ᐅ Optimize the upper floor of the townhouse. Install floor-to-ceiling windows.

And I don’t understand how it is possible to create so many different designs in such a short time. In our experience, the architect usually creates one design, which is then discussed with the client (in our case, the builder and homeowner). This discussion can take two hours or more. After that, the design is revised, and a few days later, there is a second design that is discussed again, and so on. This way, you gradually approach your goal, guided by the professional, gaining countless insights into a wide range of detailed solutions.

Here, you start with just any design and discard it as soon as something doesn’t fit. This means you have to start over mentally each time, so the process of filtering quality is missing. Which one is the current design that is (hopefully) being refined?

I have not discarded anything.

Originally, he showed us exactly this villa. We found many good aspects there.

That’s when the first disappointment occurred with version 1 (#26).

I agree with you on many points. The bedroom is not wide enough. The bathroom also feels very cramped when the shower is placed next to the bathtub. The children’s rooms are okay. I also feel the kitchen is somewhat neglected, and we wanted the utility room to be a bit larger to store jackets, with the stairwell used for drinks, etc.

In principle, we would also be interested in the bungalow concept... you save money there because there is no staircase, but these are usually significantly more expensive.

@11ant
I was almost in the Bronx but ended up almost back in Brooklyn. What do you criticize about the latest version? I find a lot of things quite fitting again. Feel free to share in my thread. I appreciate any help. I am currently still working on the wardrobe changes and the exterior design. But after that, I think it will be successful.

To the original poster: I completely understand the wish for window symmetry. Unfortunately, it makes it more difficult to have a coherent floor plan AND symmetry at the same time. This has been and still is my problem throughout.

K1300S schrieb:

And I don’t understand how so many different designs can be produced in such a short time. So far, in our case, a design is always created by the ARCHITECT

This is exactly the point where the general contractor client is often downgraded to a draftsman, so you should even find it easy to understand because you explain it yourself:

K1300S schrieb:

Then the design is revised, and a few days later there is a second design that is discussed again, and so on. This way, you approach your goal iteratively, guided by a professional, with endless insights leading to countless detailed solutions.

If you apply this principle by replacing “draftsman” 1:1 in all places where “architect” was mentioned, the following happens: the expert is in this case intellectually unable to perform the described distillation process, and since he obeyed a different master than the architect, he also has a completely different assignment. So here the method “groundhog day” is varied: revision version nine is developed from version eight; but there is NO comparative feedback to version one. Consequently, the similarity between version eight and version two is not recognized, and version nine is therefore no significant improvement over version three. Roulette is played without a Yahtzee scorecard, with the motto for each round being “new game, new luck.” This simply CANNOT work :-(

Coletrickle_7808 schrieb:

Originally, he showed us exactly this villa here.

The catalog of lever-frame kit houses is used by many general contractors as a collection of building proposals.

Coletrickle_7808 schrieb:

We found a lot of good things there.

So why didn’t you just stick with it?

Coletrickle_7808 schrieb:

Basically, we would also be interested in bungalow concepts... here you save money by not having stairs, etc.,

For the extra ground area a bungalow requires, depending on land prices, you could buy anywhere from three to ten staircases. The savings only exist on paper.

Shiny86 schrieb:

I can really understand the desire for window symmetry. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to have a coherent floor plan AND symmetry. That has been my problem all along.

Thank you for expressing this in the anonymous Symmetry Support Group meeting, since it reveals the core of the vicious circle – see also here:

Coletrickle_7808 schrieb:

I came with two received floor plans to the current provider, and also with requests for a walk-in closet and symmetrical windows on the front/rear elevations.

I can only repeat it as a third 11ant mantra: symmetry – and likewise a straight, single-flight staircase – are wishes that (with very, very few exceptions) only work starting at twelve meters (about 39 feet) side length. It’s more likely a unicorn will trot across a Milky Way made of fine dust than for this principle to change.

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What do you think of my first attempt at designing the ground floor?

It’s now 9.5m (31 feet) wide and 10m (33 feet) deep. The interior walls are all 17.5cm (7 inches) thick since I’m not sure which ones need to be load-bearing.

I’m still uncertain about the bathroom and the dressing room/pantry. The shower will definitely be 100x100cm (39x39 inches). In the pantry, there are four cabinets measuring 60x60cm (24x24 inches) each, roughly equivalent to Pax-level storage.

The utility room is 8sqm (86 sq ft), which I believe is sufficient.

The kitchen features a 360cm (12-foot) long run, plus a peninsula measuring 180x110cm (71x43 inches), and a freestanding side-by-side refrigerator.

The dining table is the same size as ours, 180x90cm (71x35 inches). Then a sofa measuring 310x280cm (122x110 inches), along with a coffee table and TV stand. On the exterior wall, there will be a typical panoramic fireplace.

What do you think?

Oh, and I’d place a window at the landing on the upper floor, since the garage will be positioned alongside it.

Here is the upper floor with furniture in actual size. The children's rooms are of similar size, just under 14.5sqm (156 sq ft). The bathroom layout is just an idea.

The bedroom would fit better now. The hallway gets natural light through the window at the staircase.

Honest feedback welcome. PS: The doors on the upper outside walls are all windows; I simply copied this from the ground floor.