ᐅ Single-family house with a granny flat/apartment, 120 sqm plus a finished basement on a hillside

Hello everyone,

We have already gone through several designs, but there was always something unsatisfactory. Now we have completely revised everything and actually find it quite well suited to our needs. However, we’ve become a bit blind to it by now, so we would appreciate constructive criticism and opinions on the design. It is important to us to have a square floor plan (due to energy efficiency and the ratio of space to walls). We consider 9x9 m (30x30 ft) to be realistic.

Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 616 m² (6,630 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 15% gradient
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building zone, neighboring buildings: 3 meters (10 ft) distance to neighbors and to the street, 1.5 meters (5 ft) to the street on the east side
Boundary development: Garage/carport must fit within the building zone
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1.5 floors, basement allowed as full floor
Roof type: gable roof or hip roof
Architectural style: rather modern
Orientation: see floor plan
Maximum height / limits: knee wall height 75 cm (30 inches), eaves height toward street max. 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
No further requirements

[B]Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: basement + 1.5 floors
Number of persons: currently 2 adults (37+30 years old) and 1 child, future additional child
Space demand ground floor and upper floor: total 120 m² (1,290 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office: one office for home office
Overnight guests per year: few
Open or closed architecture: closed
Conservative or modern construction: doesn’t matter, preferably a KFW energy-efficient house
Open kitchen, cooking island: closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: not essential but would be nice
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no

[B]House design
By whom is the design created: by us
What do you particularly like? Why? Sauna included. Apartment for additional KFW subsidy fits in. Office as well. Front door on the upper level is very important due to earthworks. Bathrooms are large enough.
What do you not like? Kitchen not easily accessible, upstairs hallway too large, a lot of earthworks needed for basement door.

Price estimate according to architect/planner: not yet available
Personal price limit for house including equipment: without additional costs and land: 330,000 EUR
Preferred heating technology: geothermal with photovoltaic preparation

If you have to do without, which details/features
- can you do without: reduce size
- cannot do without: sauna, office and front door side

Why is the design the way it is now: as efficient use of space as possible and as little frills such as bay windows or recesses as possible. We want to build cost-effectively.
Which corresponding wishes were implemented by the architect? Architect not involved yet
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? Good: efficient use of space, earthworks kept at a manageable level. Not good: kitchen access, window arrangement and window sizes

[B]What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?

Is the layout and size good? How can windows be arranged effectively? What have we missed? What works well and should definitely stay?
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