Multigenerational home designed like a ‘mini apartment building’

Multigenerational living is all about creativity—how do you make a space that’s accommodating to the needs of different generations? Sometimes it’s a matter of clever design tweaks that make a small apartment bigger. Other times, it’s giving everyone enough space to claim as their own.

This three-story Amsterdam house from Dutch firm BETA does a bit of both. It houses three generations of a family—young children, parents, and grandparents—in what the architects call a “mini apartment building.”

Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

The solid rectangle of a home is split into levels: The bottom floors house an office, patio, and bedrooms for the young family. The upper floor is its own apartment for the grandparents, designed with level floors and a roof deck that looks out onto the city.

Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

The centerpiece of the home is a staircase flanked by bright yellow walls that cut through the house like a lightening bolt. The staircase reaches all the way to the top of the house, but naturally, there’s also an elevator for anyone who might need it.