We are currently in the process of buying a former farmstead in Schleswig-Holstein (the notary is preparing the purchase contract) to combine living and working (self-employed with animals) under one roof. We, a family of four, will move in together with my mother-in-law on the property. The main residential part is basically ready to move in and is not a topic for discussion here. The part of the building previously used as a barn will be partially converted for my mother-in-law.
About 80m² (860 sq ft) will be used for the apartment, the section facing the courtyard is intended for my wife’s business use or as a guest WC for visitors to the farm. In the middle of the building, between the old residential unit and the barn, there is an unheated, continuous threshing floor. Access to the apartment can be via this area, which can also serve as a corridor for coats and shoes.
I sketched a draft for a possible layout, but somehow it doesn’t feel quite right. I have prepared a questionnaire, shortened for practical purposes:
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: Building structure is fixed, listed building, the facade must not be significantly altered
Slope: no
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see above
Number of storeys: Conversion on the ground floor, upper floor is only a hayloft
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Desired – farmhouse / country house / built around 1880
Orientation: West and North
Other requirements: Facade is protected by historic preservation. Window and door openings are predetermined. In the center, there is a beam with two supporting pillars (circled in red on the floor plan). These cannot be moved. At the lower right is the old milk room. The walls between the milk room and the rest of the barn could be removed. The door shown at the lower left on the plan can be bricked up or equipped with a window / terrace door.
Client Requirements
Number of people, age: 1, newly retired, dog
Space needs on ground and upper floors: open-plan kitchen and living room, bedroom, utility room corner, bathroom
Office: family use
Guests per year: almost none, as there is an additional holiday apartment available
Open or closed layout: open plan
Traditional or modern construction style: traditional (not fully clear what is meant)
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, island optional
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music/media wall: small media corner
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace and garden facing north and west, as shown in the pictures, 3D view shows 4 pm in summer
Garage, carport: separate, no need to consider
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: only terrace and secure dog run
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences or rejections
The outdoor area faces north and west, and towards the west there is the road as well as two large (listed) chestnut trees in the garden. My biggest concerns are 1. enough natural light entering the house and 2. some sunlight in the garden as well. For the latter, there is a shared backyard with a southern exposure.
Behind the western wall is the road, outside the built-up area but with little traffic. The wall has not yet been built, but according to the new state building code in Schleswig-Holstein, a height of 2m (6.5 ft) is allowed.
House Design
Who designed the plans:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you like most? Why?
Low finishing effort, walls use existing posts.
What do you not like? Why?
I would like to keep the door at the lower left on the plan as a second exit open, but I haven’t found a space for a media / sofa area.
Price estimate by architect/planner: N/A
Personal price limit for the house including equipment:
Much will be done by ourselves: drywall, floor construction and insulation, electrical work up to the connection box.
Preferred heating system:
Most likely a multi-split air conditioning system (4 indoor units, 1 outdoor unit in the hayloft) and wall-mounted air-to-water heat pump, not connected to the existing central heating system of the house.
If you had to give up, which details/finishes could you skip:
- could skip: everything else is negotiable
- can’t skip: daylight bathroom, open kitchen and dining area
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.:
Requirements of the building structure, historic preservation, and client needs.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can the living area be planned and divided efficiently without ending up with one big hall and inefficient space use?
Thanks in advance 🙂
About 80m² (860 sq ft) will be used for the apartment, the section facing the courtyard is intended for my wife’s business use or as a guest WC for visitors to the farm. In the middle of the building, between the old residential unit and the barn, there is an unheated, continuous threshing floor. Access to the apartment can be via this area, which can also serve as a corridor for coats and shoes.
I sketched a draft for a possible layout, but somehow it doesn’t feel quite right. I have prepared a questionnaire, shortened for practical purposes:
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: Building structure is fixed, listed building, the facade must not be significantly altered
Slope: no
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see above
Number of storeys: Conversion on the ground floor, upper floor is only a hayloft
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Desired – farmhouse / country house / built around 1880
Orientation: West and North
Other requirements: Facade is protected by historic preservation. Window and door openings are predetermined. In the center, there is a beam with two supporting pillars (circled in red on the floor plan). These cannot be moved. At the lower right is the old milk room. The walls between the milk room and the rest of the barn could be removed. The door shown at the lower left on the plan can be bricked up or equipped with a window / terrace door.
Client Requirements
Number of people, age: 1, newly retired, dog
Space needs on ground and upper floors: open-plan kitchen and living room, bedroom, utility room corner, bathroom
Office: family use
Guests per year: almost none, as there is an additional holiday apartment available
Open or closed layout: open plan
Traditional or modern construction style: traditional (not fully clear what is meant)
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, island optional
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music/media wall: small media corner
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace and garden facing north and west, as shown in the pictures, 3D view shows 4 pm in summer
Garage, carport: separate, no need to consider
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: only terrace and secure dog run
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences or rejections
The outdoor area faces north and west, and towards the west there is the road as well as two large (listed) chestnut trees in the garden. My biggest concerns are 1. enough natural light entering the house and 2. some sunlight in the garden as well. For the latter, there is a shared backyard with a southern exposure.
Behind the western wall is the road, outside the built-up area but with little traffic. The wall has not yet been built, but according to the new state building code in Schleswig-Holstein, a height of 2m (6.5 ft) is allowed.
House Design
Who designed the plans:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you like most? Why?
Low finishing effort, walls use existing posts.
What do you not like? Why?
I would like to keep the door at the lower left on the plan as a second exit open, but I haven’t found a space for a media / sofa area.
Price estimate by architect/planner: N/A
Personal price limit for the house including equipment:
Much will be done by ourselves: drywall, floor construction and insulation, electrical work up to the connection box.
Preferred heating system:
Most likely a multi-split air conditioning system (4 indoor units, 1 outdoor unit in the hayloft) and wall-mounted air-to-water heat pump, not connected to the existing central heating system of the house.
If you had to give up, which details/finishes could you skip:
- could skip: everything else is negotiable
- can’t skip: daylight bathroom, open kitchen and dining area
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.:
Requirements of the building structure, historic preservation, and client needs.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
How can the living area be planned and divided efficiently without ending up with one big hall and inefficient space use?
Thanks in advance 🙂
M
Myrna_Loy12 Dec 2022 14:13hanghaus2023 schrieb:
The ventilation for the bathroom could also be routed towards the attic.
As @K a t j a already mentioned, with the maximum requirements and solid architectural plans, you should engage in discussions with the building authority / heritage preservation office.
So they have something to remove from the plans. lol
In my experience, heritage preservation offices don’t work like that. They really won’t tolerate people trying to push through modern plans by force. You are not in a strong negotiating position there. I would rather plan so that it looks as heritage-compliant as possible and only consider a well-founded exception on one or two truly essential points.
Otherwise, they quickly get tough, and things can become difficult and expensive.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
In my experience, heritage conservation offices don’t work like that. They cannot stand people who try to force through their modern plans by sheer force. We are not looking to make any excessive demands either. The contact with the heritage office is fairly direct. The seller is a former district heritage conservator (now with the state heritage authority) and is pleased that the building will be used sensibly and more intensively. His successor is a friend of his. Therefore, we also know that the renovation itself is not an issue and that preserving the street façade is the priority. On the courtyard side, we have freedom regarding window openings, but the apartment doesn’t have an exterior wall there anyway. There is some leeway on the side. We will discuss that in January.
The architect will probably also be a former colleague from the heritage authority. This is not yet confirmed because someone else still needs to handle the calculation for the building energy law (Gebäudeenergiegesetz) and the applications for the KfW funding, so it would be nice to have it all managed by one person.
I find Katja’s design appealing even without the wide sliding facades, and a lot of light still comes into the apartment that way.
H
hanghaus202312 Dec 2022 15:30@Myrna_Loy I have modified the design from @K a t j a to minimize potential issues with historic preservation regulations. The fixed points for the supports have also been taken into account.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
@Myrna_Loy I have modified the design from @K a t j a,Me too, and I even wrote 30 characters.The design offers major advantages for the MEP planning. Exhaust air for the kitchen, bathroom, guest bathroom, and utility kitchen are all aligned on one duct, and the water and wastewater pipes have short runs. Only the dryer and dishwasher, which I no longer saw in the bathroom, have longer routes, but that is just a cold water line and a 50mm (2 inch) pipe.
dertill schrieb:
@ypg The elongated layout simply failed because moving the kitchen inward is definitely not possible.That’s not a problem. Still a pity, as the elongated design doesn’t really show on the inside at all.dertill schrieb:
@hanghaus2023 already mentioned the façades, and that won’t work out.Heritage preservation is particularly sensitive in private settings when it comes to the exterior. It often concerns “only” maintaining the outward appearance, preserving the special architecture in harmony with cultural aspects. Since the north side can be seen from the street, I cannot imagine breaking up or opening the windows and façade there.
K a t j a schrieb:
All doors could also be 1m (3.3 ft) wide to allow for accessible living.hanghaus2023 schrieb:
The fixed points of the supports have also been considered.The supports, at least one of which is located in the bedroom, are 2.80m (9.2 ft) from the right-hand wall according to the plan. If a bed is placed as you arranged it, I see a minor issue there. It is definitely manageable, but for someone with a disability, access to the window side would be difficult. That is why I also asked about the bed positioning. There are people who could also imagine placing the bed against the wall.
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