DPZ designed the Life Magazine Dream House

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has designed the Life magazine Dream House for 2000. The Lifespan House, as the dwelling is called, is under construction in I’On, a traditional neighborhood development in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Designed to expand and change over the years to accommodate the needs of a maturing family, the house is scheduled to be published in the magazine in the fall of 2000. The first phase of the Lifespan House is a 1,800 square foot starter cottage with a living room and kitchen/dining room downstairs, and three bedrooms upstairs. The house has no garage – parking is on a concrete pad in the back of the property. This phase is for a young couple, with or without young children. The second, move-up phase, is for the time when children grow older and family members need more privacy. On the parking pad (intentionally built as a foundation), a 1,200 square foot addition includes a garage and a new ground-floor master bedroom suite. Phase three, the expansive house, accommodates a family’s rising income and desire for even more space. This phase includes a large new kitchen dining area with a substantial living room and fireplace. Uses for the original first floor include a granny suite with kitchen, a family room, pantry, and/or home office (with separate entry). Phase four, when the children are grown and the house is too big, the original starter home first floor can be sealed off (by simply locking two interior doors) to rent out as a separate apartment. This can become a dwelling for the next generation or a caretaker, or become an income- generating unit.