ᐅ Single-Family Home: Decision Between Two Floor Plan Options
Created on: 14 Aug 2019 01:42
S
Stockum2019
Hello everyone,
After an endless search, we, a couple with two children, are finally ready to build a new house. We have been on the waiting list for the plot for years. It’s not ideal because it faces east, but there are hardly any other options. Now the planning begins, and we have two rough design options. We need to decide on one and would appreciate subjective opinions as well as arguments for and against each.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 576 sqm (6,200 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.7
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: usual 3 m (10 ft) from neighbors, 1.5 m (5 ft) from the street
Edge development? Only detached single-family houses
Number of parking spaces: 9 m (30 ft) garage plus parking space in front
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof, 35 degrees
Style: modern
Orientation: east
Maximum heights / restrictions
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type
No basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (33, 33, 3, and 1 years old)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: approx. 75-80 sqm (800-860 sq ft) each
Office use: family use or home office? Small home office
Guests staying overnight per year: none
Open or closed architecture?
Conservative or modern design?
Open kitchen? Yes, but separation possible with sliding doors, for example. Kitchen island or peninsula: yes
Number of dining seats: 8 (up to 14)
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: yes, 9 m (30 ft) garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why some things should or should not be included
House design
Who created the design?
- Planner from a building company
- Architect: yes
- Do-it-yourself: yes
What do you like in particular?
Bay window
Large children’s rooms
Front entrance is a must-have
What don’t you like?
No lighting from the west
The floor plan is too uninspired and resembles a townhouse layout
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 350,000 (without additional costs or earthworks)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: maximum reached
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump (deep drilling) + controlled ventilation system
Why is the design like this?
The desire for a front entrance because on the north side the garage is not wide enough for both entrance and parking space, plus a seating area in the south. This limits the width to 10 m (33 ft) including the bay window.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Unfortunately, it seems too standard
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Which of the variants would you choose and why?
Where are the critical points?
Are there more creative ideas or completely different approaches?
Both attic floors are not good for storage—what is the lesser evil?
For orientation: the site plan shows bottom as east, access via the street at the top (west), garage on the right (north).
East boundary: 16.6 m (54 ft)
West boundary (in front of house): 18.75 m (62 ft)
Terrace desired on east and south sides
Thank you very much, I look forward to your feedback.
After an endless search, we, a couple with two children, are finally ready to build a new house. We have been on the waiting list for the plot for years. It’s not ideal because it faces east, but there are hardly any other options. Now the planning begins, and we have two rough design options. We need to decide on one and would appreciate subjective opinions as well as arguments for and against each.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 576 sqm (6,200 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.7
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: usual 3 m (10 ft) from neighbors, 1.5 m (5 ft) from the street
Edge development? Only detached single-family houses
Number of parking spaces: 9 m (30 ft) garage plus parking space in front
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof, 35 degrees
Style: modern
Orientation: east
Maximum heights / restrictions
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type
No basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (33, 33, 3, and 1 years old)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: approx. 75-80 sqm (800-860 sq ft) each
Office use: family use or home office? Small home office
Guests staying overnight per year: none
Open or closed architecture?
Conservative or modern design?
Open kitchen? Yes, but separation possible with sliding doors, for example. Kitchen island or peninsula: yes
Number of dining seats: 8 (up to 14)
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: yes, 9 m (30 ft) garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why some things should or should not be included
House design
Who created the design?
- Planner from a building company
- Architect: yes
- Do-it-yourself: yes
What do you like in particular?
Bay window
Large children’s rooms
Front entrance is a must-have
What don’t you like?
No lighting from the west
The floor plan is too uninspired and resembles a townhouse layout
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 350,000 (without additional costs or earthworks)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: maximum reached
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump (deep drilling) + controlled ventilation system
Why is the design like this?
The desire for a front entrance because on the north side the garage is not wide enough for both entrance and parking space, plus a seating area in the south. This limits the width to 10 m (33 ft) including the bay window.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Unfortunately, it seems too standard
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Which of the variants would you choose and why?
Where are the critical points?
Are there more creative ideas or completely different approaches?
Both attic floors are not good for storage—what is the lesser evil?
For orientation: the site plan shows bottom as east, access via the street at the top (west), garage on the right (north).
East boundary: 16.6 m (54 ft)
West boundary (in front of house): 18.75 m (62 ft)
Terrace desired on east and south sides
Thank you very much, I look forward to your feedback.
S
Stockum201919 Aug 2019 20:22Thank you for this design; the kitchen feels quite open here. During the meeting with the architect, we decided to pursue the raised platform option.
I would like to place the kitchen on the west side, mainly for the same reasons you mentioned. However, this makes the kitchen-dining area quite long, and we don’t have space for a restroom. We don’t want the utility room to be only 5m² (54 ft²), so we cannot locate the restroom there.
I look forward to suggestions for the kitchen layout that could allow for the addition of a terrace door and ideas on how to bring natural light into the ground floor from the west.
I would like to place the kitchen on the west side, mainly for the same reasons you mentioned. However, this makes the kitchen-dining area quite long, and we don’t have space for a restroom. We don’t want the utility room to be only 5m² (54 ft²), so we cannot locate the restroom there.
I look forward to suggestions for the kitchen layout that could allow for the addition of a terrace door and ideas on how to bring natural light into the ground floor from the west.
D
derdietmar19 Aug 2019 21:28Hello,
unfortunately, there is still too little information about the basic conditions. @11ant is not wrong; new requirements call for a new approach. If buildings on the plot only need to comply with the required setback distances and no local development plan provides other specifications, I would suggest the following solution:
Positioning
unfortunately, there is still too little information about the basic conditions. @11ant is not wrong; new requirements call for a new approach. If buildings on the plot only need to comply with the required setback distances and no local development plan provides other specifications, I would suggest the following solution:
Positioning
- House positioned entirely in the northeast
- House longer and narrower instead, with the southeast corner possibly as an extension
- Garage positioned entirely in the northwest, possibly with the required distance from the road (often specified in the development plan / planning permission)
- Wall as a boundary fence towards the road
- Kitchen and dining area in the southwest
- Living room in the southeast extension
- Utility room in the northeast
- Technical room, storage, and toilet in the northwest
- Entrance and cloakroom in the west
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