Floor plan complete renovation of semi-detached house into a 3-story family house

Hello everyone,

we are facing the exciting task of completely renovating/restoring and redesigning a semi-detached house in the city to create a modern and light-flooded single-family home.

Our main focus is on the open, as spacious as possible communal area on the ground floor, which should offer a seamless connection to the terrace and garden. On the first floor, we plan the rooms for both children, a bathroom, and a versatile guest room or office. The attic should have the character of an open loft with an open roof space (removed floor ceiling towards the attic) with floor-to-ceiling gables on at least one side, if not both sides, and serve as the parents' area. (--> Some walls must be removed on the ground and attic floors!)

The basement should also be designed to be functional and open, with two separate rooms and an open area. Efficiency and renewable energies are especially important to me in the design of this house. The semi-detached house dates from 1954 and is in a condition strongly in need of renovation. It is fully connected and fully basemented, with solid construction and a gable roof. The windows are made of plastic with insulating glass, and the energy certificate shows a final energy demand of 312.4 kWh/(m²a), corresponding to energy efficiency class H. Heating is currently provided by stoves, a floor heating system, and instantaneous water heaters.

I look forward to receiving your feedback and ideas, especially since we are still in an early planning phase!

Best regards!
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The semi-detached house is from 1954. Condition in need of renovation.
Year of construction / completion: approx. 1954
Connection: fully connected
Basement: fully basemented
Condition: strongly in need of renovation
Construction type: solid construction
Roof type: gable roof
Roof: fully developed
Window type: plastic/insulating glass
Final energy demand: 312.4 kWh/(m²a)
Energy certificate class: H
Heating: stove heating, floor heating, instantaneous water heater
Total living area: approx. 162 sqm
Plot size: 458 sqm

Zoning plan/restrictions
Plot size: 460 sqm
Slope: no
Building window, building line and boundary: building line in the rear garden area
Number of parking spaces: at least 1
Number of floors: 3 floors
Orientation: SW-NE
Currently the house is designed with 3 residential units and an infinitely ugly staircase --> challenge!

Client requirements
Style: modern
Number of persons: 2 adults (40), 2 children (3 + 1)
Basement: storage + laundry
Ground floor: communal area --> very bright, open, as spacious as possible, extension with maximum size, cooking-eating-family life, view into the garden
1st floor: children + guest
2nd floor: parents
Home office: only 1 parent, rarely
Overnight guests per year: 20
Modern construction method
Open kitchen/kitchen island
No fireplace
No garage, but bicycle shed/garden shed
Garden: lawn area with bed border

House design
Planning: preliminary design planning by architect
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 600k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with earth baskets in the garden or air-water

If you have to do without, which details/extensions
- you can do without: garage, bathtub, attic
- you cannot do without: modern energy supply: photovoltaics + heat pump, floor-to-ceiling gables, plenty of windows and lots of light

Why has the design turned out the way it is? e.g.
Standard design by the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?

Garages will be removed and where will the parking spaces go?

I don't like the attic at all. The 2 chimneys are unnecessary. They should be removed. Then the bathrooms will also be better. Is a roof terrace supposed to be built on the upper floor?

I imagined it that way.

Reminds me of the house of in the thread
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-ideen-einfamilienhaus-als-anbau-mit-3-kinderzimmern-und-buero.46349/
That is almost the same semi-detached house, only from 1939.

I assume that it was not

A mix of many examples from various magazines...

that led to the wall positions, but the existing floor plan?!

In this respect, it is quite well solved. I would not start with the parking space regulations first, but I would also see the preservation of the garages – even though there is currently no car in the family.
What bothers me, though, is the completely open chill area. Not that I think conservatively, but a wall also structures, brings coziness and privacy. That is missing here. The TV lacks a back wall and the view towards the terrace could also benefit from a 2-3 meter privacy screen so you don’t have to look at things stored on the terrace. Therefore, I would put a 2-meter wall as a privacy screen towards the garage and seat protection for the sofa in the upper left of the plan, as well as a 2-3 meter long wall towards the terrace at the upper right of the plan. They don’t even need to go all the way up to the ceiling.
Furthermore, what would bother me immensely are the wet rooms: the ground floor is enough, the first floor can also be enough if the attic has the family-friendly balance of a bathroom. I also wouldn’t argue against the bathtub, as there are plenty of pros (medical baths, washing the pet, soaking wool, cleaning food or other hobbies, because on Pinterest you don’t google what you don’t know yet).

The attic cannot serve as a separate apartment anyway, so I am almost with version. I would set it up as a family bathroom, the office can go into the smaller bedroom.

Garages are being removed and where will the parking spaces go?

A parking space in the driveway is being shown pro forma. We do not own a car and do not plan to have one.