Hello everyone,
We have our eye on a plot of land that is quite spacious, completely flat, and without a building permit/planning restriction.
Of course, out of excitement, we already started sketching initial floor plans and designing our house on it – partly to see if what we imagine is even feasible.
The ideas behind the design and our requirements:
Design Guidelines:
Single-story:
- Open living, dining, and kitchen area with a small office corner (possibly separated by glass or similar)
- Spacious kitchen with tall cabinets for a side-by-side fridge freezer, elevated oven, and dishwasher
- Dining area for a regular 6 people, but also occasionally 10-12
- Living room arranged to avoid awkward TV viewing angles, space for a 5.1 sound system, and room for toys/playpen etc.
- Separate parents’ wing with shower bathroom including toilet, bidet, walk-in closet (2 x 3m (6.5 x 10 feet) wardrobe), space for a vanity either in the closet or bathroom
- Half-landing staircase
- Pantry located near the kitchen
- Guest toilet
Children’s area:
- Bathroom with bathtub, shower, and two sinks
- Two children’s bedrooms of as equal size as possible
- A small guest room/office
General:
- Floors should be separable with reasonable effort into independent living units
- Orientation facing the garden
- House should shield the garden from the street noise coming from the north (approx. 500-1000 vehicles per day)
- Avoid building on the beige areas (former buildings) as much as possible
- Basement for heating (gas not available), storage room, and workshop
- Preferably no sloped ceilings on the upper floor
- Partially covered terrace
What are your thoughts?
We have our eye on a plot of land that is quite spacious, completely flat, and without a building permit/planning restriction.
Of course, out of excitement, we already started sketching initial floor plans and designing our house on it – partly to see if what we imagine is even feasible.
The ideas behind the design and our requirements:
Design Guidelines:
Single-story:
- Open living, dining, and kitchen area with a small office corner (possibly separated by glass or similar)
- Spacious kitchen with tall cabinets for a side-by-side fridge freezer, elevated oven, and dishwasher
- Dining area for a regular 6 people, but also occasionally 10-12
- Living room arranged to avoid awkward TV viewing angles, space for a 5.1 sound system, and room for toys/playpen etc.
- Separate parents’ wing with shower bathroom including toilet, bidet, walk-in closet (2 x 3m (6.5 x 10 feet) wardrobe), space for a vanity either in the closet or bathroom
- Half-landing staircase
- Pantry located near the kitchen
- Guest toilet
Children’s area:
- Bathroom with bathtub, shower, and two sinks
- Two children’s bedrooms of as equal size as possible
- A small guest room/office
General:
- Floors should be separable with reasonable effort into independent living units
- Orientation facing the garden
- House should shield the garden from the street noise coming from the north (approx. 500-1000 vehicles per day)
- Avoid building on the beige areas (former buildings) as much as possible
- Basement for heating (gas not available), storage room, and workshop
- Preferably no sloped ceilings on the upper floor
- Partially covered terrace
What are your thoughts?
Architect or general contractor, that’s exactly the question we are facing.
In our enthusiasm, we already started planning. It would almost be a miracle if an architect couldn’t do it better.
I’ll probably leave it at that for now.
Regarding the development: In the immediate area, buildings of up to three full stories are common, mostly with gable roofs, partly with half-hip roofs. That would be the “typical local” construction.
In terms of size and type of land use (which is what §34 refers to), we would be within the limits.
However, we are not planning a flat roof, but a shallow hipped roof.
Local building authorities and municipalities have no say over roof shapes—although they like to believe and try otherwise.
For anyone who doubts me, I recommend reading the relevant Austrian legal commentaries 🙂
In our enthusiasm, we already started planning. It would almost be a miracle if an architect couldn’t do it better.
I’ll probably leave it at that for now.
Regarding the development: In the immediate area, buildings of up to three full stories are common, mostly with gable roofs, partly with half-hip roofs. That would be the “typical local” construction.
In terms of size and type of land use (which is what §34 refers to), we would be within the limits.
However, we are not planning a flat roof, but a shallow hipped roof.
Local building authorities and municipalities have no say over roof shapes—although they like to believe and try otherwise.
For anyone who doubts me, I recommend reading the relevant Austrian legal commentaries 🙂
There is nothing against doing the drawings yourself – it’s just time-consuming and the learning curve is very shallow (and you need a high tolerance for frustration – after the first 30 drafts, people will likely suggest throwing them away). You should keep in mind that professionals can still do it better – and I’m not talking about standard catalog floor plan providers... they often do it even worse because, besides your requirements, they are also bound by their own templates and such.
BeHaElJa schrieb:
for the first 30 drafts, you will be advised to throw them away).In my opinion, the first 30 drafts should not be made public at all.
A design develops over time – for a non-professional, this process takes several times longer than for a specialist. And if it takes a long time to correct even a small detail, anyone who finds this too slow should consult a professional... 🙂
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