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I have a different opinion regarding a gallery. I am happy every day when I walk down from the bedroom to the living room in the morning via the gallery stairs. Because I know many other houses without an open space or gallery and I always find it a bit oppressive there. For my taste, there is nothing nicer than making the house feel a bit airy and spacious through high ceilings. I personally feel twice as comfortable there and it simply makes an impression. So under NO circumstances remove the gallery! It looks super stylish and generous in the pictures! Those who call a gallery wasted space have usually never lived in a house with this beautiful sense of space themselves…

And to calm you down: I know many beautiful houses that are sometimes even built up to 1 meter higher to have space for a high basement (large windows, etc.). And even there, it looks very pleasing with a nice staircase. You can also cleverly solve this with only 60 cm by simply planning the terrain from street level with a slight incline towards the house for such a rather small elevation (With 6 m distance from the street, that would be only a 10% slope, which can be cleverly solved with steps or a path. There are good garden landscapers for that so that the 60 cm no longer stand out much. However, it may be that you are limited in height and the B plan then does not allow an elevation for the desired house? Then you have to keep looking. And I would not pay the architect a cent for that so far. He should be able to clarify everything with the building authority before his design and especially take care of flood protection. That is not your task! And the fact that he apparently cannot even plan a legal floor plan raises questions for me! The rules are quite clear! Everyone knows here that you cannot have another penthouse floor over a penthouse floor (that would be absurd. An architect must know what a full floor, a penthouse floor and a top floor that should not be a penthouse floor are and, above all, must plan accordingly.

2-3 neighboring houses are built at a higher level, including the original old building. There are 2 newer houses on the same street that were built at ground level.

I have a different opinion regarding a gallery. I am happy every day when I go down from the bedroom to the living room in the morning via the gallery stairs. Because I know many other houses without an open space or gallery and I always find it a bit oppressive there. For my taste, there is nothing more beautiful than making the house look a bit airy and spacious through high ceilings. Personally, I feel twice as comfortable, and it simply makes an impression. So under NO circumstances delete the gallery! It looks super chic and spacious in the pictures! Those who call a gallery wasted space have usually never lived in a house with this beautiful sense of space themselves...

And to reassure you: I know many beautiful houses that are sometimes even built up to 1m higher to have space for a high basement (large windows, etc.). With only 60cm, this can also be cleverly solved by planning the terrain from street level with a slight slope towards the house in the case of a rather small elevation (At 6m distance from the street, that would only be a slope of 10%, which can be cleverly solved by steps or a path. There are good landscape gardeners for that, so the 60cm no longer stand out much.

Thank you, this is a really great post that gives me courage!

And as a tip to the architect: §45 I 1 BayBO. It clearly states what is allowed in the roof. Because it is not uncommon that even with a full storey according to the development plan, you basically have 3 floors, where above the setback storey a usable space is sneaked in, which legally is not a habitable room.

Oh! :(
I didn't know about the flood protection area issue. Did you repress it and not mention it, or did I not read it correctly?

1) Flood protection is apparently not as trivial as assumed.

but he can't expect me as an amateur to draw the right conclusions from that, right?

no, but that you ask him, keep the concern or fact in mind, and thus know that some planning stands on shaky ground.
Since I can't remember anything about it in this thread, I think you forgot it?!
Edit: I skimmed through some other former threads of yours, and nowhere is there anything about the flood area.

In our taste, the gallery and this interior space are successful - we like it.

I see things a bit more soberly: there are many beautiful things that please, but you don’t have to (or can) have everything.
But everyone deals with that differently: quickly start Pinterest and you have to incorporate 2-3 things into the design... until the next highlight appears on the list.
For me, a house becomes all the more uninteresting when every corner comes with that stuff. You can’t really enjoy it anymore because everything is somehow overloaded.

We don’t want to do without our little gem “gallery.”

Do you have creative ideas?

For me, a little gem is something you can also do without. If I don’t have a blue jewel for the wardrobe, blue eyeshadow does it. I would rather not do without my jacket.
Here I am again with a woman who looks overloaded with her jewels, rather than understatedly complementing her wardrobe here and there with a few jewels ;)

So definitely do NOT strike the gallery!

Your post reads as if it’s rather about giving up a child than the gallery. Again: it’s not about "do I do it or not," but the fact that some things need to be removed or changed here.
I like my gallery too, but I also don’t have to do without a nursery.
You have to see the house as a whole.

However, yes: there is so much potential that the house can accommodate with the space level including the basement. Including granny flat. Open window fronts, etc. Nevertheless, a gallery is a nice-to-have that one would probably gladly do without if one has other potential and a nicer execution/planning.
You can also turn a non-air space into another eye-catcher by, for example, expanding the staircase upward as a highlight with several double casement windows in a row. Only nobody Googles that on Pinterest. Or an open roof space...

2-3 neighboring houses are built higher up, including the original old building. There are 2 newer houses on the same street built at ground level.

And those without a basement? It’s about the basement level, right?
I would probably continue to hope for interesting designs and ideas from the architect and wait to see what else he has to offer. Ultimately, I remind you of a price limit, which without further ado can also backfire if you stretch the wish list too far.

The 60cm is annoying, but in my eyes bearable with the outdoor area as planned.

In the worst case, we have to raise the ground floor by up to 60cm – that would be a disaster for me. At this point, I really wonder why this is only being recognized now.

Honestly, I’m very curious what will come back on this. I would absolutely not accept that. The architect did point out to me before that we have to consider flood protection, but he can’t expect me as an amateur to draw the right conclusions from that, right? That it could suddenly mean a 60cm increase is insane. I can’t even imagine how our plan would still hold if that happened. I might accept a marginal restriction like 10cm.

So I find it strange that the architect only just now comes around the corner with this, but even if that had been the case earlier: the man is not responsible for the increase itself. Or did he advise you when buying the property and keep the flooding issue secret? Buying a house in a flood zone was your decision. And normally, that is also designated by the municipality. Now you should be annoyed with yourselves at least as much as with the architect.

Those who call a gallery wasted space have usually never lived in a house with this beautiful sense of space…

Sense of space is one thing, sound transmission another. After all, the children’s rooms still have that extra hallway here. Otherwise, something like that is just mega noisy. I know a couple who had a gallery and wouldn’t build like that again. In summary, when I compare the first and the last draft, I somehow found the first one more pleasing. Maybe it’s not so bad to have to start over again. Even though I understand that after such a long planning time you want to finally come to an end. Definitely, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!