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

Summary of my architect meeting

First of all, I want to let you know that for the first time I have a really good feeling about taking the right path. Even though the cost estimates cause a crying eye (at a high level), we are looking forward to the planning!

[*]The architect took a long time (almost 2.5 hours - unpaid). We talked about our personalities, the entire room program, further wishes, and much more. At every point he actively intervened and immediately brought in his inspirations.
[*]He specifically presented reference projects to me and explained how he proceeded back then. Especially the comprehensive 3D visualization & animation is very impressive. He offers this service additionally as a package (4-digit price) and highly recommends it (I tend to agree).
[*]The office basically covers all service phases. However, due to the travel distance, he excluded personal site supervision. Nevertheless, the property belongs to the region and he can recommend site supervision & general contractors from his own network. As of now, his tendency is towards a general contractor – according to his good experience.
[*]The office has experience in all types of construction – solid wood & solid construction – we keep this open as well.
[*]In terms of budget, we then approached the gross floor area (GFA). With which GFA would our room program be uncompromisingly included (outside the budget) and how do we bring GFA and costs under one roof. The result: Maximum would be a GFA of 500m²; minimum (within the budget 400m²) and I’m currently evaluating whether our budget can tolerate a further compromise (e.g. 450m²).
[*]In the conversation about the granny flat we defined two possible paths: 1) 2 full floors with attic + basement; 2) basement + 1 full floor + roof -> Why 2? Because this way the development plan allows 40% more footprint. This allows the house to be more extensive and it may be that the granny flat can be better integrated into the ground floor structure. Both paths will be compared during planning.
[*]He is very cautious about the development plan. While my last planner (you know who I mean) proposed a castle in the air outside the development plan, he wants to stay pleasantly within the development plan first – because that is sufficient.
[*]We also went through various technical components (KNX, ...). He recommends installing a geothermal heat pump instead of an air-to-air heat pump or air-to-water heat pump.
[*]As next steps we have already set a rough schedule. Soon the property inspection with a demolition company will follow.

Content-related questions from the offer:

[*]With regard to my summary, the offer now covers service phases 1-4 (opt-out clause after service phase 2) according to HOAI. Besides the general contractor discussion, any concerns?
[*]The architect explicitly excludes the project cost calculation as a service and grants an additional discount. The background is that he still assumes a general contractor construction and wants to involve this early in the planning phase. I pointed out that I still require him to give me valuable feedback on our overall cost planning (further cost items) during the planning. What do you say about that?
[*]He categorically excludes a "design supervision as well as the development of design wishes and details" as a service. Do you know what is meant by that?

Very nice, the architect works neatly and also seems to be very communicative. I like that he immediately found the regulation of the 40% higher floor area, which already mentioned in post #63 and even drew a floor plan for it. I'm already looking forward to the first draft :)

I am currently evaluating whether our budget can withstand another compromise (e.g. 450m2).

I would rather invest in quality than in inflated spaces, for example if 12sqm is enough for an office, but you think it absolutely has to be 16sqm because it is doable within the budget.

He is very cautious regarding the development plan. While my last planner (you know who I mean) proposed a castle in the air outside the development plan, he wants to stay comfortably within the development plan for now – because that is enough.

Very wise!

2) Basement + 1 full floor + roof -> Why 2? Because this allows the development plan 40% more floor area.

You forget that these 40% also have to lie within the building envelope. A blocky house of 15x17, for example, would theoretically have the problem that you can no longer get light into the middle of the house. Then no KS may be built – what comes out will be a huge bungalow with 38-degree hip roof, various dormers and a full basement. This will look less modern and rather conservative. I would think about it carefully.

You forget that these 40% must also lie within the building envelope. A bulky house of 15x17, for example, would theoretically have the problem that you no longer get light into the middle of the house. Then no KS may be used – the result will be a mega bungalow with 38 hip roofs, various dormers, and a fully basement. It will look less modern and rather conservative. I would think about that very carefully.

I will discuss this at the next appointment with the architect. As I said – we are currently keeping all options open and will see what fits better.

Now I can finally respond to your numerous comments & ideas.

Guest room and cinema/playroom are not needed - at least upstairs - on top of that.

Yes and no. So the two separate (preferably also small) offices are indispensable. Somewhere we also want to accommodate the 1 guest room, which can possibly be later converted into a children's room plus 1 permanent children's room. That way we save one room.

Your bedroom can be significantly smaller, the walk-in closet too, if it can be furnished properly.

I am very curious about the input from the new architect.

I have had both and love the sauna upstairs in the large bathroom.

I only have 2 practical concerns here: 1) Will I really have no sauna smells in the bathroom, bedroom, walk-in closet? 2) It can well happen that I host a group of friends and we want to use the sauna in summer. Then everything takes place in our master bathroom...

What is the utility room next to the kitchen for?

I think the name is simply wrong. Pantry!?

For that, a maximally flat roof, which I would at least partially open. Flat roof extension would also be an option.

That will be difficult according to the development plan.

GF: kitchen, dining, living (kitchen nice and big with cooking island), granny flat
UF: bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom with sauna, kids' bathroom, 2 kids' rooms, 2 offices
BF: fitness, guest

Thank you. I am not sure if the proportions fit. I suspect that it will be quite tight upstairs and I will have to use space in the basement.

Basically, a line should be followed that even the good budgets do not allocate dormant rooms. An office can certainly serve as a guest room, with 2 visitors per year using their own bathroom. Here it is more than 155 (I believe 175 sqm), but in return one would have barrier-free living

Wow ypg! First of all, a big thank you for your incredible effort and the draft. First of all, I find one thing really cool: the stepped progression of the house. It is actually 3 building structures flowing together in one house. Very well done! I am currently hesitating here. On the one hand, I want to just let the architect, who is being paid a lot, do his thing now, and I hope it will blow me away with amazement. On the other hand, I find the layout elegant and am considering whether I should give him a little nudge in a similar direction at the next appointment.

Basically, nothing works with a site plan where the lines are one meter thick. What does the GC refer to? There must be a site plan at the beginning of the planning, right???

Honestly? I don’t know. We should first suppress the GC chaos. After the conversation with the architect yesterday, it increasingly seems to me that the GC really ignored every single restriction of the property and then simply and blindly implemented my described room wishes. No questioning, no proper coordination, etc. I just wonder how it would have gone on. The GC would have liked to build with me in the end, but probably would have received a firm rejection from the building authority during the preliminary approval.