Hello everyone,
We plan to start building a single-family house next year and are currently brainstorming ideas for the floor plan. What do you think of our current concept?
We are planning for three children and no basement. Since the soil is very damp, we were advised against having a basement (which we actually agree with). Additionally, we are only allowed to build a single-story house.
We found it quite challenging to make the most of the narrow plot: the entrance needs to be at the end of the street, possibly resulting in an L-shaped layout. We also want to build relatively narrow to enlarge the garden. We visited many model home parks and suppliers but found few options that really fit our needs. Of course, we are open to all ideas and suggestions.
Thanks for your feedback. Best regards.
We plan to start building a single-family house next year and are currently brainstorming ideas for the floor plan. What do you think of our current concept?
We are planning for three children and no basement. Since the soil is very damp, we were advised against having a basement (which we actually agree with). Additionally, we are only allowed to build a single-story house.
We found it quite challenging to make the most of the narrow plot: the entrance needs to be at the end of the street, possibly resulting in an L-shaped layout. We also want to build relatively narrow to enlarge the garden. We visited many model home parks and suppliers but found few options that really fit our needs. Of course, we are open to all ideas and suggestions.
Thanks for your feedback. Best regards.
Setting aside the exterior views: I think the layout works well for a family of four! Maybe I’ll notice some details tomorrow that might reduce this “well.” But I also like having central communication areas.
I wouldn’t like that the house isn’t open to the west. The window arrangement feels too uniform to me—I prefer more variation! And I believe a lot of money will be spent on the projections and recesses as well as the flat roofs. It probably isn’t worth it.
I wouldn’t like that the house isn’t open to the west. The window arrangement feels too uniform to me—I prefer more variation! And I believe a lot of money will be spent on the projections and recesses as well as the flat roofs. It probably isn’t worth it.
Okay, thanks. I have shifted the utility room slightly to the north and adjusted the windows. Now there is more window area facing west, and the house does indeed seem somewhat friendlier for arriving guests (who will be coming from that direction). The roof could be extended out – up to the southern boundary of the kitchen – providing a covered spot right outside the utility room to place a drying rack without it getting wet in the rain – see the new attachment.
We sent the last questions to the planning office today and are now curious about what they have in mind once things get started – hopefully, they will put some effort into it. Maybe we will end up with something completely different. So far, we haven’t found any single-story floor plans online that fit our room concept (3 children’s rooms, a bedroom that can fit a canopy bed) – and when we did, they were always much larger.
Hopefully, the planner can also provide us with some information about costs. We have read that flat roofs aren’t actually much more expensive.
We sent the last questions to the planning office today and are now curious about what they have in mind once things get started – hopefully, they will put some effort into it. Maybe we will end up with something completely different. So far, we haven’t found any single-story floor plans online that fit our room concept (3 children’s rooms, a bedroom that can fit a canopy bed) – and when we did, they were always much larger.
Hopefully, the planner can also provide us with some information about costs. We have read that flat roofs aren’t actually much more expensive.
W
Wanderdüne25 Oct 2014 11:22Who is actually behind the term "planning office"?
An independent architect, directly hired by you, with experience in designing bedrooms that meet Himmelbett standards?
Regarding the last two drafts (No. ?): Offsets and their quantity are a matter of personal taste, although they are often unnecessary. However, they should be well planned and executed, because otherwise the connections can become problematic. And the planning costs are included in the price anyway, regardless of how many contracting parties are involved.
An independent architect, directly hired by you, with experience in designing bedrooms that meet Himmelbett standards?
Regarding the last two drafts (No. ?): Offsets and their quantity are a matter of personal taste, although they are often unnecessary. However, they should be well planned and executed, because otherwise the connections can become problematic. And the planning costs are included in the price anyway, regardless of how many contracting parties are involved.
Thank you for the comment – we would prefer a design without projections or recesses. Cost is definitely a factor, but even more important to us is minimizing potential errors and ensuring robustness during construction. We gradually adjusted the total floor area from originally about 200 m² (2,150 sq ft) down to around 165 m² (1,775 sq ft) without losing much functionality (in our view). This process resulted in the somewhat unusual shape of the house.
We had to get a clear understanding of what rooms of 8 m² (86 sq ft), 15 m² (161 sq ft), 25 m² (269 sq ft), etc., actually feel like and how comfortable we feel in such spaces.
The planner is an independent design office – not an architect. I think our project is actually not very complicated, and our demands for shape and style/ aesthetics are not particularly high. We have a spatial concept and certain material preferences (calcium silicate brick, geothermal heating, brick veneer) and, of course, the requirements of the local development plan (floor area ratio, single-story construction, and integration with the surrounding environment). The plot is flat, oriented north-south, and rectangular – the only peculiarity might be the access from the west. It has already been mentioned that access from the west would be ideal, but so far we have not found a solution that doesn’t result in a townhouse layout or very long corridors – but as mentioned, perhaps the planner will have an idea.
We had to get a clear understanding of what rooms of 8 m² (86 sq ft), 15 m² (161 sq ft), 25 m² (269 sq ft), etc., actually feel like and how comfortable we feel in such spaces.
The planner is an independent design office – not an architect. I think our project is actually not very complicated, and our demands for shape and style/ aesthetics are not particularly high. We have a spatial concept and certain material preferences (calcium silicate brick, geothermal heating, brick veneer) and, of course, the requirements of the local development plan (floor area ratio, single-story construction, and integration with the surrounding environment). The plot is flat, oriented north-south, and rectangular – the only peculiarity might be the access from the west. It has already been mentioned that access from the west would be ideal, but so far we have not found a solution that doesn’t result in a townhouse layout or very long corridors – but as mentioned, perhaps the planner will have an idea.
Last week, we conducted shadow measurements on the property at different times using a measuring stick to sketch the shadow boundaries. We found that from the south, there is consistently about 16 meters (52 feet) of shading. This means that if we want to have any sun during the “darker” months, the terrace should start more than 16 meters (52 feet) away from the southern boundary. This would require either positioning the house perpendicular to the driveway (which means the terrace would not get sun until about 11:45 a.m.) or building a narrow house.
We have now drafted a design for a house that is 7 meters (23 feet) wide, so the terrace would start at about 10 meters (33 feet). Additionally, we tried placing the entire upper floor directly above the ground floor and compensating for the single-story height difference with a conservatory.
What do you think about this approach?
Thanks and best regards.
We have now drafted a design for a house that is 7 meters (23 feet) wide, so the terrace would start at about 10 meters (33 feet). Additionally, we tried placing the entire upper floor directly above the ground floor and compensating for the single-story height difference with a conservatory.
What do you think about this approach?
Thanks and best regards.
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