Problem
If a teenager’s place in the home does not reflect their need for a measure of independence, they will be locked in conflict with their family.
Solution
To mark a child’s coming of age, transform their place in the home into a kind of cottage that expresses in a physical way the beginnings of independence. Keep the cottage attached to the home, but make it a distinctly visible bulge, far away from the master bedroom, with its own private entrance, perhaps its own roof.
Related Patterns
… in any house which has teenagers in it - The Family (75), House for a Small Family (76) - it is necessary to give special consideration to their rooms - A Room of One’s Own (141). If possible, these rooms should be attached but separate, and made to help create the possibility of later being Rooms to Rent (153).
Arrange the cottage to contain a Sitting Circle (185) and a Bed Alcove (188) but not a private bath and kitchen - sharing these is essential: it allows the boy or girl to keep enough connection with the family. Make it a place that can eventually become a guest room, room to rent, workshop, and so on - Rooms to Rent (153), Home Workshop (157). If it is on an upper story, give it a separate private Open Stairs (158). And for the shape of the cottage and its construction, start with The Shape of Indoor Space (191) and Structure Follows Social Spaces (205) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 723.