New single-family house - Join us on this journey!

2022-08-07 19:58:19

Your personal preferences.

A few personal details about us: - we both work in the tech sector, meaning a lot of home office - we are very athletic, both 5 times a week. Therefore gym and sauna - we love sitting at the breakfast table for 1 hour in the morning - kitchen island with a view into the room desired; however, we are not extremely passionate cooks - regarding the granny flat: for the foreseeable future our parents will mainly be living there. Since these are not short stays of 3 days but longer, the granny flat should be independent. Kitchenette, bedroom, bathroom, living room - we like larger rooms – gallery / open space and spacious ground floor - my wife reads about 100 books a year. So she likes to set up various reading niches - 1-2 kids are planned - we like the large unobstructed view into the garden Without any restrictions, we would definitely have built a very modern and cubic house (flat roof). I like your idea with the outbuilding.

2022-08-07 20:42:03

A huge house, but in my opinion far too few rooms.

1. There is no additional room on the ground floor. What if someone breaks a leg? Then that person lies in a nursing bed in the middle of the living room for 6 weeks and can only wash with a washcloth? Or is there a shower in the guest toilet?

2. I would treat myself to a pantry or storage room near the kitchen.

3. The [Einlieger-Wohnung] has no storage room at all?

4. Are there no hallways? You open the front door and are immediately in the large living area? Young people may like that. For the parents-in-law, it is certainly not pleasant if someone is sitting on the sofa and the front door opens when it is freezing outside. I would always plan a hallway.

2022-08-07 20:45:07

If the granny flat is for the parents-in-law, then your wife can surely give good input regarding the floor plan? American preferences are somewhat different. Even after almost 20 years, I still haven’t gotten used to some things :)

2022-08-07 21:06:49

Inside as well as outside. What use is the most beautiful house from the inside if it is hideous from the outside? You don't sit in a golden cage!

Excuse me? The priority is clearly on the inside. What do I care about the most beautiful facade, if I have to/may be annoyed every morning about, for example, the corner in the living/dining area?

2022-08-07 22:43:59

Now I’m starting a short new discussion, but I don’t want to drag it on endlessly: Architect choice. This is weighing heavily on me.

I know the goal should be that the architect meets minimum criteria: We like the style, good references, good feeling in conversation, also does construction management, and more.

I have to add a special criterion: My wife is American with no German language level that would allow her to freely discuss with the architect.

Back then, my wife and I spoke with >5 renowned architects. Result: Only 1 architect passed – especially regarding English.

BUT: Despite numerous references and good reviews, it’s a pure planning office and does not bill according to HOAI (but rather fixed prices). When asked about construction management, I was told that they stay “on board” during a project and we as builders can choose from several construction managers on their recommendation if we want. Prices can be compared in advance with HOAI – so that hurts less.

Of course, I would now like to have the all-in-one solution including construction management ready, but the architect (planner) simply made a very good impression on us (including personnel).

What do you think? Stick with the good feeling, or completely reopen the tough architect topic?

What do you mean by “pure planning office”? Which service phases does he take on?

We are currently planning/building for the second time and it was especially important to us that the architect does the detailed planning and has a civil engineer in the team. During our first build, there were many problems because the craftsmen argued over execution details since there were often no drawings and the scope of services at the interfaces was unclear. Also, it was important to us that the detailed planning integrates the interior design and especially the lighting planning.

Our architect outsources the construction management to freelancers because he builds nationwide and a construction manager must be on site.

2022-08-07 22:53:35

What do you mean by "pure planning office"? Which service phases does he cover?

We are currently planning/building for the second time and it was particularly important to us that the architect does the detailed planning and has a structural engineer on the team for this. During our first build, there were many problems because the craftsmen argued about execution details, as there was often no drawing for this and the scope of services at interfaces was unclear. It was also important to us that interior design and especially lighting planning are integrated into the detailed planning.

Our architect awards the construction management to freelancers, as he builds nationwide and a site manager has to be present locally.

According to his statement, he covers service phases 1-5. He further said that he brings several construction managers as recommendations and remains on board to provide support in the further phases.

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New single-family house - Join us on this journey!

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