Semi-detached house with unequal halves = different floor plans

I like houses like that, they are exactly my style.

I feel exactly the opposite. I regret that it has to be a semi-detached house - but I understand the financial situation. And looking at the floor plan, I don't see any "yes, absolutely" effect that says, spend 700 grand on me!
What really annoys me: why did the architect so little internalize the OP's wishes? There are always framework conditions that don't make everything possible - of course. But the OP wanted a mega open space, entrance in the north, shower on the ground floor, etc. None of that was implemented. Honestly, I would return it like that with a grade 5 - insufficient - question missed.

- Neighboring buildings on the south half are awful: L-shaped retaining walls with prefabricated garage and metal fence with these interwoven plastic mats in anthracite, behind that a city villa (personally, those things horrify me) in RAL7016 white plaster finish, below garages/carport.

That doesn't exactly sound like it would increase the value of the south half..., someone is still supposed to pay a lot of money for it, which you are depicting here in a very disparaging way.

- I hate heat. I don't want a bedroom and living room in the south or southwest if I have to shade them the whole long day in summer. The last summer really finished me off regarding this decision

I fully agree with you here, unfortunately we are alone with this opinion in this forum. The principle from pre-thermal-insulation times still applies here: living rooms have to be south rooms and if it gets too warm, just lower the blinds/roller shutters. However, it is a mystery to me where the light should come from when the blinds/roller shutters are lowered.

But OP wanted a mega living room, entrance in the north, shower on the ground floor, etc. None of that was implemented. To be honest, I would return it like that with a grade of 5 - insufficient - question missed.

The architect must know the reasons behind it. Why entrance in the north if it is well placed in the east?
Why a shower on the ground floor if there is the alternative shower in the attic?
I find that completely legitimate, thought through by the architect, no unconsidered easy pass accepted and therefore deserving a 2+

Living spaces must be south-facing rooms, and if it gets too warm for you, just lower the blinds/shutters. The argument is always made with regard to the incidence of light,

Honey, to each their own.., basically light should be promoted. And of course, you often have to handle the issue when it comes to renovations. Besides, in many cases the Energy Saving Ordinance/KfW plays a role... Still, I must say again: in normal summers, we keep the shutters up except in the bedroom.

That doesn’t exactly sound value-increasing for the southern half..., yet someone is supposed to pay a lot of money for it, which you are currently portraying very disparagingly.

You are right – that was probably a bit unfortunate wording on my part. Let’s say that what is described there is how around 70% of builders are currently building, more or less. So I assume that there are indeed people who like it very much. Objectively, it’s not a total disaster, subjectively the situation looks different. I find it horrible, but my taste is probably not the standard.
I sometimes tend to disparage things I personally find unattractive. I should break myself of that habit.

The architect must know the reasons. Why an entrance in the north, when it is well placed in the east?

We would have liked to achieve a seemingly large separation of the two halves of the house, when you are already sharing a rather small plot. But as I said, we are not fixated on that. I am not emotional about that. With the stairs, rather more so

Why a shower on the ground floor, when there is the alternative shower on the upper floor?

That’s true, with the bathroom on the upper floor we obviously don’t need a shower downstairs. Maybe Katja was referring to the half for sale. There is only a guest WC and a bathroom with a tub there. No shower at all in the whole house, I also think that’s a no-go. Actually, there should be two, one downstairs or upstairs, and a family bathroom with shower and tub.