People who think carefully about how they want to live can plan or renovate their home efficiently. The Association of Private Builders (VPB) provides information on this topic.
How do I want to live?
Every person and every family has their own way of life and needs. “To find out which rooms are right for these needs, you should not ask yourself: What should my future home look like?” advises building consultant Sandra Queißer, who heads the Berlin regional office of the Association of Private Builders (VPB). “The key question is: How do I want to live? Anyone who knows that can plan or renovate their home efficiently, saving both money and energy.” This applies to the construction itself and to running the home for many years afterwards. Concentrating on the essentials does not mean building cheaply; it means planning consciously and well. Experts refer to this as sufficiency: using fewer resources through an appropriate size, conscious patterns of use and reducing things to what is truly necessary.
Use space wisely
Space is an important basic element and needs to be used wisely. The first consideration is choosing the right dimensions. “For example, 120 square metres of living space will generally provide enough room for a family of four,” Queißer says. Circulation areas such as corridors can be minimised. This is often achieved with an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area. Oversized living areas and rooms take more time and energy to heat. The same applies to galleries, high ceilings and large bathrooms with both a shower and a bath. “You should also ask whether a guest room or hobby room is necessary,” Queißer points out. “In households that have such rooms, they remain unused most of the time.”
A compact footprint helps reduce the consumption of building materials and, later, the home’s energy use. “A house with a square footprint is more flexible than an L-shaped one,” Queißer says. “It offers greater freedom when laying out rooms, which in turn shapes the quality of a home.” If rooms are laid out intelligently, even a small number of square metres can go a long way.
Plan now for later as well
“The crucial point is that the floor plan should work not only for current circumstances, but should also be adaptable to different situations in future,” the building consultant emphasises. “If rooms are fairly square and similar in size, they can be used in different ways more easily; they are equally suitable as a child’s bedroom, a study or a living room, for example.” Anyone who may later divide a room into two smaller ones with a partition wall should take account of the electrical connections, natural light and ventilation for both rooms during the planning stage.
Anyone wishing to make sure that every aspect of constructing and subsequently running the home has been optimised should consult an independent building expert, for example from the VPB network. It is advisable to do so as early as possible, ideally before signing a contract.