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Updating the Monopoly House Typology

This new house is located on a suburban block surrounded by post-war “Monopoly” houses – those ubiquitous free-standing dwellings seemingly modeled on the little green plastic starter houses found in a Monopoly game. The owners wished to replace their Monopoly house with something equally functional but more modern and a bit larger; but something that still said “House,” emphatically. Studio Twenty Seven’s design updates the Monopoly house by simplifying and reemphasizing the stereotypical gable-roofed profile. This reduces the perceived volume of the house, yet, at 2,400 square feet, it is significantly larger than its neighbors. Orienting the gable side of the house with the street allows the house axis to extend deeper into the rear of the site. The layout, volumes, and tectonics are high-end residential, but to keep costs down the home was designed to be built with builder-grade detailing and common materials.