South-facing plot 700 sqm, single-family house approx. 150 sqm, any ideas or input?

Hello everyone,

we have been tinkering for some time now on how to best position our future single-family house on our plot. We want to make the most effective use of the existing slope and give up as little green space as possible.

Development plan/restrictions
Size of the plot approx. 700 sqm
Slope yes 10% south-facing slope
Site coverage ratio 0.3
Floor area ratio 0.6
Number of parking spaces 2 (garage or carport)
Orientation ridge direction can be freely chosen
Maximum heights/limits The eaves height must be executed with a maximum of 6.65 m height on the valley side
Maximum 2 full floors
Setback areas according to the regulations of the Bavarian Building Code
Boundary garages may only be constructed with attached garages within the areas shown in the development plan
For the other garages, a minimum distance of 1.20 m from the boundary is set

Requirements of the builders
Approx. 150 sqm living space
Basement, floors: open. However, probably a basement due to the slope. Possibly basement as garage.
Number of persons, age 2 adults, 2 children

House design
Who the planning is from: Do-it-yourself

Could you give me some input for the preliminary planning of a single-family house?

The building ground has a south slope of approximately 10%

The road is located on the north and west side.

I have already laser-measured the most important points. Zero point northeast. The data is in cm and would actually have to be negative as it is a south slope.

Planned is a single-family house with approx. 150 m² and garage or carport.

Variant I a

5 m from north and west

House approx. 10 x 10 m

The garage is to be built into the basement. Access south/west.

The front door for guests is from the north.

Advantage:
Everything fits into the 10 x 10 m.

Disadvantage:
I have to build the driveway for the garage in front of the house and thus lose a lot of green space because I only have a width of 7.5 m to the east.

Variant Ib

The house stands 5 m from the north and east, thus leaving 7.5 m on the western street side. However, a driveway to the basement garage here is definitely too steep.

Variant II

Build the basement a little higher and place the sleeping and bathroom area in the basement so that you can go level from the basement area into the garden.

On the upper floor, there is access from the north side with several steps to the entrance area. The kitchen, dining and living areas are located on this floor.

The garage/carport is built next to the house.

A balcony terrace on the upper floor so you can step outside from the dining area. The garden is accessible by stairs.

Advantage: Much more green space on the south side

Disadvantage: Much more earthworks. Much less green space.

Similar plots in the neighborhood:

2 floors + basement + garage: In my opinion, the basement here is only used as useless storage space. The costs for that are too high for me.

Ground slab + 2 floors + garage -> Due to the slope, a lot of earthworks are required here.

Attached are the height measurements, sketches of the variants and the excerpt from the development plan.

I would be very happy to receive input or other ideas.

You really put a lot of effort into the height specifications. Great.
However, I can't make sense of the dimensioning. At the bottom and right, it shows 22.5 and 25.5.. but that doesn't add up to 700 sqm.
Also, it's a bit unclear, so you have to guess whether 5mm equals one meter or another measurement, e.g. 2 cm equals 10 meters.

The building plot has a south slope of about 10%

That is just one meter over 10 meters. That's not much.

House approx. 10 x 10 m

The worst measurement for a house is exactly the best? That doesn't apply here. 10 x 10 is the standard size of a standard townhouse villa of the current generation, basically a symmetrical hipped roof construction. I consider that the worst choice.

Could you give me some input for preliminary planning of a single-family house?

If you go with the plot, then a house of about 8 x 13 (or 9 x 12 or so) fits there. Crosswise, because with the slope, so that on these 8 meters there is only about an 80 cm height difference.
Whether you then plan a basement, living basement, garage in the basement, double garage next to the house or something similar still depends on the BUDGET. So how high is the budget for house, outdoor facilities and ancillary construction costs? You can eliminate some options if the budget doesn't allow quite a few things.

What I wonder is: what is the legend for the drawn lines? I see two building envelopes?

P.s. It would be nice if we kept a positive view, meaning black lines on white background.

Hello and welcome!

It is good that you are first dealing with the orientation of the house and parking spaces. In doing so, I would reconsider the two established dogmas:
1. Does the house really have to have a 10m square floor plan? Like , I consider this a fundamentally suboptimal solution. This shape is built by people who value a low price per square meter more than a good floor plan. A good floor plan with less area is almost always more suitable for a family than a square floor plan with more area.
2. Do the cars have to be directly next to the house? The idea that you have to cover a few meters from the car to the front door sometimes creates such a great horror that people become blind to the overall solution.

If you want to build the garage in the basement and not have the disadvantage of the long driveway - underfloor heating for a steep driveway costs about €10/sqm more when creating the access path. The operating costs made plausible: the standard consumption per sqm is 300Wh for an ice- and snow-free surface. The heating duration on a frost day is about 6 hours. At €0.30/kWh, that is around €0.54/sqm per day - on an area of 30 sqm you end up with approximately €17 per day. 30 days of this kind – some with somewhat more, others with somewhat less energy demand – cost you roughly €500 per year. That sounds like a lot. But if you save 50 sqm of paving that also takes away green space, that somewhat relativizes it.
How one feels about this form of energy consumption is another matter – that was the reason for us to forego it. Nevertheless, the calculation was interesting.

In fact, I would consistently free myself from truly all specifications that have formed in me through previous reading/watching/listening. From my own repeated experience, something can then emerge that I ultimately find wonderful and that I would not have even remotely considered at the beginning. I would first plan the floor plan; optimizing and designing it individually for myself is task enough, after which places for the car, garden house, etc., will also be found. I would never make even one compromise in my living floor plan just so my car parks "better." Directly next to the house, with access to the house, or only 3 meters to the house are often almost law-like specifications that house builders place as obstacles in the way of the actual house. I also believe, and have recently decided this myself for this reason, that the rectangle is by far the most suitable house shape.

Could you give me some input for the preliminary planning of a single-family house?

Gladly. Here are a few experiences and tips: 1. before you start drawing, think a lot about what is important to you in everyday life, what makes a nice day at home for you, how you like to spend family time together, work, want time as a couple, what you like to do (hobbies), etc. Writing it down is important. The list can be very, very long and also include wishes and dreams that are only to be fulfilled later. Don’t think about rooms and floor plans yet – rather about a feature film of your life and what you want to put into it. You can always prioritize later. This list is very helpful to develop your own standard of what is important for the architectural design and what is not. Spend a couple of days on this work, because setting it aside helps to get new thoughts; it is extremely helpful and decisive later for a really good and fitting house for you. 2. before you start drawing, each of you creates a mood board. Look for pictures of houses, gardens, architectural detail solutions, moods, colors and stick all of this on a very large paper at least (flip-chart size). It doesn’t matter at all whether the things fit together, whether they originated in a landscape like your building plot or anything else. It is a creative template that saves a lot of time later and ensures the result will suit you. These first two points also help when it comes to digesting the first price shock and setting priorities on what should be implemented how and thinking about how a goal can be achieved alternatively. You regularly read here about people who at some point only have “rooms and passage widths” in their heads and forget why exactly they are building the house. 3. still before you draw: Then start to consciously perceive houses and measure them by your criteria mentioned above. Note, photograph or film what you like, what you don’t, and comment on why that is. This attitude also helps you come out smarter rather than more confused from pattern house settlements – even if only because none of the houses seems suitable. 4. Choose an architect or building partner who is eager to work with you. This is important, because only then will he/she respond to what you have already prepared. Give as little as possible predetermined, such as a 10x10 exterior dimension. The freer the architect can engage with you, the more likely you will get a design that corresponds to your life. If you have drawn something by then – DO NOT hand it over, as this makes them biased. 5. When the architect presents the first design, be patient and first let him/her explain what he/she has thought for you and how. You can evaluate afterwards. If the principle fits, the iterative adjustment begins; if not, another design is needed (unlikely if the architect was well chosen). For this process you need patience, self-confidence and stress-free fun with the matter. If this is not your thing, others surely have tips too.

more like a feature film about your life and everything you want to put into it.

Wow! That’s a really great tip! I really like it. Thanks.

2. before you start drawing, everyone creates a mood board. Look for pictures of houses, gardens, architectural detail solutions,

I’m rather skeptical about that: I go to Google search and always find the same things. Pinterest, Insta, YT, they basically only show me what is pictured a lot, but not what is unique or special.
And so uniform mush is created. Taste no longer comes from oneself.
A current example: wall decoration, how can you make a wall special? What is shown? Acoustic panels. As if you could still make something special with that? Nope.

The idea that you have a few meters from the car to the house door sometimes causes such a fright that people become blind to the overall solution.

That’s also such a classic and fits with the advice where people without a car are told to definitely build with a passage because otherwise they’ll get wet. If it ever actually rained, I would dance in the raindrops.