Single-family house 160m2 with basement, 500m2 plot

Hi,

We have a 500m2 plot on which we would like to build.

Now we have received the first plans from our preferred construction company.

We need the basement because my wife and I both work from home and we have three children who should not share rooms.

The attic is not really a good option due to the small building window and a building height limit of 9 meters. The basement is really expensive because of the clay soil, but in the end the decision was made in favor of the basement and the first simulated financings fit roughly for about 680k house construction costs including incidental building costs. Of course, excluding the land.

I already find the plans quite good, but of course I don’t have much expertise. A master bathroom was our wish. The guest bathroom on the ground floor is there because we really often have guests staying with us.

In my opinion, the pantry can be omitted.

I made the hallway on the upper floor once bigger and once smaller in favor of a larger children’s bathroom.

I am missing the outside stairs to the basement. If you had the stairs on the right side, you would also get "normal" windows in the basement offices. I have indicated it. Moreover, the street runs along the house from left to right about one meter lower.

I don’t yet know what the layout of the "fitness" room is supposed to be, I think it might be statically necessary. I wanted to bother the architect only when we are 100% sure that this will be the construction company.

What I generally don’t like at the moment is this run-of-the-mill feeling when you look at it, but the house is simply just an ordinary two-story house with a 30° gable roof.

I would very much like to know whether this covered terrace is something good or not based on your experience.

Thanks in advance

Sorry somehow this got deleted here:

Development plan/restrictions
Size of the plot 500m2
Slope goes down one meter from left to right
Floor area ratio 0.4
Gross floor area ratio ?
Building window, building line and boundary are marked on the plan
Edge building 3 meters on all sides
Number of parking spaces 2
Number of floors 2 full floors
Roof shape SD 30-38°
Style
Orientation
Maximum height/limits 9 meters
Further requirements

Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type - we are quite simple here
Basement, floors if all rooms can be arranged well without a basement, it is not needed
Number of people, age, 2 adults and 3 children
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor Room on plan seems quite good to me
Office: family use or home office? both adults work from home
Overnight guests per year every third weekend 3-4 guests
Open or closed architecture - not decided
Conservative or modern construction - not decided
Open kitchen, kitchen island - kitchen island with 3 seats
Number of dining seats 8
Fireplace - somehow all BU advised against it

House design
Who designed it:
-Planner of a construction company

What do you particularly like? Space
What do you not like? no basement access from outside
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 680k€ incl. construction incidentals and outdoor facilities
Personal price limit for the house, incl. fittings: 700k€
Favored heating technology: geothermal heat pump with cooling option

Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
we wanted the 3 children's rooms and two bathrooms upstairs.

we wanted two separate offices and a hobby room for the family

Hello,
what do you need the outside stairs to the basement for? Is it necessary for work? Otherwise, I don't see any added value, rather a possibility for burglars.
I like the upper floor. The layout is good for the floor area. I find the small kids' bathroom sufficient, but the hallway in front of it unnecessary. Maybe you can create a place there for the washing machine? I find it more practical to wash where the laundry is.
You write that you want a shower on the ground floor for guests. But where do the guests sleep?
Why doesn't the garage extend to the boundary? I think it's too narrow to accommodate, for example, bicycles. Isn't it also the case that either boundary construction or a 3m distance is allowed? But maybe I have that wrong.
I also really like that you have planned a cloakroom area and that the living room is somewhat secluded, like a quiet area.

The garage is like that because of the height difference to the neighbor’s yard. But it can definitely be changed.

I will ask the architect.

My wife wanted proper windows in the offices and the possibility to go directly outside with the laundry.

Guests are supposed to sleep in one of the offices or in the third basement room. Otherwise, there’s no place for a guest room anywhere.

Ok, I never dry laundry outside, so I can't really say anything about that. But proper windows should be possible without stairs, there are nice pictures on the Internet with excavations or something like that. I just discovered the large laundry room in the basement, which is of course an argument against having the washing machine upstairs. However, I would try to plan a laundry chute. Then you only have to carry the fresh laundry upstairs and you can nicely pre-sort it downstairs. For example, we have an Ikea frame with pull-out wire baskets for that. If the guests sleep in the basement (I think that's totally fine), then the shower bath on the ground floor also makes sense.

Yes, we are not done with the washing machine question yet either. Currently it is in the sleeping area and does not bother anyone since we do not stay there during the day. So there would be space for it in the upstairs. Do you have a link to [aufgrabungen] so I can take a look?