Stop or pause house construction? Costs too high

Sounds to me like you fell for the architect, who never wanted to do any more work for you and is now speculating on a cheekily high settlement amount, which of course will not be appropriate.

I would vehemently disagree with that at this point in time. There have been some very good and very detailed guides here on how the next conversation with the architect can look. Without accusation, open, goal-oriented. The absolute minimum is to first talk about the problems before the architect is disparaged. When is the next meeting and would you like to report to us about it? That will steer the thread back into a constructive direction.

Sounds to me like you fell for the architect, who never wanted to do more for you and is now gambling on a cheekily high settlement amount, which of course will not be reasonable.

Oh, you and your architect trauma, I already missed you in this thread ;-) The OP has already admitted her own naivety, and I harbor no more than a spark of suspicion here, but rather simply consider mutually negligent miscommunication the most likely scenario – although I would have expected a more professional approach from the architect. But you yourself also serve quite well as an exemplary example that some fully legally competent, eligible adults apparently first need to be taught shockingly fundamentally how a responsible consumer should manage their architect.

There were some very good and very detailed guidelines here on how the next conversation with the architect can look. Without blame, open, goal-oriented.

Yes, in this thread and specifically with regard to the turnaround of the OP’s insecurity. But I take the "experiences" from this discussion (and from Gerddieter’s architect trauma) as an impetus to also develop a general and preventive guideline on how builders should deal with planners so as not to hang around like clueless non-merchants. The carelessness of consumers in dealing with their "oral signature" in investment transactions sometimes frightens me very much.

But this also has to do with the fact that in the everyday life of an average person, oral contracts involving amounts greater than 10,000 EUR are very rare. At most, buying a used car might occur more often, and even there it has become common knowledge that it might be better to use the [sample contract] from ADAC, which one then reads through—or not. I am even in favor of a new school subject: "Private Economy," in which exactly such legal transactions likely encountered in a person's life are addressed. Young people seem incredibly naive to me here, especially since sometimes even just one (forgotten) click can create an obligation...

I am even in favor of a new school subject: "Private Business" in which exactly such legal transactions that are likely to occur in a person’s life are dealt with. Young people seem incredibly naive to me here, especially since in some cases even just a (forgotten) click can obligate...

In Bavaria, it is discussed in economics and law classes that contracts can also be concluded orally or through implied conduct.

The Bavarians often seem unsympathetic to me as an abstract mass or in the form of their celebrities represented in the media (the individuals I have met privately are usually very likeable) but they do a lot right when it comes to education.

I am even in favor of a new school subject: "Private Business," which deals with legal transactions likely to occur in a person’s life. Young people seem incredibly naive to me here, especially since sometimes just one (forgotten) click creates an obligation...

I am in favor of a school subject called "Mathematics." It trains logical thinking. Simply think about what you are doing, instead of blindly following a recommendation. There are often 20 years between school and buying a house. Sorry, but no normal person needs such unnecessary school subjects. Only people who are already shown in school how to fill out Hart-4 applications.