You must have quite a wide frontage to build this design so I would suggest the facades and garage door to have a striking contemporary colour to really stand out. I don't think it would look too busy at all because of the wide frontage you must have on your block of land. My only suggestion would be to work with your architect to change the facades a little more to differentiate the two. In my experience, the value of duplexes where the facades are differentiated to make it looks more like two homes increases. Also out of curiosity how many bedrooms has the architect included in the design?

unless there's a good or bad view you wish to highlight or obscure the tall building casts a much longer shadow which can be quite unpleasant in cold weather my suggestion would be to drop the floor with steps in the games room (with an observation "window" from the kitchen) while keeping the same roof shape for the games room and alfresco (the very high ceiling in the games room could make a loft for the kids) and then lower the roof for the bathroom and bedrooms OR if overshadowing is not a problem, change the hall windows to horizontal highlights to preserve privacy and maybe add a deck off bed 4 for an emergency exit

Your designer should be able to suggest some ideas, but a lot will depend on your budget, and the slope of the land. If the rear of the house is very elevated to make the most of the views, you would be better off with lightweight construction that can be maintained easily from your balconies, rather than masonry construction, which can get expensive if you are a long way above the natural ground level. So you need to consider your budget, the height of the building, the surrounding environment (urban or rural), how it looks from the river, the orientation, your climate, and how close the new building is above the flood level. Best of luck with your considerations, Regards Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls.

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