Floor plan critique - Single-family house on a hill

Hello everyone,
after purchasing the plot of land in 2012 and a very long information and planning phase (much also from this forum), we have received a stable preliminary draft for a floor plan from our independent architect for our family of four. We had provided this to him in autumn with a 100-page specification (analysis of the current living situation, room program, energy concept, numerous example pictures, etc.).

We are now entering financing discussions with the cost estimate. For the further commissioning still pending, we have his approval to publish the floor plan here for feedback.

I would be very happy to receive feedback and expressly thank you in advance for your time and thoughts.

Fred

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Summary of the desired house concept
Plot in a small village in Lower Franconia / Bavaria, 679 m², unobstructed edge-of-village location on a hill, at the end of a dead-end street, free view all around to the horizon, street to the north, garden to the south.

Detached single-family house for 4 occupants, living area approx. 180m² to 200m² + basement with partial living space quality, two full floors – no roof slopes. Optimal south orientation with large roof surfaces and bright lighting design, no specific favored architectural style – simple and clear shapes – no extravagances.

Consistently preferred solid construction – massive, durable, sustainable, low maintenance
Wall facade clinker natural stone or white plaster

Generous room design and bright rooms, largely closed floor plan, no unnecessary wall offsets, bay windows, and slants

Plus-energy house, ideally according to KfW 40 Plus – as high a degree of self-sufficiency as possible, modern building technology including heat pump and centralized controlled residential ventilation, large wind-protected south-west terrace, large garage and carport

Functionality goes before appearance – especially the interior before the exterior look.

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Development Plan/Restrictions

Plot size: 679m²
Slope: slight – 1.8m descending to the west
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Floor space index: 0.8
Building window, building line and boundary: yes, blue – can be exceeded in the northwest according to the architect.
Edge development: 9m allowed for garage
Number of parking spaces: 2 per residential unit
Number of floors: 2
Roof shape: gable roof 30 – 50, half-hipped roof from 40, shed roof 10 - 20, hip roof 15 – 45, green flat roof
Architectural style: no specifications
Ridge orientation: east - west
Maximum heights/limits: wall height max. 7m above ground
Further requirements: none

Client requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: detached single-family house, modern style, gable roof with roof overhang, rectangle with long side facing south
Basement, floors: basement with living space quality and outside access, 2 full floors without roof slopes
Number of persons: currently 4 occupants (37,36,2,1 years old)
Space requirements on ground floor, upper floor: approx. 90 sqm each
Office: family use or home office? Home office regularly used by both.
Guest nights per year: 2 times
Open or closed architecture: semi-open – kitchen and dining room together, living room separate
Conservative or modern construction: modern construction, classical elements
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with dining room, kitchen island and extensive kitchen
Number of dining seats: permanently 8, extendable to 12
Fireplace: no, low-energy house with heat pump
Music/stereo wall: no, only small lowboard in living room, possibly a screen in the hobby room
Balcony, roof terrace: no, never used – we rely on the large south terrace in the garden
Garage, carport: large garage on the side, fully using the 9m on the boundary, carport in front of the house integrated in the house style, garden area should not be unnecessarily wasted.
Utility garden, greenhouse: yes desired

House design
Who planned it: Independent architectural office with 3 architects
What do you particularly like? Why?
The room program and our page-long described daily routines were implemented, as well as the most important furniture with original dimensions, little hallway area, usable basement with living space quality, especially large office with a view outside, and the utility room with laundry chute, the feasibility of our energy concept with many large windows in the south and the large roof for photovoltaics.

On the ground floor, the large kitchen with transition to the storage room and backup kitchen – we like to cook extensively.
Direct access from garage to pantry, landing staircase as desired, large seating windows to the west.

On the upper floor, the good distribution of the children's rooms and the parents' area with good sound decoupling and master bedroom in the east as well as bathroom in the west with freestanding tub in front of the window.

What do you not like? Why?
Coatroom with 2 kids on the ground floor – was once even planned as a separate room. Entrance situation too dark / but sheltered from the wind? Lighting in the dining area from the east sufficient.

What do we do with the attic? Expand children’s rooms with stairs?

Possibly the special highlight in the design…

Price estimate according to architect/planner: 500 to 600 k €
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 550 k €
Preferred heating technology: ground heat pump, controlled residential ventilation, photovoltaics, battery storage

If you have to forego, on which details/extensions can you do without:
carport, smaller garage, terrace too large, max 1 m smaller house depth, KfW 40 Plus equipment, hobby room, too large utility room, sauna in master bathroom
Cannot do without:
large kitchen, own office, 2 bathrooms, dining place for 12 persons

Why is the design as it is now?
The architect was given a 128-page specification with room program and daily routine descriptions including many pictures, 8 discussions. 8 versions were created by the architect team – the last 4 iterations always slight revisions toward the current target design.

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Where do you see a need for adjustment to live in this house with a family of 4? What highlight is missing?

I have a big question mark about the blatant violation of the building boundary (with significantly more than just the carport, indeed). "Function over aesthetics" seems to me to be taken a bit too far here – just like

Dem Architekt übergebende 128 S. Spezifikation mit Raumprogramm und Tagesablaufbeschreibungen inkl. vielen Bildern,

... in this case, less might not only have "sufficed" but actually been a blessing (?)

Franconian style is nice and all, but to me it looks a bit very much like the 80s/90s. I could imagine a more stylish design.

I agree, it looks much more modern and still not playful. Just yesterday there was another article on Homify where the house looks traditional from the front but somehow was still edgy. I also think that a huge amount of space is wasted here and money thrown out the window. A master bathroom of 22m² and the master area 30m² incl. dressing room... my dear sir. If money doesn’t play [Rolex] I believe with this room program, garage, carport, the desired technology, and basement with outdoor facilities, the budget can be very, very tight. Every craftsman is so busy that soon we will really be glad if they still do something for private clients.

After this introductory pamphlet and the announcement of requirement catalogs over 100 pages long, I have to admit I was expecting a bit more. Since we don’t know what was in those 100 pages, it’s difficult to say whether this is good or not.

So I’ll just start writing:
- I find the carport unfortunate. It frames the entrance in such a way that it becomes dark and creepy. It could definitely be airier. Also, it darkens the living room – not exactly a highlight.
- The storage room or pantry is normally not heated so that things stay cool. So if I don’t put up a wall there, it will be warm and not suitable for storing supplies. Since the kitchen area is relatively small overall, the room will at least partially serve as a pantry. Possibly a division is useful if tools or similar have to be stored there.
- The corner for the fridge or tall kitchen cabinet spoils the hallway a bit. Either it should be bigger or more elegant or completely different. In any case, it looks unattractive. If you imagine the cabinets gone, a strange corner structure remains.
- Upstairs we have a mega master bathroom, while the kids’ bathroom is so small you can hardly turn around, so to speak. Also, you sleep right next to the kids’ bathroom. In houses of a certain size, I find that a shame.
- To keep the first kids’ room from being too big, a corner was simply chopped off completely uselessly. The result is a useless kink in which a cabinet was desperately placed. Pure waste of space.
- The dressing room is huge as well. Do you want to dance there? That would be okay, but: by contrast, the bedroom is quite standard and you’re almost glued to the glass front. If I’m not mistaken, the neighbor then has a wonderful view of your love life.

After so much criticism, something positive:
I especially like the large kitchen/dining area with a separate living room. That will definitely be nice. Also, the generous entrance area is very relaxing for 4 people. Despite the criticism, you can certainly live well in this house.

One more thing: in the upper floor I would plan the children’s rooms on the south/chocolate side. They spend most of their time in their rooms and in my opinion that has priority 1 there.

"Function over form" seems to be taken a bit too far here - just like

... less might not only have "been enough" but possibly worked wonders (?)

Franconia is nice and all, but to me it looks very much like the 80s/90s. I could imagine a more fashionable design.

Unfortunately, I completely agree. You don’t see any handwriting, no charm (except that of a three-family house from an earlier time) - but taste is always a matter of opinion. For me, it would be clearly too boring.

Furthermore, I strongly doubt that the budget will work out. (Partial) basement, many windows (what about shading? Venetian blinds? Those are also expensive), building technology, sauna... I would be surprised if the estimated costs match the equipment.

Overall, a very large house which unfortunately doesn’t come across as generous to me at all.
However, I do really like separating the living room from the dining area, that has succeeded here!