200 m² maisonette in an existing building, interior (almost) fully customizable

Quick update from my side after meeting with the interior designer this morning.

He thinks the redesign of the staircase and the upper floor is successful, even though he somewhat misses the freestanding "eye-catcher" staircase :p. However, the staircase planned by is not long enough to cover the large floor height. As a reference, he mentioned the number of steps of the freestanding staircase, which were drawn to scale. Furthermore, a staircase with more than 18 steps must include a landing (at least that is the regulation in AT). He will come up with a solution and also check how much space would need to be reduced in the (backup) kitchen.

thanks also for your photos. It doesn't really look like there is a lot of light here, but that probably also depends on various other factors.

In the next two weeks, we will also visit the installer and take a close look at the various options like chilled ceiling, wall heating, etc. A visit to the attic is also scheduled to explore the possibilities for the roof terrace (I am already attaching a photo of what it looks like up there).

I will gladly keep you updated, but since we are not under pressure with the renovation and don’t even know if it will take place this year or next (the architect advises the latter, more time for planning/tenders, etc.), there may be a few days or even weeks in between.

In addition, a staircase with more than 18 steps must include a landing (at least that is the regulation in AT)

Oh, had I overlooked that until now?

However, the stairway planned by @ypg is not long enough to cover the large floor height.

Yes, I "mediated" a bit there. I enlarged an existing staircase... but the number of steps remains the same... so a staircase to the moon would also have only 15 steps with this program :p

As a reference, he mentioned the number of steps of the freestanding staircase, which were drawn to scale.

In addition, a staircase with more than 18 steps must contain a landing (at least that’s the regulation in AT).

You mentioned a landing – I "pushed" the problem aside a bit by using the placeholder staircase. However, I did not write anything about it and thought that a landing could be inserted after 5 or 7 steps... by the way, my staircase is about 2.80 meters deep, I don’t remember the width anymore. I’m curious. If you keep us informed about how it is implemented, we will look forward to it from now on :)

I may get in touch with you with an update. For your information, this is still about the rough planning (structural measures etc.). The detailed planning (bathroom layout etc.) is yet to come; the renovation will take place next year.

I am attaching the new floor plans, here is a summary of the changes:

[*]A passenger elevator has been integrated (the considerations about this are further down)
[*]The access to the roof terrace now corresponds to the actual requirements
[*]Children’s room 2 is now on the west side; the room in the north was changed into a fitness room and adjoining children’s bathroom (based on the idea of )
[*]Dressing room and master bedroom have been swapped

I would like to go into a few things in more detail:

Passenger elevator
The biggest advantage is the direct connection from the kitchen to the roof terrace without long walking distances. Initially, I would have planned only a dumbwaiter, but the space requirement for a (small) fully functional passenger elevator is not much larger, and for example, many things can be comfortably transported upstairs simultaneously using a serving trolley.

Other advantages: The roof terrace can also be used with possible limited mobility, alternative route to the upper floor (without having to "go through" the living area)

Stairs from basement to upper floor
I have received many great suggestions from and others here and have discussed these in detail with my architect and let him work on them. Unfortunately, the (otherwise nice) high ceiling complicates matters. 23 steps and a landing (required by regulation) are necessary to overcome the floor. To come out upstairs without ruining the floor plan (meaning on the inside of the house so that living rooms really have windows), one is quite restricted in the positioning of the stairs. Personally, we like a freestanding staircase in the dining-living area (there would be room underneath for a generous fireplace), but I find it hard to judge whether the potential "through traffic" really disturbs. As mentioned before, the door to the stairwell on the upper floor can be "activated" at any time (especially during the teenage years).

Size of the children’s rooms
The objection that the children’s rooms are only 12 sqm in this apartment size is understandable. Considering that the future children will get their own playroom with the "library," there is enough storage space in the apartment and the rest of the house (attic, cellar) for seasonal clothing, toys, etc., are 12 sqm really still too small? I myself grew up in 12 sqm (in a 180 sqm apartment), but one shouldn’t always assume everyone is the same..

And what would the alternative be? We are bound to the position of the windows (heritage protection), meaning either one gives up the dressing room completely so that the children’s rooms become larger, or I move everything, children’s rooms come to the south, then the parent area gets smaller, the children’s bathroom is quite far from the children’s rooms, and the master bathroom somewhere in the west would then be quite far from the connections (and the ceiling below would probably have to be recessed a bit more because of the slope).

I am really curious about your opinions on this point ;)

One more remark: As part of our renovation, we will create two apartments with a total of approx. 200 sqm on the same floor as our basement for (short-term) rental. The smaller of the two apartments could be used as a "youth area" in the higher teenage years. Whether one wants this separation is, of course, another question..

Roof terrace
This is probably the most complex (and costly) part of this existing building renovation, but still manageable. A structural engineer has already dealt with it and given his OK. We now know that the ceiling of the upper floor is not self-supporting but is suspended in the roof structure by means of large glued laminated timber beams. To create a roof terrace here, the (copper) roof must be opened and the ceiling removed, then steel beams are installed on load-bearing exterior and interior walls, then closed up again (the ceiling is now load-bearing), and finally a terrace construction is put on top.

Sorry for my amateurish wording; with the attached plan you will surely understand what I mean. The large load-bearing glued laminated timber beams cannot be completely removed, as the roof structure over my parents’ adjacent apartment should not be changed. I have additionally attached a plan with a possible floor plan (in red) of the roof terrace drawn in, which shows what is possible at most.

Thanks in advance for your time, I look forward to your replies! :)

Much better. But also considerably more expensive. DT and elevator, what does the architect say about the costs?

Elevator shaft and stairs to the DT, what does the structural engineer say? How does he transfer the loads downwards?