hammer head
A journy towards an own home
A Most Inventive Space
Architecture is the triumph of human imagination over materials, methods, and men, to put man into possession of his own Earth. It is at least the geometric pattern of things, of life, of the human and social world. It is at best that magic framework of reality that we sometimes touch upon when we use the word order.
– Frank Lloyd Wright
1 | THE LAND
THE VILLAGE OFFERS THE LAND
This is an excerpt from the municipality’s sales publication.
Nov 1st, 2022
PROPERTY
On this undeveloped corner plot you have the opportunity to plan and build your very special home according to your individual ideas. In an elevated location, the building land impresses with its extremely quiet residential area, which is sunny all day long, not far from the bus stop, shops, kindergarten and primary school.
The developed building land with 384 m2 is located in the residential zone W2. When realizing a building, based on an utilization ratio of 0.40, a maximum allowable gross floor area (aGF) of 153.60 m2 is available. The utilization is not fully feasible due to the shape of the plots and boundary distances in accordance with the Building and Use Regulations (BNO).
Taking the boundary distances into account, a trapezoidal building with base dimensions of around 7.50 meters long and 10.00 respectively. 3.00 meters wide can be realized. Based on a two-story building, this results in a gross floor area of 97.50 m2 and around 80 m2 of living space. At best, the use can be done with a closer building right e.g. of plot number 172 and perhaps in addition to plot number 1537.
THE BIDDING PROCESS
This is an excerpt from the municipality’s sales publication.
Sales guide price: CHF 120,000.00
The sale takes place in a 2-stage bidding process. If you are interested, please submit your written offer to us by December 20, 2022 at the latest.
All bidders, and only these, will then be notified in writing by us of the highest bid by December 23, 2022 at the latest and will have the opportunity in the second stage until January 27, 2023 (postmark date) to submit a bid of at least CHF 10. 000.00 higher offer with proof of financing must be submitted.
The best offer will be awarded the contract, subject to approval by the authorized Remigen local council.
Offers that contain a reservation regarding a building permit are also permitted. If a desired project cannot be approved, the land could be sold to the second bidder.
FAILED FIRST+ SECOND BID
Nov 25, 2022
First bid handed in by us at CHF 120’000.-
Dec 22, 2022
Informed by the auctioner that after the first round the highest bid is CHF 150’000.- and we are free to join the second round. (What idiot would alraedy drive the price so high for no need? And as nothing is disclosed we will never know….)
Jan 24, 2023
Second improved bid handed in by us at at CHF 190’000.-
Jan 25, 2023
Dear Mr. Lutz,
We would like to thank you for sending us the second offer dated January 24, 2023 for the building plot in Remigen, the receipt of which we hereby confirm. Please also send us proof of financing confirmation from a bank or insurance company, ideally by Friday, January 27, 2023.
If you have any questions or are unclear, we will be happy to help you. We wish you a nice day.
Best regards
Feb 24, 2023
Dear Mr. Lutz,
Thank you for your interest and for sending us your purchase offer for the building plot on Oberdorfstrasse/Geissbergstrasse in Remigen. We have submitted the offers to the owner, the local council of the municipality.
The council decided on the highest bid. If the sale does not take place as expected, we will inform you immediately.
We regret that we cannot provide you with a positive report and thank you for your attention and understanding.
Best regards
March 8, 2023
Dear Mr. Lutz,
We are pleased to inform you that your offer will be accepted after the highest bidder withdraws.
After the local council accepted the contract, the highest bidder withdrew his offer after considerable hesitation. He was obviously ill-advised by his architect and also cited personal reasons.
The local council subsequently decided to accept your offer at last Monday’s meeting. Since we were unable to reach you by phone (are you still traveling in Asia?), we would ask you to contact us by email so that we can discuss how to proceed.
Best regards
And this is how to achieve a markup of 60%. Güllen send its regards…. (‘Besuch der Alten Dame’, F. Dürrenmatt, 1956)
CONTRACT
This is the municipality’s sales contract, duly signed by us.
March 27, 2023
1) Purchase item
Plot Registry municipality Nr. 171, Plan Nr. 21 384 mz, Geissberg
2) The purchase price is:
CHF 190,000.00
3) Payment conditions
The purchase price is to be paid as follows:
3.1 Within 5 working days of signing this agreement, as an interest-free deposit of CHF 20,000.00
3.2 Within 10 working days of receipt of the legally binding building permit, the purchase price will be calculated as
CHF 170,000.00 CHF
Further provisions
4.2 The entry (transfer of benefits and damages) takes place with the entry in the land register (diary).
The notary and land registry costs are paid as follows: 1⁄2 each at the expense of the parties. Any financing costs are borne solely by the buyer.
The purchase contract parties commission COMPANY AG to prepare the notarial certification of the conditional purchase contract with the notary, Mrs Advocat, in municipality.
There is a statutory lien on the purchased property to cover taxes from the sale. The security is provided via the notarial purchase contract.
The buyers undertake to submit a building and zoning application within nine months of signing the conditional purchase agreement. If no corresponding entry is made within the agreed period, the conditionally concluded purchase contract will be canceled without reservation and the down payment amount of CHF 20,000.00 will be forfeited to the seller as a contractual penalty.
4.6 The municipality is obliged to approve the building application within a maximum period of four months after submitting a complete building application. As soon as the building permit is legally available, the conditional purchase agreement will be legally executed and, subject to Section 4.9, subsequently entered in the land register. In the case of objections, this period extends until the objections have been legally resolved.
4.7 The property is taken over without security, in its current, unleased condition and known to the buyers.
4.8 The parties will settle the additional costs associated with the purchase object outside of this contract with the effect of transfer of benefits and damages.
4.9 A mandatory prerequisite for registering the purchase contract with the land registry office is the receipt of the full purchase amount into an account designated by the municipality community.
2 | THE ENVELOPE
Required Distance to Border
The building code requires a distance of 4m from all borders. This applies to structures above ground. Underground can go closer.
As the foot path to the east is municipality owned (and 1m wide), we probe a distance of 3m (plus 1m footpath).
For the underground structure we probe a distance of 2m to the east and the north. It will not be possible to the south as the plot is sloped and the south basement will be freestanding and hence will be considered above ground structure.
Max Utilization
The building code defines the maximum of usable square meters based on the plot size and the plot location. In this case it is defined to be 0.4. As the plot size is 384sqm, it leads to a maximum designable space of 153.6sqm.
Max Hight
The building code prescribes for that plot a max building hight of 7m from average ground surface line.
THE ENVELOPE
The triangular shape of the plot, the distance requirements of the building code and the maximum utilization rate makes it a challenge to design something meaningful. As much depends on the decisions of the local council, we decided for a first step; to check the maxiumum enevlope in which we could manouver and design. A friend of ours, Nick, who is the local village architech and whom I know since my childhood, was helping us with that study. Actually his office mate Mrs. Abreu was doing all the work….
Basement
The concept should include a garage for 2 cars. This leads to a garage door width of 5m. In addition, the building code requires a distance of 5m from the street (so that another car can park infront of the house).
Another rule of the building code requires that the opening width (for the garage and entrance) can be a max of 1/3 of the facade length of the building. With a building length of about 16m, this will lead to an opening width of 5.3m.
The entrance will be from the garage side, with a corridor to the back of the building. As the basement is going wider than the building in top, there will be glass floor celing so that the warderobe will have day light.
Because of the max. utilization, any other rooms for regular living use are not permittable. However, it will be planned to add an office (later perhaps), and eventually also a toilet. The rest of the floor space is needed for utilities.
Ground Floor
It basically covers a kitchen, a dining space and a guest bathroom. Much more will not be possible.
An outdoor terasse is indicated. It might violate the building code.
The red color indicates the floor space that is included in the calculation for the utilization rate.
Upper Floor
It will include one bedroom, a bath room with shower and toilet, and open floor space and one additional smaler bedroom.
The roof of the terasse could be used as a balkony for the uper floor.
FIRST AUTHORITY CHECK
July 18, 2023
The above concept was submitted for preliminary clarification of eligibility of approval
Sept 22, 2023
Dear Mr. Lutz
As promised, we will give you feedback on your preliminary inquiry about the development of plot number 171.
The local council fundamentally supports the construction project. However, this is dependent on various exemptions, which is why we would like to go into more detail about the basics established as follows:
Utilization rate (AZ)
– This is strictly adhered to. An expansion would no longer be possible without increasing the AZ.
Hillside location
– Without the exact elevations, the slope and the number of floors of the individual levels cannot be checked precisely.
– From the perspective of the external engineering office, the basement is probably more than 0.80 m above the ground.
– Without clear height marks/information, this cannot be conclusively verified.
– As part of a building application, the floor plan/facades must be specified with binding height marks.
Excavation of the basement
– The permissible excavation of 1/3 of the building length has been exceeded by 0.55m.
– As a result, the basement would no longer be counted as a basement but as a full floor. Compared to municipal roads, the municipal council only grants an exceptional permit or a building permit for new buildings for basement floors. The local council therefore asks for appropriate adjustments. At best, the separate entrance could be planned in the garage door or on the side. In this way, the permissible excavation could be adhered to.
Building height
– The building height is maxed out according to the information on the planning documents.
– As part of a building application, the facades must be presented with binding height marks.
– The room height seems very high at 2.60m. It is recommended to lower these slightly so as not to completely max out the building height.
Road distance – 4 special permits required
The following exemptions are required from the roads due to the road distances not being exceeded:
– The distance between the street and the basement to Geissbergstrasse is not reached.
– The local council would be prepared to grant an exceptional permit here. However, in the area of the sub-clearance, the basement must be designed in such a way that it can be driven over if the road is expanded later (usual requirement).
– Light shaft to Geissbergstrasse in the lower distance. The local council would be willing to grant special approval for the light wells.
– Basement and ground floor walkway in the basement. Here too, the local council would be willing to grant an exception.
– Seating area with terrace, no extensions and therefore also in the lower distance. The seating area with terrace is not considered a small building or extension according to the building regulations, but rather as a normal main building, which, with a distance of 2 m from the municipal road, is clearly less than the distance from the street.
The local council can imagine granting an exemption for a seat, but without a terrace. So you could judge the pure seating area as an extension.
Projecting parts of the building
– The terrace on the southwest facade is also at a lower distance from the municipal road.
– According to ABauV §2, this would only be permitted for a third of the facade length.
– Here too, an exceptional permit from the local council would be required (including a light shaft), which the local council would grant.
Viewing zone
– When leaving the garage, the visibility zone must be at least 30 km/h.
– The visibility zone at the intersection of Geissbergstrasse / Oberdorfstrasse must also be maintained.
Conclusion: The viewing zones must be submitted accordingly as part of a building application.
Environmental design
– Facades and sectional plans do not match the surroundings in the ground floor plan.
Conclusion: This must be adjusted accordingly as part of a building application.
excavation
– If it is necessary to secure an excavation pit under Geissbergstrasse, this requires approval (easement agreement for anchors, etc.).
Zoning compliance / townscape
– The property is located in the environmental protection zone, in which the buildings must be designed with particular consideration for the townscape.
– If the client pursues the project further, we would be happy to check the fit externally. From our assessment, the fit would be achieved with good environmental design.
CONCLUSION
We think the developed project is good. The local council supports the project in principle and would be willing to grant various exceptional permits. However, the local council would also like to point out that no liability will be assumed in the event of a legal dispute should an appeal body reach a different assessment with regard to the exceptional permits.
3 | THE DESIGN
As we now have established an understanding what is doable and what the local council would approve, we decided to go for a second study with an architect who is focused on design. It was a rather hearty time, with many and long discussions on different concepts and ideas. It was a rewarding effort, as we believe to have come to a concept that will satisfy our desire for good design, but at the same time maxium praticality.
“The development structure of Remigen is very heterogeneous, especially on the Geissberg in the Oberdorf area. The majority of single-family houses and some multi-family houses come from different eras, which is one of the reasons for the diverse typologies. The older buildings are covered with gable roofs, while new buildings are covered with flat roofs, pent roofs, barrel roofs or gable roofs. In addition to solitary buildings, terrace house typologies are also available.
The triangular property between Geissbergstrasse and Oberdorfstrasse, in residential zone 2, is to be built with a single-family house. Adjacent to the core zone, the plot is located in an environmental protection zone. The new building is quiet and natural, but also self-confident and decided, in a heterogeneous context at the crossroads of the two streets. The new building, constructed of wood, appears authentic. Wooden house appears and is therefore based on the existing buildings in the core zone.
The maximum floor plan area results from the distance between the building lines of the two streets and the distance between the paths. The resulting triangular area is small and uneconomical. However, this brings the living space to an economically and ecologically sensible dimension can be built, bay windows will be built on the two longitudinal facades on the upper floor, which will increase the usable area. (BauV, Appendix 3, §2)
(The use of balcony and bay window extensions can also be found in nearby contexts, such as the neighboring building at Sonnenbergstrasse 5 and 7.)”
design variant: flat roof versus slanted roof, flat roof includes a roof terasse
design variant: oriel windows or flat wall, with oriel windows expanding floor space
design variant: round windows on side walls.
design variants: different oriel bay windows, different roof shapes, different stair orientations
design variant right side, staircase at the center of the floor plan
design variant left side, no bay windows, no round windows
final design
HAMMERHEAD
SECOND AUTHORITY CHECK
December 18, 2023
The final design concept was submitted for preliminary clarification of eligibility of approval
Feb 07, 2024
Professional assessment by P K
According to the legally binding building zone plan, the relevant parcel 171 is located in the residential zone W2 (general fitting regulations) and is overlaid with the environmental protection zone. According to Section 17 Paragraph 1 BNO, the environmental protection zone includes the wider area in which the buildings are to be designed with particular consideration for the townscape. According to ISOS (townscape of regional importance), plot 171 is in surrounding zone V with only conservation objective b.
Overall, it is a small plot (384 m2) at the foot of the slope with some distance to the old buildings in the village zone. The plot is not very visible from a distance and has a triangular and narrow plot shape. It is located in a shield with a diverse and individual design (different ridge directions and roof shapes).
Overall, the structural concept appears very compact with 2 full floors and a ridge running across the slope and the longitudinal direction of the building’s footprint with a 15° roof inclination. It is well integrated and fitted into the local environment. The combined arrangement of the house entrance and the garage access in the basement on Oberdorfstrasse also means that the area only needs to be excavated to the extent necessary.
The triangular shape of the plot leaves hardly any more space than for a single-family home. After deducting all standard distances, this results in a buildable building area of around 70 m2. It is therefore understandable that building law options are being sought to slightly increase the usable area per floor.
Bay window-like porches are suggested in the project documents.
- In draft 1 (October 19, 2023), one bay window is planned on the northeast side (uphill) and southwest (downhill). The building remains recognizable as a narrow volume with balanced proportions. The interplay of the different window formats appears exciting and well coordinated.
- The second plan dossier from December 7th, 2023 contains a concentration of the two bay windows on the west side. The building appears somewhat disproportionate, especially when viewed from the west (bay windows on both sides supported on the narrow west facade). The two fundamentally different window openings appear somewhat less connected. In this concept, a double garage is planned at the basement level, which protrudes laterally from the main volume. The lower house entrance is set sideways into the setback so that the excavations are roughly the same width.
When comparing the variants, we prefer draft 1 from October 19, 2023 in terms of fit. It appears significantly more balanced and exciting in its volumetric and architectural concept. We recommend submitting a building application on this basis.
Another short note on the variant from the previously used architectural firm from July 17, 2023. It would also be conceivable in terms of volume, but architecturally it seems rather inappropriate in a quiet residential area with the flat pent roof and the very different facade concepts. The west-facing cultivation in particular is not convincing here. The striking shielding with the closed parapets along Oberdorfstrasse also looks very noticeable (although these could easily be removed or designed in a much more delicate way).
Building law assessment of new preliminary project
We would be happy to give you the following construction law assessment of the new preliminary project:
Exploitation
In the previous project, the cloakroom/entrance area in the basement was not counted towards the utilization rate.
This must be taken into account in the building application. If the AZ is exceeded, the project must be adjusted accordingly.
Exceptions
The following exceptions must also be made by the local council for the new construction project:
– Distance UG to Geissbergstrasse
– Distance from basement to road plot 172
– Distance to Oberdorfstrasse (including light shafts)
The local council has already announced the corresponding exceptional permits for the basement in an email dated September 22, 2023.
Viewing zones
The viewing zones cannot be conclusively assessed with the existing preliminary project.
Retaining wall
The retaining wall to Oberdorfstrasse does not maintain the distance. These would have to maintain a distance of 60 cm.
Excavation pit protection
If it becomes necessary to secure the excavation pit (with anchors below the municipal road), a separate permit is required.
A separate easement would have to be concluded for this.
4 | THE
BUILDING PERMIT
April 4, 2024
The request for the building permit is being submitted
Waiting…
Final assessment of the overall fit, provided by the professional assessor and urban planner P.K.
Requested by the community on May 16, delivered on May 29.
The still undeveloped plot No. 171 is located at the foot of the slope with some distance to the old buildings in the village zone D. It is not too easy to see from a distance and has a triangular and narrow plot shape with an area of only 384 m2. The plot is located in a neighberhood with a diverse and individual designs (primarily single-family houses with different ridge directions and roof shapes).
Overall, the structural concept with 2 full floors and ridge with 15° roof inclination running transversely to the slope and longitudinal direction of the building base surface appears very compact. The volume is well integrated and adjusted in the local environment. The ridge is only 2.16 m above the eaver line, so that the roof construction is lower compared to a usual attic or roof floor.
Positively to mention is the respect for the existing flow of the landscape as well as the compact arrangement of the lower entrance and the garage access on Oberdorfstrasse, so that the site only has to be excavated to the extent necessary. The triangular plot shape leaves little more space than for a single-family house. After subtaching all regular distances, the result is a buildable building floor area of only around 70 m2.
Therefore, it is understandable that construction law possibilities are applied to slightly increase the usable area per floor. Accordingly, a bay window extension to Geissbergstrasse and Oberdorfstrasse is provided for each in the northwestern area. The structure on the upper floor, which appears symmetrical from the west, is based on the approximately 1.5 m to 3.5 m wide ground floor. From below (Oberdorfstrasse) and from above (Geissberstrasse), the view does not widen, which can be positively assessed in terms of environmental protection compared to the old part of the village.
With the material and color concept shown, a modern and exciting volumetric and architectural appearance with a calm overall effect is created. The architectural principle with the two fundamentally different window openings on the longitudinal and transverse facades is comprehensible. In the optical effect, care must be taken to ensure that the large-area glazing does not appear too dominant.
Conclusion and recommendations
Based on the considerations in the section above, the planned volume looks compact and in its expression convincingly fits into the local context . The purpose of § 17 para. 1 BNO is well fulfilled.
Public Announcement
Building Permit Request – Publication
Building owner: Lutz Ernst
Land owner: Resident municipality of community
Building object: New construction single-family house Location: Plot No. 171; between Oberdorf- and Geissbergstrasse
Zone: village zone, environmental protection zone
The building application can be reviewe during the period from June 17 to July 16 2024 in the municipal chancellery. The construction project can be objected towards the municipal council in writing and in a double during the circulation period (no extension of the deadline). The objection must come from the person that objects or an authorized person. An objection that does not contain a specific objection, no justification and no requested decision (against the requested building permit) cannot be made.
THE BUILDING PERMIT
HAS BEEN ISSUED
August 20, 2024
THE LAND DEAD IS SIGNED.
October 21 2024
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