Floor plan design Passive house single-family home with basement 220m²

Hello dear forum members,

I hope you all had a good start into the new year.

I would like to briefly introduce our project to you and I would be very happy to receive opinions and criticism on the current draft.

Our preliminary building inquiry was approved by the municipality back in November 2020 and we are currently in the floor plan design phase with an architect.

His first draft did not convince us, so we started planning ourselves in our free time.

Here is the information that should be provided:

Development plan/restrictions
Size of the plot ~ 400m²
Slope -
Floor area ratio 0.4
Floor space index 0.8
Building envelope 10m x 13m, see attachment (shown in dark blue)

Edge development: direct extension to existing building
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 3 floors -> basement, ground floor, upper floor with 1.5m knee wall inside (+ open attic)
Roof shape: gable roof
Style: settler house / passive house in timber frame construction
Orientation: see picture
Maximum heights/limits: 9.2m ridge height, 4.8m eaves height, 1.5m knee wall inside


Client requirements
Number of persons, age: 2 adults, 2 toddlers
Space requirement on ground floor, upper floor: each approx. 75m²
Office: family use or home office? Home office twice a week
Guests per year: 2x2
Open or closed architecture: see draft
Conservative or modern construction: see draft
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: yes, is available
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: existing building garage available
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: small bed planned


House design
Who is the planner:
- Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
Position of living room, lots of light with evening sun, direct access to the quiet garden area
Open intermediate ceilings on the upper floor for additional space in children's rooms and office above the bedroom
What do you not like? Why?
Position of home office not yet 100% clear if it works in the attic. Basement as an alternative but possibly too dark in the long run despite light well...
Price estimate according to architect/planner: -
Personal price limit for the house, incl. equipment: -
Preferred heating technology: groundwater heat pump and underfloor heating

If you have to give up, which details/extensions
-you can give up: sauna
-you cannot give up: large kitchen

Why is the design the way it is now?
When the children have left the house, the separability of the stairwell for later use of the upper floor for rental is important.

This then resulted in the entrance area and after many discussions with my wife, it has become what it is.

The architect’s first draft was more of a standard draft that didn’t quite match our preliminary discussion. Probably in the rush before Christmas he had no more time but still wanted to submit something. There actually was no time pressure on our side at all.

Open issues are:

- Floor heights / ceiling thicknesses / general floor buildup
- How far back should the house go (for daylight incidence through SW living room windows)
- Fixed / movable partition wall dining room to living room?
- Execution of basement light well
- Execution of gallery ceiling / gallery room height
- Size of children's rooms sufficient?

- Windows: generally check window sizes
Upper floor:
- Roof windows in children's rooms & bedroom: how to clean?
- Roof window bathroom?
- Roof window upstairs hallway? Where (consider extension) and how to clean?
- Where to place windows for stairwell?

Ground floor:
- Size of both living room windows


What is the most important/basic question regarding the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

General criticism and comments would be greatly appreciated; there is always room for improvement. I am not picky, so feel free to fully express yourselves but please stay factual, that would be appreciated.


Personal note at the end:

Quite a bit of time and thought has gone into it. But since it was self-designed, there are certainly some mistakes in the construction. I ask for your understanding, I am not a professional and with a family you often don’t have the time to design everything perfectly. But I hope it is useful.

Thank you & best regards

I personally find EG and OG stylish. The only thing is that the hallway in the OG between the children's rooms would be wasted space for me. It could be divided between the child and room2. However, the stairs into the children's rooms probably won't work like that without ducking, even though I think the idea is pretty cool :)

For the ceiling on the upper floor, 12cm will probably not be enough. Mine, for example, are 18cm thick with similar house dimensions. In addition, there are 2.5cm battens (possibly counter battens +2.5cm) + 1.2cm drywall + covering (for us 1.5cm + 2.2cm ESP + 1.0cm laminate) in the attic. Better plan for 25cm there. You don’t want to run out of ceiling height.

Before questions arise again: where is the street? Directions? And: what is the budget? Have you already added up the living square meters (i.e., every room within the thermal envelope)

Entrance as shown in 3D in the southeast, unfortunately the garage must remain at the back.

I am well informed about the costs, the living area of 220m² is completely within the thermal envelope.

I look forward to further questions, comments, and constructive criticism regarding the floor plan.

Thank you & regards

Driveway as shown in the 3D in the southeast, unfortunately the garage has to remain at the back

Sorry, but nowhere is an orientation indicated.
If the blue text with NO actually means northeast, then the entrance is also NE, ok, the long driveway SE. Yes, that makes sense.

And: what is the budget?

And you deliberately leave out this question as well.

Notes and factual criticism on the floor plan.

No arms, no cookies.