While the majority of the thousands of photographs on Houzz pertain to single-family homes, a number of multi-family jobs can also be found. They offer alternatives in contexts but also in towns not only to homes.
These new methods of both retrofitting and infilling the suburbs are coming to the fore in the face of energy and climate crises. Multi-family home of even two units offers the benefits of more efficient heating and heating arising from shared walls and generally smaller house sizes, a decrease in water use for yards, and also the potential to generate enough density in an area to make walking a feasible alternative to driving.
Eggleston Farkas Architects
This development in Seattle, Wash. made by Eggleston Farkas offers an alternative to typical townhomes in the area, putting duplex units on the road with three broader units in the back of each building. The modern design in wood and concrete features generous glazing to provide the units plenty of natural light.
Seattle is also home to Pb Elemental, who have designed lots of multi-family jobs — a few “twins” with exactly the same or comparable plans mirrored on each side of a walkway or shared wall.
The second-floor volumes here articulate the openings differently to provide each residence its own individuality, while still making it clear that they are part of a single project.
These townhomes, also made by Pb Elemental, appears to be situated next to smaller homes. Turned 90 degrees to the road, using a driveway on the other side, the job fits a somewhat narrow bit and comes closer in scale to its neighbors. The modern design in timber is surely pleasing.
A previous Pb Elemental project comprises three live/work units with ground floor retail area. Pictured are two units in the trunk, removed in the road from the front building and also an area for parking. Notice the paving.
David Vandervort Architects
Here is a development using four townhomes, also in Seattle, which is more conventional in appearance, pitched roofs and all. Collective living need not mean stylistic antagonism; it can take cues in the local fashion whilst offering a lower ecological footprint and other 21st-century benefits.
Another Seattle development incorporates balconies and courtyards oriented to gardens and a water feature. The latter is a key draw to the job whilst creating a strong awareness of entrance via bridges on the road home.
Maltby Design
This duplex job in Vancouver, British Columbia comprises generous balconies facing the road and a rooftop deck. There is something striking and appealing about the yellow wood which makes up this particular elevation.
Contemporary house architects
As mentioned earlier, a common way of designing multiple units would be to mirror duplicate or similar plans. Here that is evident in the entrance to a couple units of a three-unit job. But seen overall …
Contemporary house architects
The entire job isn’t as symmetrical as the entrance in the previous photo would have us believe. The next unit gives it an asymmetrical form that almost makes it look like a massive house — if it weren’t for the three garages under the balconies.
Studio Momentum Architects, PC
Here is a duplex in Austin, Texas that also appears to be a large residence in the road. 1 unit faces the front, and the second one is tucked in the back, reached via the side driveway.
Zack|de Vito Architecture + Construction
This duplex in San Francisco, Calif. jobs one in front of another to provide each its own character supporting precisely the same garages. The backyard condition …
Zack|de Vito Architecture + Construction
… shows how the terraced backyard, shared by both units, gives privacy to each if desired. Multi-family home does require a particular social negotiation in regards to green space, but it is generally well worth it.
GLS Architecture/Landscape Architecture
The grade of the spaces generated through multi-family housing is surely important. This large job in San Francisco about a block in the love-it-or-hate-it Federal Building from Morphosis) features units facing the streets into the west and east whilst half of the units face the bamboo courtyard pictured here. A view from down on the walkway …
GLS Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Shows this space to be softer than the road fronts. I really could see the courtyard units becoming more desirable — and costly — than the units on the streets.
ON Design Architects
This development of townhomes is situated on a triangular site in Santa Barbara. The residences are oriented with this thoughtfully designed alleyway that looks like it could be a location for block parties and other social gatherings with all the neighbors. Whatever the circumstance, it is an amenity that arises from the density that is a portion of the evolution.
This previous instance, by Rhodes Architecture + Light, illustrates that even single-family homes can be created in improvements to bring their benefits closer to those of multi-family buildings.
Anderson Gardens includes four homes (three new, one renovated) that surround a massive garden. Previously a farmhouse, the property is currently home to a few more homes than another suburban context might support.
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