On View: The House Transformed

Traveling from Princeton University School of Architecture

On view through May 22, 2026

February 25, 2026 — Brooklyn, NY — Van Alen Institute is pleased to present The House Transformed, an exhibition featuring new ideas for domestic architecture. Following its debut at the Princeton University School of Architecture (SoA), Van Alen is restaging the exhibition in their Urban Room at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn through May 22, 2026.

The House Transformed rejects conventional notions of the nuclear family and a “one-size-fits-all” approach to home. Through models and drawings, participants develop alternative concepts for collective living, multigenerational households, or living alone. This interactive exhibition encourages visitors to engage with these models and drawings.

Each project focuses on one household and that household’s needs for daily life, bringing to light domestic ideas deeply ingrained in cultural norms but often ignored when discussing the power of architecture. For example, many projects explore what it means to age in place or the transformation families undergo with the passing of time. Others consider the expansion of the domestic sphere to include working from home in a myriad of forms. Participants also address how architecture can structure forms of sharing and mutual care — themes central for extended families living together, roommate arrangements, or cohousing.

The House Transformed is curated by Mónica Ponce de León with Shoshana Torn and Massimo Giannone.

“Van Alen Institute has a long history as one of New York’s premier destinations for new ideas in architecture. Now, with The House Transformed, we’re excited to inaugurate our Gowanus space as a venue for thought-provoking design exhibitions,” said Hayley Eber, Executive Director, Van Alen Institute. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with the Princeton University School of Architecture on this critical exhibition, which provides an important platform for designers rethinking one of architecture’s most fundamental forms.”

“Family has never been homogeneous, and it has never been simply ‘nuclear,’” stated Mónica Ponce de León, Curator. “Many of us live with our extended family; countless consider friends their family, while others want to live alone, or with roommates who are mostly strangers. Some of us would like to age gracefully; others want to play, and many want to work from home. Love takes different forms, and it includes couples without children, single parents, and those in polyamorous relationships. Households come in many shapes, and yet, architecture has continued to insist on one-size-fits-all. Neutrality has proven to be exclusionary and has not served us well.”

Visit vanalen.org for upcoming public program announcements.

Exhibition Participants

adamo-faiden, Agency—Agency, Akima Brackeen, Al Borde, all(zone), BALSA CROSETTO PIAZZI, Black Box Research Group / Atelier Office, Cameron Wu, Cazú Zegers, Chenchow Little Architects, clara sola-morales studio, Common Accounts, COMTE/MEUWLY, Current Interests, Daisy Ames, Diagonal Thoughts, Equipo de Arquitectura, Erin Besler, ERGO Architects, Florencia Pita & Co., Förstberg Ling, French 2D, Heide & von Beckerath, Now Here, The LADG, LLOSA CORTEGANA arquitectos, LTL Architects and Guy Nordenson and Associates, MALL, MOS with E. Coccia, MPdL Studio, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, Oshinowo Studio, Preston Scott Cohen, Stan Allen Architect, Steven Holl Architects, Studio Barnes, studio:indigenous, Studio Sean Canty, Tato Architects, TEN, Tham & Videgård, VTN Architects, WILLIAMSONWILLIAMSON

Exhibition Team

Curator: Mónica Ponce de León

Assistant Curators: Shoshana Torn and Massimo Giannone

Graphic Design: Christina Huang

Exhibition Design: MPdL Studio (Mónica Ponce de León, Massimo Giannone, Shoshana Torn)

Public Programming: Courtney Coffman and Emily Conklin

Production: Kira McDonald

Fabrication: Marie Baretsky, Sean Rucewicz, Olivia Ahmadi, Bill Tansley, John Hunter

Installation: Sean Rucewicz, Nicolas Amitrano, Abraham Cherner, Kyle Ku

Exhibition Assistants: Jon Charette, April Dong, Foivos Geralis, Tyler Gray, Ming Rou Han, Jordan Loofs, Aidan Lozano, Chenkun Ma, Antónia Pachéco, Saaya Perera, Ian St. John, Nicole Teichner, Lucia Tian, Aonor Washington, Samet Yilmaz

Model Assistants: Elina Chen, Zoe King Man Cheung, Vaida Kidykaite, Loretta Koch, Kyra McLaughlin, Lia Mondavi, Stephanie Rosas, Beatriz Saldana, Chandler Yicong Shan, Robert Williams

About Van Alen Institute

Van Alen Institute is a driving force behind community-led urban design, which believes that local knowledge and care enrich the design process. Since 1894, Van Alen has invested in people with a passion for improving cities through the power of architecture and design. Our public space projects build unconventional coalitions of designers, local stakeholders, and city leaders, and we support their visions through project scoping, hands-on guidance, and seed funding. From our home in New York City, our work confronts longstanding power imbalances in citymaking, showcases the vanguard of community-led design, and supports the next generation of designers in creating more just cities. See all work at vanalen.org.

About Princeton University School of Architecture

Through its teaching and research in architectural design, urbanism, history and theory, and architectural technologies, the School of Architecture (SoA) provides students with a course of study that reflects on contemporary and emerging issues in architecture. Principal degrees offered by the School include a Bachelor of Arts, a Professional Master of Architecture, a Post-Professional Master of Architecture, and a Doctorate of Philosophy. Students at the School of Architecture benefit from its small size and thorough integration with the Princeton University community.

Media Contacts

Alisha Kim Levin, press@vanalen.org

Elisa Smilovitz, elisa@elisasmilovitz.com

Bridget Moriarity, bmoriarity@princeton.edu