Single-family house - final version - do you have any optimizations?

Hello everyone,
we are in the process of building our single-family house.
This design has now become our final version after almost a year.

Do you have any tips/improvements or suggestions for us?
Probably, due to the long planning period, we no longer have the necessary distance.
Therefore, we would be very happy to receive feedback.

Thank you very much!
Regards
CarFri_

Development plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 901m2
Slope: South-facing slope, approx. 4 m decline from north/west to east/south
Building type: Single-family house
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.6
Building window, building line and boundary: see attachment (blue line)
Number of parking spaces: 2 in front of garage entrance
Number of floors: 2 full floors
Roof type: Gable roof, 25 degrees, staggered
Style: modern
Orientation: South
Maximum heights/limits: considered according to development plan

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, floors: basement rooms in the north
Number of people, age: 2 people, ages: 28, 30, desire for children: present
Space requirements on ground floor, basement, attic:
Ground floor: airlock, vestibule, guest room, cooking/dining/living,
Basement: bedroom with dressing room and master bath, office, children's rooms 1+2, separate bathroom, cellar rooms
Attic: storage with pulley
open or closed architecture: open
conservative or modern construction: modern
open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 1
Fireplace: yes, three-sided glazed
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony: yes, with access to the garden (terrain modeling)
Terrace: yes, downstairs on the upper floor for larger parties; otherwise mainly for lounge chairs
Cistern: yes, 8,000 liters volume
Garage, carport: double garage

House design
Designed by:
- Architect
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 450,000 – 500,000 euros including ancillary construction costs, house connections and floor coverings
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: see above
Heating technology: gas, solar system + photovoltaic planned

Why has the design become what it is now?
We did not want to build three stories into the slope. From the garden side, otherwise our house would look like a multi-family house. We didn’t like that.
We discovered advantages for the use of the sleeping rooms in the basement:
It does not get as warm in the summer as on the upper floor, and cooking odors rise upwards rather than downwards.
All sleeping rooms (parents, child 1+2) face south and have access to the garden.
The laundry process can be handled entirely in the basement: collecting laundry, washing, drying, ironing and putting away.
The ground floor is completely wheelchair accessible; you can also live entirely on one level later in life (thanks to the guest room).
The garage is integrated into the house. If you want to take out the trash, you never have to go outside the house (changing clothes, in rain or cold).

What do you understand by accessible for disabled people?

What is the purpose of the airlock between the garage and the kitchen?
I find the kitchen not very functional and with little workspace for its size.
Do you have direct garden access from the living rooms?
I would rather swap the floors.
Children in the garden is more practical. They spend most of the time outside if you let them.

I don't like the basement. I need to take a closer look at what bothers me.

I think it's good that you are building only 2 floors and not going for a classic tower building.
Your budget might be a bit tight.

The discussion will begin soon as to whether the living room/kitchen are better located in the basement (due to access to the terrace). I think both have advantages and disadvantages and it is a personal decision - I myself wouldn't know how I would do it! What I notice about the floor plan is that to get to the basement, you always have to go through the kitchen/dining area or through the living area. That means when the kids bring friends over, when they come home late as teenagers (and maybe the first boyfriend wants to sneak out late), always through the living area. The neighbor who is invited to have a beer in the garden - also through the entire living area. Personally, that would be too open for me.

Is it confirmed that the development plan allows for ancillary structures - retaining walls - terrace outside the building boundaries / to what extent is it allowed?

I see the staircase as an ungainly nuisance that completely ruins your floor plan:

- Staircase as a room divider on the upper floor is questionable under certain circumstances, as it is a dark hole surrounded by railings, something you have to like. It is not a classic open space, but will rather appear for what it is: a cellar entrance.
- This very cellar entrance gets, on top of that, an exposed location while enjoying the fireplace?
- The staircase is (mainly) responsible for your children's rooms being sized at the level of a 120 sqm Town & Country house, even though your house is actually twice as large.

The solution here would only be a U-shaped staircase in the area of the guest room/children's bathroom. This saves, especially in the basement, easily 10-15 sqm of unused/dark hallway space that needs to be heated and cleaned for nothing.

3.50 m overhang in front of the bedroom: South side or not, no one here will want to stay cozy in bed on Sunday morning, as it is dark and blocked.

What do you understand by accessible for disabled persons?

What is the purpose of the airlock between the garage and the kitchen?
I find the kitchen not very functional and there is little workspace for the size.
Do you have direct access to the garden from the living rooms?
I would rather swap the floors.
Children in the garden is more practical. They spend most of their time outside if you let them.

I don't like the basement. I have to look at it carefully to see what bothers me.

I think it's good that you are building only 2 floors and not going for a classic tower.
Your budget might be a bit tight.

Accessible for disabled persons or for old age:
You can live completely on one floor because you have all the important rooms on one level. The guest room can be converted into a bedroom.
So you don’t have to climb stairs.

The airlock is supposed to be a room for supplies, cleaning cupboard, storage (for household appliances e.g. deep fryer, baking molds etc.)

The kitchen has a cooking island 3m long and 120cm deep.
On the wall opposite there will also be a workspace.
In the recess towards the airlock, a side-by-side refrigerator is planned.
I think that is enough workspace for me.

Access to the garden is available on the ground floor.
From the balcony towards the garage. In the area of the garage, earth will be mounded up and, through land modeling, a soft transition to the garden will be created.

We do not want to swap floors.
Precisely for the mentioned advantages like heat or odors.
Besides, I would rather not have to climb stairs with my shopping bags from the garage every time.

Thanks anyway for your feedback.

Is it confirmed that the development plan allows secondary structures - retaining walls - terrace outside the building boundaries / to what extent is it allowed?

yes, everything is confirmed and clarified with the city.

I see the staircase as a clumsy evil that destroys your entire floor plan:

- Staircase as a room divider on the upper floor is questionable under certain circumstances, as a dark hole surrounded by railings, you have to like that. It is not a classic open space, but will appear for what it is: a basement stairway.
- This very basement stairway gets an exposed location on top when enjoying the fireplace?
- The staircase is (mainly) responsible that your children's rooms end up sized like those in a 120 sqm Town & Country house, although your house is actually twice as big.

The only solution here would be a U-shaped staircase in the guest room/children's bathroom area. This easily saves 10-15 sqm of unused/dark hallway space in the basement that needs heating and cleaning for nothing.

3.50m overhang in front of the bedroom: south side or not, no one will want to stay comfortably in bed on Sunday mornings here, as it is dark and blocked.

The thing with the staircase is probably a matter of taste. Maybe as a supplement. There will probably be no dark holes due to the huge window surfaces on the south side. The staircase on the ground floor and basement will, of course, have a glass railing. I hope we manage to make the staircase in the living area not look like a cold basement stairway leading to the chamber of horrors.

The fireplace will have three-sided glazing. Thus, the fire is always in view from the living room and dining room.

I think we will make up for it in the bedroom by simply being able to go outside onto the terrace and enjoy a beautiful, wide view of the landscape. You have to accept some downsides...

Nevertheless, many thanks for the criticism.