These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
“Koo’s” is based on an iconic Vancouver project that paved the way for gentle density infill housing over twenty years ago.
By dividing the original form into six townhouse-style units with different heights and treatments, “Koo’s” feels urban while remaining comfortable in a single-detached neighbourhood.
Making the most of a corner lot, it manages to incorporate space for five garage stalls as well as providing a beautiful private rear courtyard, plus a deck for each unit. The design could be mirrored on two sites to create a spacious central yard, or garages could be replaced with small lock-off suites for nearly double the unit density.
“Koo’s” has a total of 9 bedrooms with an FSR of 0.81 on the 60×140’ lot shown, and 0.94 on the 50×140’ lot. Its glazing is shown as sprinklered.
Drawing and Images
“Koos” on 60′ front access lot “Koos” on 60′ front access lot“Koos” on 60′ front access lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
This design features charming one-bedroom flats arranged in pairs, offering a cozy and efficient living arrangement. The ground floor units are designed to be fully accessible, making them ideal for individuals or couples with mobility challenges. Additionally, the private upper suites cater to caregivers, ensuring a supportive living environment.
This versatile design can be mirrored to create a fourplex, providing flexibility in configuration. Furthermore, it can be rotated and multiplied to fill any lot size, as demonstrated with collections of 6 or 8 units. By tucking the second storey under the roof, the design achieves a remarkably low and humble profile considering the density of units. In total, the design accommodates either 6 or 8 units, depending on the size of the lot.
The proposed floor space ratios (FSR) are 0.54 on a 50×120’ lot and 0.60 on a 60×120’ lot, showcasing efficient land usage while maintaining a comfortable living environment.
Drawing and Images
“Richmond, 6 Units” on 50′ front-access lot“Richmond, 6 Units” on 50′ front-access lot“Richmond, 8 Units” on 60′ front-access lot“Richmond, 8 Units” on 60′ front-access lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
This cleverly designed structure appears deceptively scaled, accommodating 6 units within a comfortable and familiar form. Ideal for promoting sustainable living, the design includes a generous bike room to support car-free lifestyles for entire families.
Its adaptability makes it perfect for sites sloping upwards towards the back or to the right, as the bike room can be partially or completely underground. Four of the units are family-sized, featuring 3 bedrooms each and enjoying ample natural light from windows on three sides. Additionally, the four upper units offer large decks for outdoor enjoyment and relaxation.
The below-ground units are thoughtfully designed for accessibility and aging in place, ensuring comfort and convenience for residents of all ages. In total, the structure accommodates 16 bedrooms, catering to various household sizes and needs. The proposed floor space ratio (FSR) is 1.04 on a 60×120’ lot, demonstrating efficient land usage while prioritizing livability and functionality.
Drawing and Images
Belton sample home design on 60′ front access lot.Belton sample home design on 60′ front access lot.Belton sample home design on 50′ front access lot.Belton sample home design on 50′ front access lot.
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
“Mosaic” is carefully designed to offer a high quality of life for each of the four unique units. The front structure consists of a side-by-side duplex, with a two-storeys in height that feels at home in any established single-detached neighbourhood; a basement is optional here.
The rear structure, connected to the front only by a deck, contains two stacked units; the ground-level unit is fully accessible, making the complex age-in-place ready. The two units can be separated, or one can be treated as a lock-off suite to the other.
Each of the four units has a generous private deck or yard, creating a spacious courtyard feel between them, while the front yard is large enough to accommodate a mature tree. A side drive (or side street on a smaller, corner lot) provides the access to a parking space for each unit, including two garage spaces.
Offering a total of 9 bedrooms, “Mosaic” has a gentle FSR of 0.66 on the 60×125’ lot shown, and 0.79 on the 50×125’ lot. This design assumes each unit is sprinklered.
Drawing and Images
“Mosaic” on 50′ corner lot“Mosaic” on 50′ corner lot“Mosaic” on 60′ front access lot“Mosaic” on 60′ front access lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
Positioned on wide lots and on corners, “SoMa” offers ground-level front doors and direct access to private yard space for each unit, as well as an option for rooftop patios.
Grouping six townhouses on a small footprint, this design’s simplified form provides many construction efficiencies, while delivering a total of 12 bedrooms without requiring any below-grade space.
“SoMa” is shown here with a variety of floor plans possible for the units, and a FSR of 0.83 on the 60×120’ lot, and 1.00 on the 50×120’ lot.
Drawing and Images
“SoMa” on 60′ front-access lot“SoMa” on 60′ front-access lot“SoMa” on 50′ corner lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
This captivating home design draws inspiration from heritage houses, seamlessly blending charm with luxury across its units. Featuring a duplex carriage house equipped with four garage stalls, it is tailored for lane access while remaining adaptable for corner lots.
The front structure cleverly utilizes space by sinking the bottom level a few steps down and integrating the top storey into the roof, creating a visually appealing three-storey facade. Unit 3 stands out for its spaciousness and can be customized for full accessibility if desired. Each unit also boasts private patio or deck space, enhancing the overall appeal and functionality.
The proposed floor space ratios (FSR) are 0.92 on a 50×125’ lot and 0.76 on a 60×145’ lot, showcasing efficient use of space. In total, the design accommodates 14 bedrooms, ensuring ample room for residents.
Drawing and Images
“Campbell” on 50′ rear-access lot“Campbell” on 50′ rear-access lot“Campbell” on 60′ corner lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
“Glynn” is deceptively dense, applying architectural skill to conceal six efficient 2-bedroom units on a lot as narrow as 33’.
Essentially an extremely compact apartment building disguised as a single-family home, the “Glynn” design could readily be doubled on a 70’-wide lot without drawing attention to itself.
This design cleverly avoids the need for any shared stairs or building code alternative solutions. It achieves a FSR of 0.84 on the 50×100’ lot shown, and 1.27 on the 33×100’ lot.
Drawing and Images
“Glynn” on 50′ rear-access lot“Glynn” on 50′ rear-access lot“Glynn” on 33′ rear-access lot“Glynn” on 33′ rear-access lot
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
“Caledonia” exemplifies architectural ingenuity by making a simple design beautiful. It contains four townhouses clustered in a square, perched on top of two stair-free flats.
The simplified form and repeated floor plans make for efficient construction, whilst the extra attention to the facade pays homage to familiar heritage forms of gentle density within the neighbourhood.
“Caledonia” boasts twelve bedrooms with a FSR of 0.82 on the 60×100’ lot shown, and 0.99 on the 50×100’ lot. It requires no alternative solutions within the BC Building Code.
Drawing and Images
Caledonia sample home design, on 50′ front access lot.Caledonia sample home design, on 50′ front access lot.Caledonia sample home design on 60′ front access lot.Caledonia sample home design on 60′ front access lot.
These designs are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended for construction.
This design boasts a simple yet timeless “house-shaped” form, concealing four units within its structure. Proven successful in Ottawa’s houseplex zones, it offers flexibility as either four strata units or a duplex, each with a suite. The upper units feature optional hidden roof decks, adding to their allure and functionality.
Despite its compact footprint, the design leaves ample room for generous yard space, even on a mid-sized lot. It’s intended to facilitate mirroring on a pair of lots, with space for a shared driveway between them, leading to rear parking. In total, the design accommodates 8 bedrooms. The proposed floor space ratios (FSR) are 1.11 on a 33×100’ lot and 0.73 on a 50×100’ lot, showcasing efficient land usage while maintaining livability and functionality.
Drawing and Images
“Carruthers” on 50′ rear-access lot“Carruthers” on 50′ rear-access lot“Carruthers” on 33′ rear-access lot“Carruthers” on 33′ rear-access lot
This Small Housing Guidance Paper examines the viability of redeveloping houses in single family neighbourhoods with more homes on the same property, presenting recommendations that will assist various actors involved in setting financial and cost recovery policies as it relates to new gentle density development.
Key policy considerations explored include:
Enabling Tenure Options (Rental & Ownership)
Allowing individual ownership, or strata-titling, for each home on a lot will encourage more new units to be constructed versus requiring that a property have a single owner (i.e. the owner rents out the additional units, or all residents share a single mortgage).
Leveling the cost playing field and reducing risk
Constructing multi-unit buildings is more complex and costly than single family homes; by offering standardized designs and simplifying approval processes it is possible to reduce the uncertainty and costs involved.
Building in affordability
Given the small number of units involved in these projects, it is administratively simpler and more financially viable to take any affordability requirements or financial contribution (if required) and combine them for affordable housing on a larger site.
For the comprehensive suite of Small Housing Guidance Papers, check them out in the Toolbox Resource Library. Simply search for “Guidance Paper”.
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