National Building Museum Constructs a 1,000-Square-Foot Model of a Flexible House

摘要

Roughly 68 percent of U.S. housing units are single-family, but single-family houses don't necessarily house single families. Today's residential architects have moved beyond adding Murphy beds to apartments and now are designing housing that caters to a client-base that's marrying later, buying less, and living longer. This month, the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., opens a new exhibition, "Making Room: Housing for a Changing America," showcasing new models for living, from amenity-rich micro-units to residences designed for aging-in-place. Alongside case studies such as nArchitects Carmel Place in New York and Poster Frost Mirto's Las Abuelitas Family Housing in Tucson, Ariz., the exhibition features the Open House, a full-scale, 1,000-square-foot demonstration unit designed by architect Pierluigi Colombo, designer/ art director of Italian furniture company Clei (shown). Over the exhibition's 10-month run, the unit will showcase three different configurations designed to meet the needs of three very different types of inhabitants: roommates, a retired couple, and an extended family. The exhibition runs from Nov. 18 through Sept. 16 of next year.