Eleven preapproved architectural plans for backyard tiny homes, or ADU’s, in New York City could speed up construction and help provide a solution to the housing crisis. At the same time, it launched ADU for You, a website developed to make building such a structure easier with a property look-up tool and a step-by-step guidebook.
This 406-square-foot structure has an elaborate roof screen of aluminum tubes. The roof shelters a one-bedroom A.D.U. with exterior walls finished in stucco, while creating a new roof deck for the occupant of the principal home to which it’s connected. The design grew out of the architects’ desire to create a unit that was uniquely suited for New York backyards, where space is usually tight, and any structure is typically visible to neighbors. A generous skylight pulls sunlight and a shifting display of shadows from the roof screen into the A.D.U. below. “It’s a way to bring solar movement inside the house,” The architect said. “You can see the day pass.”
With space at a premium in New York, the architect aimed to create an A.D.U. with a small footprint that maximized interior space by building up. The result is a structure with a footprint of only 280 square feet that stands 15 feet high. It was designed it for what are the narrowest viable lots. The studio-size A.D.U. has a living room open to a kitchen and a Murphy bed for sleeping on the ground floor. A ladder rises to a windowed storage loft, which takes advantage of the high ceiling. The structure has an innovative modular construction system featuring insulated blocks that fit together like Lego pieces.
This 439-square-foot detached A.D.U. is clad in fiber cement board-and-batten siding, and is compact but designed to function as a luxurious independent home, with large windows, a full kitchen, a washer and dryer, and integrated solar panels. The home is ideal as an in-law unit, a home for adult children returning from college or simply a rental home that could generate additional income for a family.
To harmonize with existing buildings and surrounding A.D.U.s across diverse contexts, this design adopts a sloped roof and walls, forming a simplified, archetypal image of a house. The design can be easily adjusted to fit different backyards. This 473-square-foot A.D.U. has a combined kitchen, living and dining space; a bedroom with a built-in desk; and a washer and dryer. It also has a ladder up to a storage loft under the highest portion of the ceiling. The exterior is clad in corrugated metal panels, which could be sourced in various colors. The tough material was selected to complement the common housing material palette of New York.
A few of the preapproved A.D.U.s are designed to be built above garages, including this 400-square-foot, one-bedroom home, which is reached via stairs that rise to a terrace enclosed by glass with operable windows. It’s a private semi-outdoor area for that unit which is intended to be flexible. Some residents might put up curtains in there, some other residents might turn it into a greenhouse, and some people might turn it into a painting studio. The rest of the home is split between a combined space for the kitchen, living and dining area; a sleeping space that can be left open or closed off with sliding doors; and a bathroom.
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