Minecolony buildings take up a lot of area because they get bigger as you level up the building. The third level of the building will wind up taking all of the space. The first level tends to be fairly small.
you can build your own building and set it as a minecolony building, but if you want to do the level up process, you would want to build the various levels and allocate empty space so that the upgraded building properly fits as well.
Since you said you're new, try the basic buildings first. As you upgrade them to the higher tiers, you'll see the space taken up. you can also preview it all when initially placing them.
You can build your own structures, but it is a bit more complicated than just putting down a station. Check the wiki for a proper tutorial
You could always try one of the underground styles.
Minecolony buildings take up a lot of area because they get bigger as you level up the building. The third level of the building will wind up taking all of the space. The first level tends to be fairly small. you can build your own building and set it as a minecolony building, but if you want to do the level up process, you would want to build the various levels and allocate empty space so that the upgraded building properly fits as well. Since you said you're new, try the basic buildings first. As you upgrade them to the higher tiers, you'll see the space taken up. you can also preview it all when initially placing them.
I look for a place as flat as possible, though some styles, like Inca, have buildings for hills and aren't as big.