Retrofitting Suburbia: A Move Towards Multigenerational Living

Abstract

Multigenerational living has become an increasingly popular option in the midst of an impossible housing market and towering costs of living. As trends of multigenerational living intensify, most existing housing developments are built without considering the possibility of multigenerational occupation and its need for flexibility and adaptability. This thesis will explore the potential in existing suburban neighbourhoods, using methods of retrofit to redesign cookie-cutter single-family homes, both internally and externally, to better suit the modern day multigenerational household. The purpose of the thesis is not to challenge suburban architecture at a formal level, but to challenge it on a social level and its ability to perform.

The nature of the thesis is a hybrid of research and design. The scope of exploration includes an in-depth understanding of the multigenerational household, its history, makeup and function. The multigenerational household is defined to consist of three generations of the same family under one roof. Each family is different in its needs and composition, thus the solution should be universally adaptable and scalable. The design proposal will use a suburban neighbourhood in Markham Ontario as its site. Six different groupings made up of single detached family homes connected by a common landscape design will feature a set of retrofits meant for multigenerational living. The design proposal acts as an experiment in demonstrating not a site specific, single use solution, but one that shows a new, effective type of suburban multigenerational living.