Multigenerational residential designs blend independence and togetherness. Each generation enjoys private spaces, fostering individual living while ensuring the whole family stays connected under one roof.
Multigenerational living is gaining traction. After the pandemic set the groundwork for normalizing merged households, rising inflation and higher housing expenses secured the housing type’s popularity. Many people moved in with relatives to save on rent or childcare expenses. However, most homes today are not designed for this type of living.
While two—and three-flats allow different familial groups to live on separate floors, and single-family homes (on occasion) have a guestroom or guest quarters, few options provide each family member with the space, freedom, and respect needed to live comfortably while still allowing for shared space to gather as a family or group.


Most existing structures lack the proper spatial capacity or physical configurations for multigenerational families. They typically have to be modified to create suitable new spaces. In these instances, a master plan of the property is conducted to assess the site’s existing conditions and the subsequent development of creative design solutions that align with the project’s scope, goals, and budget.
A renovation can proceed if a home is ripe for conversion into a multi-family dwelling and the conditions and surroundings are such that no budget breaches are projected. However, if a master plan indicates that a renovation is financially or environmentally infeasible, the alternative option is usually redeveloping the site and building anew.
Whether a multigenerational residential design project involves a renovation or the design of an entirely new structure, an approach is needed for this type of larger and more integrated lifestyle that embraces context to its fullest extent; environment, site, and locale should all be not only considered but celebrated.
The following case studies represent several of Moss’s multigenerational projects and show that aesthetics, function, and energy efficiency need not be compromised to create these communal and family-focused homes.
Creating Spaces for Multigenerational Living: Residential Design Solutions
Engawa House: A Modern Retreat Surrounded by Nature
Many see new construction homes in the suburbs as soulless McMansions, and often, they are. These types of homes are driven by developers who respond to a very specific idea of the marketplace and exert little effort to break free from the cookie-cutter mold. When a home lacks any site specificity and is systematically oblivious to its environment, it isn’t employing good design.
However, a newly built residence on a large parcel of land outside of the city doesn’t have to be an eyesore. In fact, there is another way to build these suburban homes that engage with their surroundings in a way where the home becomes part of the site, and the site, a part of the home. Inspired by the site’s natural connection to surrounding forests, this home’s Engawa design celebrates the natural beauty of its woodland environment. The plan spreads its wings around the protected trees, creating a serene forest courtyard where nature and modern living coexist harmoniously.
The multigenerational home’s layout reinforces this idea of harmonious coexistence, providing two separate wings: one for our clients and their children and one for their parents, who will be sharing the space full-time. The in-law wing, though located at the opposite end of the home, is connected to the main house through a glass-enclosed connector space, which also functions as a dining room. A clerestory roof extends beyond this nexus into the kitchen and living area, further connecting the inside and outside by flooding the interior with natural light.


Emphasis on Sustainable Design
The project’s strong commitment to sustainability is evinced clearly at this moment; the building’s orientation (a first and foremost consideration in site-specific design), as well as its highly insulated building envelope, maximizes cross-ventilation and harnesses solar energy, while the roof ventilates hot air. The result is a comfortable indoor environment, year-round, both for the humans inside and the plants growing in the on-site greenhouse. The north wall of this greenhouse consists of a concrete thermal mass trombe wall that absorbs the sun’s heat during the day and releases it into the greenhouse at night, tempering the edible plants inside.
Other sustainable features contributing to the project’s net-zero goal include a heat-exchanger water heater, a radiant heated floor slab, energy-efficient fan coil furnace units, and a 20kw solar panel array on the house that serves the entire site.
A modern homestead with room for everyone to grow and flourish, this project epitomizes site-specificity in a suburban context while creating functional and beautiful spaces for a multi-tiered family.


New Construction on an Urban Lot
Another three-generation family home, Park House, is also new-build. But unlike Engawa House, it is located in the thick of the Chicago urban fabric.
Typically, when new homes are built in the city, they either comply with the existing footprint of a single lot or consume multiple lots — in which instance, they generally serve one nuclear family. Although designed to be built on three consecutive lots, Park House will be home to three generations of family, all of whom will enjoy the bustling city life around them.
The design includes plenty of communal spaces: a family room, den, garden terrace, sitting/parlor room, multi-purpose room, gym, and patios on both the first and second floors. A spacious master suite is also planned, equipped with a bathroom, study, library, and extra spaces that create distance and provide peace and respite from the rest of the family. An elevator is integrated to support aging-in-place, allowing the grandparents to easily move between floors if they ever become physically restricted.
In many of our residential designs, we take advantage of natural weather patterns, using elements like sun and wind as natural sources of heat and ventilation. During this project’s site analysis, we mapped the sun’s movement across the property, closely following its impact on the site so we could position the home to be shaded in the summer and gain heat in the winter. The home’s positioning on the site, paired with its operable windows inviting southern and western breezes in, creates the opportunity for cross-ventilation and allows any accumulated warm air to rise and vent out naturally.
Designed as a familial urban haven, Park House works with its site and environment to provide a space where multiple generations can connect and live together.



Multigenerational Co-Housing in Evanston
Church Street is an adaptive reuse project. We’re transforming a historic 1920s manufacturing site into an electric-powered multigenerational complex where extended families can extend even further. The series of homes promises its families a number of friendly and like-minded neighbors. The design blends the community of a campus with the access of a downtown apartment, connecting families and creating friendships.
The multigenerational design includes seven residential townhomes. Each one contains two to four bedrooms and individual private access to 4,000 SF of communal space that functions like a big playroom. This space allows families to gather, cook, exercise, make music, and paint with one another.
Outside, an edible garden flourishes with fruits and vegetables. While a greenhouse, nurturing various plants, connects to the communal kitchen and dining room. A native prairie sits beside the garden designed by our team to support pollinators for the property’s own gardens.
The building’s design includes heat pump heating and cooling, LED lighting, photovoltaic panels, and a backup generator. It also incorporates a subterranean stormwater management system. This system meets Evanston’s strict stormwater retention regulations by using a network of pipes to channel water into underground detention systems. Additional amenities for residents include on-site EV charging and bike parking.
Effective multigenerational residential designs celebrate context while upholding family values, togetherness, and connectedness. Moss’s projects prove that these homes can be beautiful, functional, and energy-efficient. Thus, they meet all the needs of multigenerational families and provide a type of architecture that resonates with the rest of the community.

The master plan for the Church Street project pictured above depicts the overall site plan. Below are the detailed interior dwelling unit components and site analysis.

