ᐅ Single-family house with a recessed upper floor, southwest-facing, located in Bonn
Created on: 5 Oct 2020 20:40
B
Benrath
Hello everyone,
we have purchased one of three plots that were divided from a larger property and still need to be developed. Access is via a private road, and all three owners share the traffic area equally. The plot is very well connected for us, located centrally in Bonn, and is perhaps a bit larger than we actually needed. However, it’s not like there are always free plots available in a similar location.
Because there was a lengthy legal dispute between the seller and the neighbors beforehand, we can only build a partial recessed upper floor to a limited extent. Probably for this reason, the plot was mainly interesting for private buyers. An accessory apartment is not possible, and we don’t want one anyway.
Up until now, the planning was done from scratch without considering costs or practical aspects, at least from our side. The architect apparently enjoys drawing, which is understandable at this stage and has a certain artistic approach. We are generally open to all suggestions and ideas on what could be done differently, especially where costs might be saved easily.
Our next step will be to conclude an architect contract for service phases 1 to 5 plus general contractor / main contractor.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: >800sqm (8600 sq ft), no slope, building envelope etc. See plan.
Parking spaces: 1 on traffic area and 1 garage
Number of storeys: Only 1 full storey plus a recessed upper floor
Roof style: Flat roof; architectural style: rather Bauhaus
Orientation: Front of the house faces southwest
Maximum height/limits: 7–8m (23–26 ft)
Owners’ requirements
We basically have no specific style requirements. A flat roof results partly from the recessed upper floor and height restrictions, which probably don’t allow a pitched roof.
We want a basement with excavation and two daylight rooms (this was more the architect’s idea). Currently, there are three of us, possibly four in the future. Early 30s and a baby.
We had planned for just over 100sqm (1076 sq ft) on the ground floor and about 75% of that upstairs. Currently, it’s roughly 230sqm (2475 sq ft) ground floor and upper floor combined plus terraces, etc., and the basement.
Office: occasional use, not very important.
Number of overnight guests per year: unknown, but a guest room is planned
Open kitchen, kitchen island: We definitely want a separate kitchen area and like the suggestion of an extended island
Number of dining seats: 4 in the kitchen, more like 8 in the dining room
Fireplace: Not very important, probably no.
Music/surround sound system: 5.1 system around the TV
Balcony, roof terrace: Terrace is a must, balcony above the kitchen results from the recessed floor
Garage, carport: The garage width of 4.5m (15 ft) is unusual and probably makes it more expensive.
House design by the architect
What do we particularly like? Why? Good use of the sunny side, and otherwise all our wishes have been taken into account.
Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet.
What don’t we like? Why? I could imagine a nicer staircase, perhaps a longer, more open design. Overall, the hallway feels a bit large.
The upper-floor terrace seems somewhat oversized. We are wondering if the overhang casts too much shade on the ground floor.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: with general contractor and all additional costs >900,000€ (over 900,000 euros)
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: rather below that.
Preferred heating technology: no opinion so far
Why does the design look like it does?
For example:
There was an initial meeting with the architect during which our wishes were noted.
Ground floor: separated kitchen, combined living/dining area. Another separate room as office/guest room (and possibly bedroom if needed).
Passage from the garage to the house, possibly as a utility room.
Upper floor: 3 rooms plus 2 bathrooms, including one en-suite.
First draft at the second meeting, and at the third meeting this final design was presented.
we have purchased one of three plots that were divided from a larger property and still need to be developed. Access is via a private road, and all three owners share the traffic area equally. The plot is very well connected for us, located centrally in Bonn, and is perhaps a bit larger than we actually needed. However, it’s not like there are always free plots available in a similar location.
Because there was a lengthy legal dispute between the seller and the neighbors beforehand, we can only build a partial recessed upper floor to a limited extent. Probably for this reason, the plot was mainly interesting for private buyers. An accessory apartment is not possible, and we don’t want one anyway.
Up until now, the planning was done from scratch without considering costs or practical aspects, at least from our side. The architect apparently enjoys drawing, which is understandable at this stage and has a certain artistic approach. We are generally open to all suggestions and ideas on what could be done differently, especially where costs might be saved easily.
Our next step will be to conclude an architect contract for service phases 1 to 5 plus general contractor / main contractor.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: >800sqm (8600 sq ft), no slope, building envelope etc. See plan.
Parking spaces: 1 on traffic area and 1 garage
Number of storeys: Only 1 full storey plus a recessed upper floor
Roof style: Flat roof; architectural style: rather Bauhaus
Orientation: Front of the house faces southwest
Maximum height/limits: 7–8m (23–26 ft)
Owners’ requirements
We basically have no specific style requirements. A flat roof results partly from the recessed upper floor and height restrictions, which probably don’t allow a pitched roof.
We want a basement with excavation and two daylight rooms (this was more the architect’s idea). Currently, there are three of us, possibly four in the future. Early 30s and a baby.
We had planned for just over 100sqm (1076 sq ft) on the ground floor and about 75% of that upstairs. Currently, it’s roughly 230sqm (2475 sq ft) ground floor and upper floor combined plus terraces, etc., and the basement.
Office: occasional use, not very important.
Number of overnight guests per year: unknown, but a guest room is planned
Open kitchen, kitchen island: We definitely want a separate kitchen area and like the suggestion of an extended island
Number of dining seats: 4 in the kitchen, more like 8 in the dining room
Fireplace: Not very important, probably no.
Music/surround sound system: 5.1 system around the TV
Balcony, roof terrace: Terrace is a must, balcony above the kitchen results from the recessed floor
Garage, carport: The garage width of 4.5m (15 ft) is unusual and probably makes it more expensive.
House design by the architect
What do we particularly like? Why? Good use of the sunny side, and otherwise all our wishes have been taken into account.
Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet.
What don’t we like? Why? I could imagine a nicer staircase, perhaps a longer, more open design. Overall, the hallway feels a bit large.
The upper-floor terrace seems somewhat oversized. We are wondering if the overhang casts too much shade on the ground floor.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: with general contractor and all additional costs >900,000€ (over 900,000 euros)
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: rather below that.
Preferred heating technology: no opinion so far
Why does the design look like it does?
For example:
There was an initial meeting with the architect during which our wishes were noted.
Ground floor: separated kitchen, combined living/dining area. Another separate room as office/guest room (and possibly bedroom if needed).
Passage from the garage to the house, possibly as a utility room.
Upper floor: 3 rooms plus 2 bathrooms, including one en-suite.
First draft at the second meeting, and at the third meeting this final design was presented.
A
Alessandro19 Nov 2020 15:18For the wardrobe on the ground floor, I would take some space from the dining room. No one really needs that much room there anyway.
Benrath schrieb:
What do you mean by sections? I also noticed the red lines. What do they have to do with it? The red lines here are used to indicate the positions of theoretical section lines on the floor plan. Apparently, there are six drawings showing cross-sections of the building, and these lines mark where those sections are located in the floor plans. Creating a single-family house with six “snapshots” of its cross-section—actually at least sixteen for the entire group of houses—introduces unnecessary complexity to the building design, which according to experience (more than proportionally, not linearly!) significantly impacts construction costs. That’s why I referred to it as a “warning sign.”
Benrath schrieb:
It’s a smaller office with more specialized projects. I suspect it’s someone who used to work in a larger office on projects like the ones I described, and has now started their own firm, but hasn’t yet unlearned those ingrained ways of thinking.
Benrath schrieb:
The architect doesn’t know our furniture and we haven’t talked about it so far. That sounds more like a diagnosis than an excuse.
Benrath schrieb:
We are planning with a general contractor and therefore expect to receive a more or less fixed cost estimate before construction starts, which will serve as the basis for the general contractor contract. A fixed price? - that’s not serious. My counter-argument is that the multiplier applied to the standard equipment square meter price will reach or even exceed 1.1. And I mean this for all square meters—not just the valuable living areas, but also those that could be considered trivial or even wasted space.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
The red lines here are meant to show the position of the imagined section lines on the floor plan. There are obviously six drawings of the building in cross-section, and these lines indicate where they fit into the floor plans. Applying six “snapshots” of the building’s cross-section to a single-family house – or more precisely, at least sixteen throughout the entire group of houses – reflects an unnecessary complexity of the building structure, which, based on experience, has a strong impact on construction costs (more proportional than linear!). That’s why I referred to it as a “warning sign.” I don’t understand what this is supposed to explain. What kind of complexity of the building structure? I just don’t get it.
11ant schrieb:
I’m guessing this is someone who has worked in a larger office on projects like the ones I described and then became self-employed but hasn’t yet unlearned the ingrained ways of thinking.
That’s more a diagnosis than an excuse. Well, there’s nothing to do about it, so why should I try to justify it? It won’t get us anywhere.
11ant schrieb:
Fixed price? – You must be joking. My counter-argument is that the factor applied before the standard equipment cost per square meter will exceed one point one. And I mean that for all square meters – including those that from a living-quality perspective are just “filler” or even “empty calories.” What exactly would be so bad about a guaranteed maximum price and a fixed price?
Benrath schrieb:
What kind of complexity in the building structure? I just don’t understand. Complexity here means the dozens of corners where this design deviates from a simple cube or other linear shape, none of which come without extra effort, and which apparently even require the planner to sketch them out.
Benrath schrieb:
What would be so bad about a general contractor and a fixed price? Except that I would be extremely surprised by that: nothing.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Complexity here means the dozens of corners where this design deviates from a cube or other simple linear shape, none of which come without consequences, and which apparently even require the planner to sketch them out for themselves. Is the design really that complex? It’s not a cube, but otherwise it mostly resembles a “linear shape” with all the exterior walls. I count 9 outside corners. I’m not counting doors.
Is it really that crazy?
I’ll have the architect explain it to me as well.
11ant schrieb:
Apart from being extremely surprised about it: nothing. We’re looking forward to it. He supposedly has 2-3 general contractors lined up, and we have already seen draft contracts and such.
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