Three Unique Homes Fit Under One Roof for an Extended Family in Queens
Before O’Neill Rose Architects took on this project, the client—a contractor the firm often works with—was living with his mother, brother and sister-in-law in an older, smaller house previously owned by his father-in-law. It was a less than ideal situation for the busy family.
"He wanted to make a space that would work for the whole extended family but have each piece have its own identity and presence on the property, so they could feel like it was theirs as it was still tied in with something else," partner Devin O’Neill says.
Different exterior finishes demarcate each section of the building; the client’s home is identified by rich ipe wood with windows that fan outwards to allow fresh breezes inside. The other two parts are clad in stucco, a challenging material to work with, O’Neill says, because they had to scaffold and apply it in a single day to create a seamless look.
Tasked with creating a brand new structure that would house three separate groups of people with very different personalities, the firm devised an unconventional scheme that would be composed of three unique units joined together beneath one roof, with areas of overlap and connection. Each unit has a slightly different visual scheme, to "generate the character of who was living in the space."
The master bathroom in the client’s unit features Corian for the flooring and sink, a material O’Neill favors for its “beautiful plaster quality, where the light almost sits in the material and glows," adding, "we wanted the bathroom to be like a light box where the material is holding this light in a big room.” The back wall of the shower is a single slab of travertine stone, adding elegant contrast to the room.
O'Neill Rose Architects designed each unit of this modern Queens compound based on the personality of the family member occupying it. The kitchen in the brother’s unit is bright and fun with a backsplash made of painted glass. The light fixtures, like many other materials found in the project, were left over from the client’s contracting work; O’Neill Rose bent the found pipes into an array of angles and attached light bulbs.
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