From southwest angle

The grey building is the existing hospital facing the north.

Can we assume zoning will allow this?

Did you design this yourself?

As far as being able to add the new structure as a residential building, yes they gave us permission to build. We got the land resurveyed recently. Our builder is working with the township and they come up with the area and basics of the plan. We can’t have any more of covered areas for rain water/hard surface ratio. We are keeping it within their guidance but we still have to present it to the township.

My wife and I came up with the plan and the builder has their own in house architect. We made some changes and this is the third version.

In addition, the first floor will be heated concrete surface. No basement. Outside cover will be wood/steel combination.

I think it would be beneficial if you found your own architect. I hope an architect did not design the building you show. There are oddities in the layout that makes me think the designer is not experienced. Verify the 'architect's' license with your state, do not rely on what the builder claims.

Where is the project located?

Palmyra, PA. The builder is a very reputed custom house builder. They have done many custom homes that I have been to since we are acquainted. Since they design many custom homes, they don’t go to a private architect for each design. As I said, these are the early versions of what we want. It’s not a final stage yet. Would you point out the oddities. Thanks.

Oddities:

• Unsympathetic to the existing architecture
• Relationship to site unknown
• Flat roof
• Garage approach to close to existing structure
• Columns in open space
• Unusually shaped pantry
• Mechanical room accessed from the outside
• Excessive circulation
• toilet next to door in powder room
• And that is all I have time for

These comments are not meant to refine this design, they are meant to encourage you to start over with more competent designer, most likely a real local architect.

IMO the list goes on . Get your own architect and have a place designed not only according to the rules but most of all for the site. Did the homes you looked at seem to be the type of home you want? I look a homes all the time with clients and many are lovely but not my clients style at all. I do contemporary design , I do not enjoy doing traditional so as I have aged I do not take those jobs anymore but pass them to another deigner that is veary good at that style. IMO the same goes for architects .

Sometimes people think they can't afford or don't need an architect, but the cost is a drop in the bucket when viewed as a percentage of the total cost. The difference between what a talented architect would design and what you have so far is great. Someone has taken what you said you wanted and slapped it together in a drafting program. This is not design. Builders are not designers. You don't engage them for their artistic abilities. They can build anything that is on a blueprint, but you don't want them coming up with the blueprints.

Whatever you build will be a substantial amount of money and I assume you will want to live there for decades, so plan well.

Here’s the lot plan

As I started reading the OP, I was estimating the impetus was to add some more space to the Vet, maybe for boarding or for livestock intake, and your personal home would be on the upper floor to separate functions. Sounds good . . . then looked at the drawings and design. I was surprised in the pathway the design took. It's almost as if there is an existing rectangular office building (with a central atrium) that was forced to mate next to the very vernacular Vet building (of which I don't know how the roof mating will work). And the office building has lots of inefficiencies and oddities in space and layout, because you had to fit your program into an existing footprint. But it doesn't have to be that way when you start from a blank slate.

It seems a good restart with space programming and adjacencies would yield a better project. Maybe an inspiration that carries through both the Vet and addition together - the neighbor's barn is fantastic for inspiration for your neck of the woods:

I worked part-time at 2 Veterinary practices during my four years of college. I would not want my home attached to a Vet practice. How are you going to handle the sounds and odors?

Chispa,

SInce COVID, we are not kenneling anymore. That was a game changer. We are actually utilizing the space where the kennel was used to be (demolishing the kennel, new concrete floors). There's no odor in or around the hospital bc we keep everything clean. Our hours are between 8-5, no weekends.

Only downside is that if I ever decide to sell the practice, the house will go with that.

Architectrunnerguy,

1) What's the approach to the house like? Please show and post everything on a site plan together with a north arrow.

I posted the Zoning plans. The entrance to the hospital lot from a main road. The hospital is in the north front, the new building is in the back of the hospital. Unfortunately, there is not much backyard but the background is a 30 acre field where horses are boarded.

2) Is the front door where the mudroom is? If so, I like to have the door open to expansive sight lines, preferably through the house.

Yes, it'll be front door. It'll be protected by the garage wall and upstairs floor in 6X10 area (Porch).

3) We all like wide hallways but yours upstairs are overly wide but not wide enough to have any other activity occur there. That's a lot of square footage doing nothing for you.

I agree. It is because we have so much space on the second floor that we used as bedrooms. As I said before, we were thinking to have a high ceiling in the living room area (so no second floor above the living area) but the horse farm view is spectacular so we decided to place our bedroom over the living room We can twist some of the areas on the second floor.

4) I'd give some serious thought to the existing Vet building so to visually integrate it much better into the design.

I agree. We'll incorporate some changes in to the hospital as well.

5) In schematic design always draw in the furniture.

agreed.

6) Lacking that in your design, what is the 21'-1 1/2" wide space to the right of the pantry?

It's entirely open first floor that we could use for a large dining table.

Under the staircases, it says plantings where we can place some indoor bushes, plants, trees.

thanks for your time in your busy schedule.

3onthetree,

yes, I wish we had ownership of that barn and the farm.

Yes, it looks odd when you combine the old existing building and the new drawing together.

on the first floor plan, you can see the part that belongs to the hospital (empty rooms which are kitchen, xray room, dental room, and surgery room from left to right). These rooms were actually a later addition to the main hospital building so they are not covered by the main roof. They put a flat roof with rubber cover. This roof has to be replaced because they are leaking. The new roof for these rooms will be the floor for the second floor.

There is an existing door from the hospital kitchen room into the first floor in the drawing but that will be canceled.

On the first floor, we are limited for the borders of the house because of the land (right now a kennel exists in the first floor area which will be demolished). However, we have all the area on the second floor. the greenhouse/conservatory is a big thing for us because we grow house plants and vegetables. The studio space is much needed for my wife as her atelier.

Architectrunnerguy,

can you explain a little about the "have the door open to expansive sight lines, preferably through the house."? Can you send me some example pictures? Thanks.

@usalli It's easiest to just look at the houses in my "ideabooks".(click on my moniker to go there) For most of the houses there (but I forget for some.....lol) I draw an arrow from the front door extending along the site line.

Also, for most houses (but again there's the forgetfulness in me) I draw another arrow, usually perpendicular to the entry arrow since I like to keep the house narrow, showing the circulation spine the house is organized around. Try to organize your house around strong circulation spines.

And from a quick glance at the site plan, that's going to be a very tough nut to crack, getting a decent house back there. And like 3OTT wrote, that connection to the existing building is going to be problematic.

I love the fact that you can combine your work and home. Shows a true love of your craft. Buddy lives right up there in Palmyra, PA and it certainly is pretty country. We go up there and play Hershey CC where he's a member. Let me know if you have any window questions.

Kandrewspa has the most important advice so far. There are many constraints here, and only a talented and local architect can make sense of them. If your custom builder doesn't want to work with an independent architect of your choice, then find another builder. You will never regret the money spent on hiring a competent architect to design a house which is compatible with the site and the existing building AND which meets all of your needs.

When you say you are not kenneling anymore, I have to assume you still have patients that are hospitalized 24/7 and you aren't sending all patients home at 5 pm? You still have to deal with some noise and odors, no?

You probably still need a few indoor/outdoor runs for any dogs you might be observing and/or treating for several days?

The practices I worked at had 4 to 6 full time Vets on staff, so larger volume than a sole practitioner. You can always smell dog urine near the front door of a vet practice. Most of the dogs will pee on the way in, out, or both.

I can see the appeal of having home and work nearby, but not sure I would want this type of work directly attached to my house.

Is there a point to sharing an exterior wall with the hospital and not building a separate structure for the house? THe two building do not integrate well at all.

I would be quite oncerned about resale value in the event you ever need to move. Very few people are going to want to purchase a home connected to a vet practice. I'm assuming you (or your heirs) can afford to have the house stay on the market for years and likely not get your full investment back.