Can you share a bit about your experience working on the book? Has it shaped your views on multigenerational living - either as a family or a community?

I was inspired to write this book following an article I wrote on the topic for The New York Times. I just kept noticing more and more multigenerational homes popping up. There were also more and more articles on the topic. Plus, my maternal grandmother lived in a multigenerational home growing up, as did my husband. Today my in-laws share an intentionally-built multigenerational home with my sister-in-law’s family. We spend a lot of time there.

When looking for possible projects to include in the book, it was a real pleasure to see the variety of innovative and exciting takes on the multigenerational home. For the features and case studies included, I talked to architects around the world (a few of which are actually living in multigenerational homes) and for one article, I also spoke to the homeowners, which was such a treat.

If you have a choice in the matter, I don’t think multigenerational living is for every family. You have to lay ground rules and establish borders so to speak. In some families those rules and borders would be crossed, so it just wouldn't work. It also depends on the particular family and its individual members, but a multigenerational home must be designed so each member has their own privacy and is able to maintain their independence. It can’t be a free-for-all as one family member told me. I think probably the most important room is the kitchen. If people can’t eat how and when they want, they can get hangry! It can have an effect on their day and ultimately their lives.

Have you found some common design principles or guidelines that architects adopt when designing for multigenerational households?

Yes, there is a whole feature on this in the book. Those include flexibility, accessibility and inclusivity for all ages, and accommodating both private space and shared common space. Good design—intentional design—allows all members of the family to live separately while together, and to live together while also living separately.

What do you think are the pros and cons of multigenerational living?

Pros: Shared care and costs, affordability (people can live in beautiful homes that they might not otherwise be able to afford), strengthening bonds and building memories.

Cons: It doesn’t always work. At the end of the day, we all desire independence and the ability to live exactly how we want. Our homes are supposed to be the one place we can do that. Sometimes, despite the best intentions, it doesn’t work and we can end up feeling like children living with our parents again. And vice versa. This is where good design can help.

Can you share one standout project you encountered? What made it memorable?

I really love the idea of homes that can evolve as families do. There are many examples of this in the book, but I suppose one that is near and dear to me, because it was included in the NYT article that started all this for me, is the Three Generation House in Amsterdam. BETA architects designed the home so that it can easily transition through simple manoeuvres. It’s both a smart and stunning home. Full of life. I spent several hours with architect and homeowner, August van Oppen and his family there. It’s a really inspiring home that will make most people more open to the idea of living with multiple generations.

How do you think governments can promote multigenerational living, especially in cities with housing crises?

That’s a great question. I suppose by subsidising multigenerational projects. Providing incentives to homeowners to live multigenerationally, as well as support for architects. And of course, updating zoning laws so that more Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and other spaces to accommodate multiple generations (so called “missing middle” projects for example) can be built on what are currently zoned as single-family plots.

What do you think are the upcoming trends in multigenerational living, given society’s changing demographics and family structures?

More multifamily, multigenerational communities. In Come Together, we used the term intergenerational, which is often used interchangeably with multigenerational, to describe this community living. Where not only is it intergenerational, but these communities also house people of varying backgrounds from immigrants, to students, to those with disabilities. It’s a mix. And, because more people are working from home, these communities will also incorporate co-working spaces, or spaces within individual apartments to accommodate this. (This is happening already). And more flexibility. More ideas on multigenerational homes that can shape shift. Homes that feel alive. Today the multigenerational home is being designed to evolve with the family—to be a forever home through multiple generations. It is in alignment with the concept of circularity, which is of course greatly needed.