An Upstate Retreat That Grew Into a Family Compound

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The architect Koray Duman of Büro Koray Duman designed two adjacent houses for artist Miranda Fengyuan Zhang and her family.

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Alon Kappel

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An Upstate Retreat That Grew Into a Family Compound

An artist bought 20 bucolic acres in Germantown, N.Y., for a home and studio. It ended up as a favorite destination for extended family and friends.

The architect Koray Duman of Büro Koray Duman designed two adjacent houses for artist Miranda Fengyuan Zhang and her family.

Credit...

Alon Kappel

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By

Tim McKeough

April 27, 2026

When the artist Miranda Fengyuan

Zhang began building a house and studio in Germantown, N.Y., she envisioned it as a bucolic escape from her home in Manhattan and a place to focus on her work. It wasn’t until she completed her home that she realized the 20 acres of open space around her would become a gathering place for extended family — and necessitate the construction of a second house.

“During Covid, my dad and I were kind of stuck,” said Ms. Zhang, 33, who works with textiles and ceramics. Her father, Weijun Sun, happened to be visiting New York from Shanghai and stayed in the city in hopes that the health crisis would be resolved quickly. During that time, he began working as his daughter’s studio assistant, which blossomed into a working relationship so fruitful it continues today.

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Ms. Zhang at the compound with her father, Weijun Sun.

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Lauren Lancaster for The New York Times

As the pandemic dragged on, however, Ms. Zhang and her father were lured to upstate New York by Ms. Zhang’s friends, who reported a growing creative community there. Ms. Zhang was impressed when she visited and purchased land in Germantown in 2022 for $250,000.

For help building a combined home and studio, her gallerist friend Candice Madey recommended the architect Koray Duman, who had experience designing both art galleries and private homes.

Image

Ms. Zhang initially built the house on the right as her second home and studio; she worked with her uncle to add the house on the left to accommodate more family members.

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Alon Kappel

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