Floor plan improvement suggestions for a single-family house on a south-facing slope

We find a staircase with twisted steps extremely unpleasant and therefore consciously chose a staircase with straight steps. Both of our parents have problems with climbing stairs. In terms of space consumption, we see some advantages with the L-shaped staircase compared to, for example, a straight staircase (very long, requires a lot of space for the hallway) or a U-landing staircase (1 m² less). In addition, due to the shape, the entrance area is not as cramped as in some houses where the spiral staircase starts right next to the door.

I can understand that the aesthetics of such staircases can be debated; we would also have preferred a straight staircase, but with a 300 m² plot size, you optimize everything on and in the house, really everything. If you ever have problems with climbing stairs, it logically makes no difference what shape the staircase has. To refer back to my original statement about how the floor plan could be efficient, here is an example. In my opinion, these are pleasantly sized and designed rooms. By the way, our floor plan looks almost exactly like this, except that instead of a walk-in closet, we placed an office with 9 m² there and the staircase is a bit wider but shorter.

Of course, this is not everyone’s "dream of living", but as I said, we had to make compromises with lifestyle to even fit an 11.5 x 9 m building on the plot. However, I also claim that, among other things, because of the simple layout, the construction costs for us remained absolutely within limits compared to construction projects of friends (who built more according to their wishes) and for this we were able to invest more money in quality rather than quantity.

I join many others here and claim that your initial design, together with your workshop, etc., and the additional construction costs for the hillside location will not be under 750k. I would also rather forgo one floor and instead go wider/longer. That was not possible for us either because we already come within 3 m of the property boundaries all around. Kids grow up fast, want to see the world, study elsewhere, move out, and all the spaces previously used by kids then become (almost) just additional work. :)

Where would be a better location for one of the mentioned stair variants with the current configuration of basement, ground floor, attic?

In this design, I don’t see a good location...

I think such situations are also often found in supposedly barrier-free buildings, since such an occurrence is considered unlikely.

No, how do you come to that? There is only one reason, namely that you are sugarcoating your thoughtless and naive/amateurish implementation. We have already read enough defensive arguments. The objections and any criticism, mostly justified, just bounce off you like a basketball. I don’t think you are doing yourself any favors with that.

Doors, unlike furnishings, can only be changed with greater effort. Therefore, adapting to changed circumstances is considerably easier by changing the furnishings. At least that is our view.

Exactly: doors are static, furniture can be changed. Only the doors in this design are not ideal, as they are stuck in walls that make everything feel cramped (no use even having sliding doors)... and I don’t see many areas for furnishing or varying. The shelf in the dining area is already too much, in the pantry there are 50cm left... you can’t even carry in a baking tray without bruising your elbows... in the main bathroom you get in your own way even without furniture... the path there is over the moisture you leave after showering, and so on and so forth...

Reductions can generally still be planned there, but completely without a basement, as already mentioned, is definitely not our goal.

It doesn’t matter how often you mention that: it doesn’t fit the budget, even without a roof terrace, the offset basement for the house, living/workshop floor with double insulation, etc.... For your workshop, I recommend reading the regulations on equipment and noise protection (BlmSchV, §7) and your development plan. For the house, I advise self-reflection and respecting the abilities of the trained architects.

Basically, it would have to be checked whether such a hobby / business is even allowed. If my new neighbor saws all day at my property boundary or just behind it, he would quickly have a big problem. Accordingly, I would also expect soundproofing.

Assuming that all of that is clarified, my plan here would be:
Spacious garage. Hobby room underneath. Next to it the house with
Basement: Living / dining / cooking / technology / guest WC / pantry,
Ground floor: Bedroom, children, bathroom, laundry, dressing room or office.

Here is my suggestion

Thank you very much for that! We will take another close look at it over the weekend.

Then invest in very, very good soundproofing.

Technically, in that frequency range (mostly high frequency >1000 Hz) no problem. Sound insulation to the outside is already sufficient due to a concrete basement + triple glazing. Through a perforated metal ceiling, not only can the reverberation time be significantly reduced (sound damping), but sound insulation can also be further promoted if needed.

Your basement workshop does not work structurally.

Sure, it is also not yet finally planned. But getting the whole thing under structural control should not be a big challenge.

Here are my comments on the floor plan.

Thank you very much for that! There are some good points. We will try to take them into consideration.

What does the development plan say about it?

The development plan does not restrict it. General residential area --> non-disturbing commercial use is allowed. This is not meant to start a fundamental discussion; there are different legal rulings on the topic of what counts as disturbing commercial use.

[...]The floor plan could look efficient, here is an example[...]

That actually doesn’t look bad. I would be interested in the ground floor for that. Do you happen to also have the ground floor plan of the design? For the upper floor, it would make sense to arrange the two children's rooms facing south.

There is only one reason, namely that you present your ill-conceived and naive/amateurish Ums...

I don’t think I really need to go into that further. We have tried to highlight the points that seem important to us and of course also to defend them to a certain extent.

Regulation on equipment and noise protection regulation (BlmSchV, §7) and your development plan

I am well familiar with the regulation, but thank you for mentioning it again at this point in that context.

Regarding the house, I advise you to self-reflect and respect the skills of the trained architects.

I assume you are a trained architect?...

Assuming that all this is clarified, my plan would be here: generous garage. Hobby room underneath. Next to it the house with basement: living / dining / cooking / technology / guest WC / pantry, ground floor: bedroom, children, bathroom, laundry, dressing room or office.

Thank you for your constructive suggestions! From where would you make the hobby room accessible? The equipment partly weighs several hundred kg (max. approx. 800 kg) and must be brought in there and possibly taken out again. Does your suggestion provide access from the garage to the house?

Regardless of floor plan / basement etc.: you are bringing a high fire load with your hobby workshop. Have you considered how everything can be solved from a fire protection point of view?

I have indeed dealt intensively with the topic. The strategy is to divide the workshop into different areas. For example, storage of paints, solvents, etc. in a designated area (e.g. in a hazardous materials cabinet or a room with F90). Metalworking separated from easily flammable wood dust because of sparks. Another point is the reduction of possible fire causes. One of the statistically most relevant fire causes is at the extraction systems; the reason is often non-functioning spark arresters etc. That means the extraction systems are equipped with self-triggering fire extinguishers. The BG has some documents with helpful information on this.

The shelf in the dining area is already too much

That depends on the actual depth of the table. There is quite a bit of additional storage space built into the seating window.

there are 50cm left in the pantry... you can't even carry a baking tray in there without getting bruised elbows

That is simply not correct. It is 74 cm. If you are unsure, you are welcome to ask for a dimensioned version before misleading others with such statements.

In this design, I don't really see a good layout...

I am happy to accept constructive criticism, but comments with partially objectively false statements unfortunately do not help us. Other users have already shown what concrete improvements could look like, but nothing really tangible comes from you.

then you should also show the design,

I will have a look when I get the chance to see if I can find it and will gladly post it here for discussion.

For the upper floor we still have a second version, but since many have questioned the overall plan, I would no longer upload it.

From where would you make the hobby room accessible? The devices weigh several hundred kg (max. approx. 800 kg) and have to be brought in there and possibly taken out again.

Does your proposal include access from the garage into the house?

These are just initial thoughts. For rough layout sketches, one would need the exactly measured plot including any building envelopes, distances, or other development plan information. Contour lines were already somewhere, I saw.
Basically, the basement is built as a uniform block with a connection to the garage basement, e.g., via some kind of airlock. This way you have a connection but at the same time also a separation. Of course, it also depends on the space available.

Maybe our still remembers the thread where we had a city villa on a slope with a garage next to it. I only remember that the stairway went pretty straight into the kitchen and the room under the garage – wasn’t there a fitness room in it? Upstairs the kids’ rooms and the bedroom. Maybe I’m mixing up several designs… ;) In any case, I found the final result quite successful and one could probably pick up a few ideas from it.