ᐅ Single-family house with a stepped-storey design, prefabricated construction
Created on: 29 Jun 2020 19:26
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heilmaenner
Hello everyone. This is my first post, although I have been reading for a while. My wife (38), our son (8 months), and I (37) are planning to build our own home. We have already purchased a plot of land measuring 620 m² (6,675 sq ft) in a newly developed area.
The development plan (location in southern Hesse) allows only one full storey, so we have decided on a stepped design with the first floor covering 75% of the ground floor area. I am leaning towards a flat roof, while my wife prefers a hipped roof. We plan to install a photovoltaic system on the roof and a battery storage system inside the house. The house will likely meet KfW Energy-Efficiency House 40+ standards. A basement is not planned, mainly due to cost reasons. The plot is relatively flat, with about a 1.5 meter (5 feet) slope from east to west.
About the house itself: open living, kitchen, and dining area, pantry, guest/office room, straight open staircase, two children’s rooms, and a master suite with walk-in closet. For various reasons, we are going with a prefabricated house manufacturer, and the company has a local branch. The company’s architect has already worked on a first draft, which we have had adjusted. You can see the current planning status attached. Our main difficulties are related to the kitchen and the west-facing side: the utility room and pantry are located there, but we would prefer the kitchen facing the street/west/evening sun, yet we cannot arrange it properly.
A double garage measuring 3 x 6 m (10 x 20 ft) plus a hobby workshop of 3 x 3 m (10 x 10 ft) without interior walls is planned at the northwest boundary of the plot. Also, the entire house should be shifted further northeast to maximize garden space in the southwest.
My wife and I currently feel a bit stuck and would appreciate some fresh ideas. We welcome any criticism and suggestions...
The development plan (location in southern Hesse) allows only one full storey, so we have decided on a stepped design with the first floor covering 75% of the ground floor area. I am leaning towards a flat roof, while my wife prefers a hipped roof. We plan to install a photovoltaic system on the roof and a battery storage system inside the house. The house will likely meet KfW Energy-Efficiency House 40+ standards. A basement is not planned, mainly due to cost reasons. The plot is relatively flat, with about a 1.5 meter (5 feet) slope from east to west.
About the house itself: open living, kitchen, and dining area, pantry, guest/office room, straight open staircase, two children’s rooms, and a master suite with walk-in closet. For various reasons, we are going with a prefabricated house manufacturer, and the company has a local branch. The company’s architect has already worked on a first draft, which we have had adjusted. You can see the current planning status attached. Our main difficulties are related to the kitchen and the west-facing side: the utility room and pantry are located there, but we would prefer the kitchen facing the street/west/evening sun, yet we cannot arrange it properly.
A double garage measuring 3 x 6 m (10 x 20 ft) plus a hobby workshop of 3 x 3 m (10 x 10 ft) without interior walls is planned at the northwest boundary of the plot. Also, the entire house should be shifted further northeast to maximize garden space in the southwest.
My wife and I currently feel a bit stuck and would appreciate some fresh ideas. We welcome any criticism and suggestions...
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heilmaenner30 Jun 2020 21:23Pinky0301 schrieb:
This kitchen layout won’t work; the distance between the countertops is too wide. What is the box to the right side of the island?
Do you really need three showers?
Child 1 should have an additional window on the left side of the plan.
Is the entire upper floor really going to be a terrace? For what purpose? I would rather suggest a green roof. You can still walk on it or set up a drying rack.
I like the parents’ area layout (access through the walk-in closet, bedroom is not a thoroughfare). Is there enough wardrobe space in the closet? Perhaps a window at the top side of the bedroom would be nice, so you can enjoy the view of the fields from the bed along with the rising sun. We wanted to shorten the vertical wall to the right after the front door upstairs to move the kitchen island further down. We had looked at the distances between kitchen units at the furniture store and wanted to achieve 130 cm (51 inches). The side-by-side fridge is located to the right of the island.
As mentioned above, the only two changes planned are the window in the bedroom (a horizontal skylight) and for Child 1 (a window overlooking the garage towards the cemetery), exactly as you suggested. A small jacuzzi and lounge chairs are planned for the balcony, maybe also a seating area because of the view.
heilmaenner schrieb:
Lowering the living room bay window would slightly reduce the size of the terrace, and we might need an additional support at the top right of the plan, correct?The terrace above will move accordingly.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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heilmaenner30 Jun 2020 22:1411ant schrieb:
The terrace above moves along with it.The slightly shrinking terrace is for me the lower one, and the balcony is above. But yes, the balcony above does not change; possibly an additional support post might need to be installed in the upper right corner of the plan, basically under the bedroom.
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pagoni202030 Jun 2020 22:19heilmaenner schrieb:
We wanted to shorten the vertical wall to the right after the front door at the top, to move the kitchen island further down. We had checked the distances between the kitchen units at the furniture store and aimed for about 130 cm (51 inches). To the right of the island is the side-by-side refrigerator.
As mentioned above, the two window changes in the bedroom (horizontal clerestory window) and Child 1’s room (with a view over the garage to the cemetery) are planned exactly as you suggested. On the balcony, there will be a small jacuzzi and loungers, possibly also a seating area because of the view.We have a distance of 100–110 cm (39–43 inches) between the kitchen run and the island. I find that comfortable. Two comfortable bathrooms are generally good, although I wouldn’t need 3 showers/WCs. Two full bathrooms plus one guest toilet near the entrance would be ideal. That way, each floor would have one fully equipped bathroom or shower.
Having a separate children’s bathroom is more common nowadays, but from my experience, at some point, you might not want your teenagers directly next to your bedroom and bathroom. Instead, perhaps a bathroom with a shower on the ground floor for them, and a parents’ area upstairs.
For similar reasons, the master bedroom could be larger or swapped with a child’s room.
So... upstairs your large, nice bathroom; on the ground floor a shower and toilet for guests and growing children; and a small guest toilet at the entrance for regular visitors.
That’s how we have it here, and that’s how we will do it again for the new house build.
On the ground floor, I somehow don’t get a sense of spaciousness yet, and the living room feels a bit enclosed. But you will surely get some suggestions for that. I personally like generous glass surfaces, for example, much larger behind the dining table or at the seating bay window. Maybe even a really large sliding door could go there.
The kitchen layout feels awkward... the island is actually quite short for cooking and washing tasks. There is a side-by-side refrigerator placed in an inconvenient spot, and with the fridge compartment on the right side, it isn’t very practical to use from the main work area. The prominent side of the side-by-side refrigerator faces the living room, making it quite visible. Ideally, the sequence should be cooling—washing—cooking.
Overall, the staircase, dining, and kitchen area cover about 50sqm (540 sq ft), which is quite spacious, but the space is not arranged very efficiently. The pantry is positioned inconveniently and is also awkward to access.
The sofa position is a bit unusual as well... is there a good view towards the top of the plan, which corresponds to east?
Because of the relatively deeply covered terrace in front of the kitchen, the room area receives rather little sunlight.
Overall, the staircase, dining, and kitchen area cover about 50sqm (540 sq ft), which is quite spacious, but the space is not arranged very efficiently. The pantry is positioned inconveniently and is also awkward to access.
The sofa position is a bit unusual as well... is there a good view towards the top of the plan, which corresponds to east?
Because of the relatively deeply covered terrace in front of the kitchen, the room area receives rather little sunlight.
heilmaenner schrieb:
But if I place them towards the top of the plan, the distances from the garage, front door, and also the kitchen (which would then be at the bottom of the plan) are too long for me. Yes, then even more changes would be needed. This design feels close to me if you plan a standard symmetrical layout. Then rotate the staircase, add a bay window extension, and it becomes a proper plan.
Still, one should simply mirror the axes to also consider Samis Westen's preferences indoors. And as mentioned before: you can still refine a lot around the hallway extension and such. For me, all this wouldn’t be enough for “after afternoon.”
heilmaenner schrieb:
What do you find not balanced about the upper floor? The walk-in closet is nearly 9sqm (97 sq ft) but holds few wardrobes; the bathroom is rather small for 16sqm (172 sq ft); the children’s bathroom at 175cm (5 ft 9 in) width is borderline due to extra length (a parallel thread shows that 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) is already quite tight).
Where is the wastewater outlet for the children’s bathroom located — in the dining area?
And what about the exterior appearance???
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