honestly skip the open space above the living area or create a real gallery (that’s nice but expensive) and at least use the upper room partly while separating off just a portion as cold storage. As it is now, it makes no sense to me at all.
The entrance area is completely poorly planned. If this really comes from an architect, that alone is a reason to question their qualifications, sorry. There are too many doors, small rooms with no space for furniture, so how are you supposed to fit four people in there when you all come home together? Or even with strollers? This needs to be redesigned, and if nothing else, the extended utility room should be removed—meaning directly from the garage into the hallway, with the utility room rectangular in shape.
Both bathrooms would be too small for my personal taste; I prefer them a bit more spacious. But again, that’s a matter of preference.
What is an absolute no-go, though, is the walk-in closet in the bedroom. There is no space for any wardrobes at all. If my poor eyesight doesn’t deceive me, the depth at the bottom of the plan measures 70cm (27.5 inches) including the wall—so about 60cm (24 inches) of usable internal space. A wardrobe needs to have a minimum depth of 60cm (24 inches), and it’s not nailed to the wall; it stands a few centimeters away. On the other side, 49cm (19 inches) including the wall is indicated. I do believe you don’t need two 60cm (24-inch) wardrobes, since T-shirts, sweaters, etc., can be stored folded—but you do need 60cm (24 inches) if you want to hang clothes. However, this is just too tight! Also, plaster will be added to the walls, and you need at least 40cm (16 inches) of internal space to lay down T-shirts, sweaters, etc., comfortably. In short, both sides of the walk-in closet are too small for 60cm (24 inch) and 40cm (16 inch) (45cm (18 inch) would be better here) wardrobes! The window is currently planned to be 1 meter (39 inches) wide, so the space between the wardrobes as it is now is probably less than 1 meter, which means the window will be partially blocked. OK, you could install a narrower window, but still, there will be less than 1 meter (39 inches) of space between the wardrobe sides. That’s not very generous, and if the window remains as planned, you can’t even open it properly. Honestly, an architect just should not make a mistake like this!
What I also don’t quite understand is the open space above the living area. Is a gallery planned there? If so, why isn’t there a staircase leading directly up from the living area? That would make sense to me. As it stands, it’s simply an open void above, which only increases heating costs, serving no other purpose. I like the idea of a gallery—it would have been possible here—but as I said, it should be accessible from the living area. You could create a library upstairs and set up a cozy reading nook, for example. Or move the TV upstairs. But I see something labeled as a cold storage room. And I can’t see at all how you’re supposed to get up there. Is some sort of pull-out staircase planned? In that case, I would honestly skip the open space above the living area or create a real gallery (that’s nice but expensive) and at least use the upper room partly while separating off just a portion as cold storage. As it is now, it makes no sense to me at all.
j.bautsch schrieb:
2x16m² (172 ft²) rooms for work and guest, but the children only get a cramped 12m² (129 ft²)? Somehow disproportionate 😉The children are supposed to move downstairs when they are older, so they will have their own separate area with a bathroom. That makes sense if you like it that way. As I said, I would prefer the living/dining/kitchen area downstairs.
I’m definitely not trying to impose anything just because this is how we would do it, but the site’s terrain almost screams for a split-level design... 😉
You have, in total, about 45m² (almost 485 sq ft) of hallway space.
That’s insane and pure waste of money. (At €1700/m², that adds up to a staggering €76,500)
Here are my thoughts on how you might approach the layout with a split-level design:
I’ve stayed with your proposed external dimensions for the rough idea, but keep in mind that wall thicknesses aren’t included here.
With some adjustment, this should be no big deal.
E-1 as a partial basement
The airlock area via the utility room from the garage is eliminated—I'm not sure if that’s really wanted.
As it stands, with the room width and door arrangement, it’s another waste of space that should actually be counted in the above 45m² (485 sq ft) of hallway.
E0 with entrance, cloakroom, and two workrooms (possibly future children’s rooms?)
E1 with parents’ area plus large open-plan kitchen/dining room
Including a ground-level exit to the garden terrace
E2 with living room and children’s room
The living room could be connected to the kitchen/dining area by a gallery (like in our house 😀).
If building regulations permit, you could add a large south-facing terrace above the garage, accessible from the living room. At the same time, the terrace could be reached via an external staircase from the kitchen.
This rough outline might help you move forward 😉
You have, in total, about 45m² (almost 485 sq ft) of hallway space.
That’s insane and pure waste of money. (At €1700/m², that adds up to a staggering €76,500)
Here are my thoughts on how you might approach the layout with a split-level design:
I’ve stayed with your proposed external dimensions for the rough idea, but keep in mind that wall thicknesses aren’t included here.
With some adjustment, this should be no big deal.
E-1 as a partial basement
The airlock area via the utility room from the garage is eliminated—I'm not sure if that’s really wanted.
As it stands, with the room width and door arrangement, it’s another waste of space that should actually be counted in the above 45m² (485 sq ft) of hallway.
E0 with entrance, cloakroom, and two workrooms (possibly future children’s rooms?)
E1 with parents’ area plus large open-plan kitchen/dining room
Including a ground-level exit to the garden terrace
E2 with living room and children’s room
The living room could be connected to the kitchen/dining area by a gallery (like in our house 😀).
If building regulations permit, you could add a large south-facing terrace above the garage, accessible from the living room. At the same time, the terrace could be reached via an external staircase from the kitchen.
This rough outline might help you move forward 😉
I like the split-level concept, but that would require a completely new building permit / planning permission and would have little to do with the one already submitted based on the current plans.
Since there is quite a bit of (justified) criticism of the design, I would consider withdrawing the building permit / planning permission for now. As far as I know, this is more cost-effective than submitting a follow-up application for major structural changes. (However, I’m open to being corrected by anyone with more expertise on this.)
Since there is quite a bit of (justified) criticism of the design, I would consider withdrawing the building permit / planning permission for now. As far as I know, this is more cost-effective than submitting a follow-up application for major structural changes. (However, I’m open to being corrected by anyone with more expertise on this.)
T
toxicmolotof10 Nov 2016 10:37Was that really an independent architect, or an employee of a general contractor/construction manager who was supposed to do the planning?
Somehow, it sounds more like the latter....
Somehow, it sounds more like the latter....
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