DIY floor plan design for 2 people

Exactly, and every architect has a different style, so you choose the style you like the most. An architectural competition is quite normal for large residential projects (<100 apartments) with a jury, etc., when a plot in a municipal building area is developed. So why not also as a private individual? Of course, you have to fairly tell the architect that you are also getting other designs.

And you shouldn’t just rely on one architect’s design but get several. Because not every architect draws the perfect floor plan for your plot and knows everything. So hold your own private architectural competition and compare different designs.

I think that’s a good idea. I haven’t gone that far. If I assume that intensive discussions should already precede these designs, and the design result roughly corresponds to the level of detail of the DIY design (because that’s what we laypeople understand):

[*]Has anyone among you ever had that done?
[*]Is the procedure okay from the architects’ point of view?
[*]If yes: what costs roughly arise per design (we can gladly stick to the example here)?

Doing that would mean commissioning further architects either with the entire "Module A" (9 percentage points of the full architect’s fee for all phases according to HOAI) or at least performance phase 2 (7 percentage points). This is okay for architects, provided they offer to be commissioned for individual phases (which not all, but some do). If I were an architect, I probably wouldn’t offer performance phase 2 without performance phase 1 (keywords liability / emerging trade), but one can probably also assume that performance phase 1 by architect X was completed properly and allow architects Y and Z to "continue working" from there – but then probably against some kind of liability release. "Second opinions" are rather an unusual service product among architects, but occasionally the market may allow for willingness to provide it. The result at the end of performance phase 2 is a preliminary design (volume-true representation of the building mass in scale 1:200). One can see a house that can be checked for everyday functions, but still without quality as a basis for statics or other specialist engineers.

Presumably, for the builders – if it’s only about this second opinion – it is more practical to simply commission a competing design development as a 3D presentation outside the regular architect procedure. Some architects also offer this, and for laypeople that is often more "valuable" (because who wants to invest in a professional CAD system including training just to be able to view the result as more than just a plot). In that case, it’s better if the architect agrees to a design using popular software that the client can then compatibly discuss further among their circle of friends.

An architectural competition is completely normal with a jury etc. for large residential projects (<100 apartments) if a plot is developed in a municipal building area. So why not also as a private person? Of course, you have to be fair to the architect and tell them that you are also obtaining other designs.

If you announce a competition for "our grandma’s little house" as if it were for the new county hospital, you will only risk being laughed at dead by architects. I don’t even see students participating. Architects will at best think that someone just hasn’t heard their own cuckoo or otherwise has a sunny ego. Such a second opinion can certainly be obtained, as described above, outside the usual fee scales, but not on the basis of paying only the winner (not even if you “raffle” the commission to do the rest up to and including performance phase 8).

Only in the absolute luxury segment. Prices have been coming down massively (for many weeks and months already) - and so have availabilities. And especially the availabilities of companies/tradespeople, who also can no longer charge whatever price they want. Some of them are currently just happy if they get enough orders at all next year.

You can currently build very well with T€ 3/sqm.

I can gladly show you our "luxury" when we are finished.
Concrete, bricks, KS and insulation are still rising. At least here with us in Swabia.

I can gladly show you our "luxury" when we are finished. Concrete, bricks, KS and insulation are still rising. At least here in Swabia

Do it. Building (or having it built) and financing is my job. Therefore, this is from general practice (current major projects in Munich and Bonn, for example) - of course there are always exceptions. I am currently seeing insulation prices at my own construction site. Price increase of about 10% compared to the time before the war - Resol insulation and PUR insulation. That is currently manageable. Concrete has gone significantly down in recent weeks - at least that is what the offers from large GCs say. Steel generally as well, but still often subject to daily prices.

Why not also as a private individual?

You mean, for a private client (not an investor), several architects, students, and planning offices bust their asses without fees and prestige for several months, only to catch a small fish that doesn’t even cover the fixed costs for the invested months? And even if the deadline is only a tight month, where is the appreciation for the creative planning and the service provider then? Where is the incentive to plan—exaggeratedly speaking—a single-family house on a field if you then have to compete with the client, who actually wants to build his own model? I find that very naive and it also leaves a rather unpleasant taste for me—just because the client waves around €700,000–800,000 doesn’t mean he can exploit multiple players to dance for him.

you are absolutely right if you interpret the word "Architektenwettbewerb" from as it is usual for a large construction project. However, something else was almost certainly meant here. Every architect should be properly paid for their work (I assume the other contributors see it that way too).