Learning from community housing movements: Transforming corridors into social spaces (Part 2)

When you picture a hallway or corridor in an apartment building, what do you see?

Hallways, entrances, and exits are primarily designed with fire safety in mind. As a result, most multi-unit building corridors are long and monotonous, and do not encourage social connection. 

Quayside Village Cohousing in North Vancouver shows a different, more social possibility: the exterior walkway (pictured above) is filled with lush hanging vines, gardening areas, and places to sit and chat with neighbours. The open corridor wraps around the building’s exterior courtyard, while windows to private units along the walkway create visual connections between private and semi-public spaces. There is something inherently social and inviting about the exterior walkways. They allow each unit’s entrance to feel personalized, yet still connected to the community. 

Building designers and developers are constrained by building codes, site restrictions, and budgets when designing the overall building layout. However, examples from cohousing and co-operative housing show how, with simple interventions, any corridor can be transformed into a social corridor. 

In this article, we explore five design and programming strategies that developers, designers and housing operators can use to transform multi-unit building hallways into social corridors. 

At Little Mountain Cohousing, units are laid out to minimize the use of circulation corridors. Instead, units are centred around an elevator lobby with a different identity on each floor: for instance, there are different nooks for sewing, crafts, puzzles, or reading. Residents frequently use these spaces in the evenings, and families especially enjoy using the nooks for social, creative activities.

Why oil and gas heating bans for new homes are a growing trend

With growing push toward electric heating, gas industry touts carbon-neutral gas

Five-storey laneway building raises questions over who Vancouver is adding density for

A new five-storey laneway apartment building in Vancouver’s Commercial Drive neighbourhood offers a glimpse into the future of density in the city, while also raising questions about who exactly density is for in Vancouver.

The development, designed by Cornerstone Architecture, is around a month from completion and soon to go on the rental market. Its uniqueness lies in its height and location at the backend of a larger property, much like a laneway house, which architect Scott Kennedy quipped about on Twitter.

This is our 5 storey version of a laneway house on a 33’ corner lot. 8 suites. Heritage building in front preserved. Unfortunately not a passive house pic.twitter.com/Ycxb3mtVad

— Scott Kennedy (@ScottMKennedy) May 12, 2020

The infill development has four one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units spread over four floors, in addition to a ground floor serving as a lobby area. The building was also developed under heritage requirements, which necessitated preserving the heritage building at the front end of the property. Cornerstone architect Luke Han, who worked closely on the project, says he had to get creative with the tight property lines in order to fit all eight units on the 9,560-square-foot site, although they were able to receive a slight exemption to the height limit.

New development in West Coquitlam is light on energy use and big on space | dailyhive

Climate change is a bigger problem today than it ever has been.

And while most people think about doing their part for the environment by recycling more and remembering to take their reusable bag to the grocery store, there’s another way to lower your carbon footprint — and that’s living in a home that is scientifically built to use less energy.

So it makes sense that one of the hottest housing trends of the moment is owning a “Passive House.” The European building standard includes triple-glazed windows, airtight closures, and super-smart ventilation systems to prevent energy escaping.

Think of a Passive House like a passive income — once you set it up you don’t have to do anything to reap the rewards. Except this way, you’re saving energy instead of cash. Not only will you be doing your part for the environment, but you’ll be saving money on energy costs too with an 80% reduction in overall heating costs.

In other words, the Passive House is the innovative carbon-conscious home of your dreams. And we have great news for you. You can now make your dream of contributing to a lower carbon footprint a reality by owning one of 52 homes in West Coquitlam’s brand new townhome development, Skagen.

Skagen townhomes are big, with three- and four-bedroom layouts ranging from 1,653 to 2,083 sq. ft. That’s large enough to fit two Yaletown sized apartments! You’ll find three-bedrooms from $929,900, four-bedrooms from $1,019,900, and you can earn 5% interest on your deposit (up to a maximum of $10,000, for a limited time only).

Spacious townhomes, passive house design on offer at Skagen | Vancouver Sun

Eighth Avenue Development Group Ltd. and its owner Ed Kolic are finding success with an approach summed up by the mottos “upsize your home” and “upsize your life.” The company aims to meet the needs of young, growing families seeking a new category of home: something bigger than a two-bedroom condo but more affordable and manageable than the maintenance-heavy older single family home. Kolic’s newest project—Skagen in Coquitlam—also promises that its larger three and four bedroom townhomes that are “future proofed” through advanced environmental standards also save people money—lots of it. There are 14 three bedroom homes and 12 four bedroom units being built in each of two phases.

“The typical townhome comes in at 1,350 square feet while Skagen’s homes range between 1,650 square feet and 2,030 square feet,” Kolic said.  “We see these as the ‘missing middle’ between the existing choices of a condo and the older traditional model townhome and the single-family home. At this price point (from $929,900 for a three bedroom and $1,019,900 for a four bedroom) you can basically buy an older 50-year-old single family home that requires a major overhaul and investment of $250,000. So Skagen meets the needs of people who want an urban lifestyle and want a home but not the maintenance of a single-family home.”

The larger size homes are just one differentiator, says Kolic, whose firm prides itself on being one of Canada’s leading passive house builders. Skagen’s passive house design includes features such as double the conventional insulation thickness to R40 values, triple-glazed windows, a heat recovery ventilation system, no thermal bridging through which heat is lost and airtight construction.

Winners announced at 2018 Wood Design Awards in B.C.

Vancouver’s Cornerstone Architecture was presented with two awards, including the Environmental Performance Award for The Heights in Vancouver, a mixed-use project that is the nation’s largest designed to the Passive House standard when constructed. Cornerstone also received the Interior Beauty Design Award for the use of wood in the Crofton House School Dining Hall in Vancouver.

South Vancouver rental building to be Canada’s largest multi-unit Passive House

A new six-storey rental building at Fraser and 57th is set to be the largest multi-family building constructed to Passive House energy-efficiency standards, once it is completed in spring this year.

That’s good news for the future tenants of the building, named Spire Landing, as they should benefit from dramatically reduced heating and cooling bills, as well as mold- and pollen-free air quality.

How Canadians are constructing North America's biggest green buildings

In January, tenants will move into a six-storey Vancouver apartment building designed to be so energy efficient, you could heat each bedroom with a 100-watt light bulb.

Boasting a total of 85 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, The Heights at 388 Skeena St. will be the largest "passive house" building in Canada.

But it won't hold that distinction for long. Others are under construction and many more are at the rezoning stage, including a residence that will house 750 students at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus and two 40-plus highrise towers in Vancouver that aim be the tallest passive house buildings in the world.

Passive houses are green buildings constructed using a set of international design principles and standards that allow them to use up to 90 per cent less energy for heating and cooling than conventional buildings — and produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

That's of interest to Canadian cities that want to meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets and ultimately Canada's commitment to cutting its emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels as one of the 197 countries that signed onto the 2015 Paris climate change accord.

According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, buildings generate about 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions linked to human-caused climate change, and 47 per cent of all indirect emissions from electricity and heat production.

Dylan Heerema: Future bright for green homes and buildings in B.C.

Here in B.C., green buildings are quickly moving from niche to norm. All across the province, Passive House apartment buildings, LEED Platinum-certified office space, and even green development plans for entire neighbourhoods are demonstrating the market demand for high-performance buildings. The green-building industry is now estimated to employ 31,700 people in B.C.

We’ve been tracking the growth in green-building construction. First released in 2015, the Pembina Institute’s B.C. Green Buildings Map has just been updated with all-new data for the past two years. The results show that the green-building sector continues to be an important employer and source of economic activity in B.C. Let’s take a deeper look at the numbers.

A number of larger green buildings have been completed in the past two years and several are currently under construction. These include commercial projects such as Metro Vancouver’s Annacis Research Centre in Delta and Vancity credit union’s Mount Tolmie community branch in Victoria, both certified to LEED Platinum. Ground-breaking projects include The Heights in Vancouver and the Dik Tiy Independent Living Facility in Smithers—multi-unit residential buildings that will be certified under the rigorous Passive House standard.

There has been a 38-percent increase in investment in larger green buildings, up from an estimated $10.6 billion in 2014 to more than $14.5 billion in 2016. Jobwise, while there were about 7,000 people working on green-building projects in 2014, there were 4,000 more (11,000) in 2016.

The green-home market has also grown over the past two years. We consider “green homes” to include houses that are certified by Natural Resources Canada as being better than B.C. Building Code, Energy Star, or R-2000, and those that meet Passive House, Living Building, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), or Built Green standards. This brings the total cumulative number of green homes we’ve been able to represent on the map from 18,200 to 18,700. The total number of jobs in green-home construction remained steady at about 6,000.

As the B.C. Energy Step Code launches, we expect the growth in green-home and green-building construction to accelerate even further in the next few years. This is necessary if we are to meet our goal of having all new buildings be “net zero energy ready” by 2032.

Thicker walls, not thicker sweaters recommended for warmth in new Vancouver construction report

The construction of townhouses and buildings under six storeys is the focus of a staff report recommending updates to the city's building bylaw in order to lower energy use and greenhouse gas consumption.  

"The updates are envelope focused, meaning walls, windows, doors and roofs as opposed to fuel focused," said Chris Higgins, green building planner with the city of Vancouver. 

The report recommends that the current width of outside walls be increased by an inch-and-a-half so more insulation can be added to the structure. 

The proposal is part of the city's plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from new constructions by 2030.

Vancouver looks to boost energy-efficiency standards in new homes under seven storeys

The City of Vancouver plans to boost green building requirements for new residential buildings under seven storeys, including “exceptionally large” single-family homes.

The energy efficiency measures, which would kick in March 1, 2018 if they’re approved by council next week, would cut greenhouse gas emissions from the affected buildings by 40 to 55 per cent, according to a city report. The measures include requirements for increased insulation and air tightness, and the use of improved windows, heat-recovery ventilators and more efficient equipment.

The additional green measures would increase building costs by an average of $3.50 per square foot, according to the city.

Sean Pander, a green building manager with the city, said housing affordability is “of critical importance” and suggested any additional construction costs brought on by the policy change would unlikely to be passed on to the buyers of new homes. 

Skeena – Canada’s largest passive house

Vancouver, the self-styled “world’s greenest city” has built Canada’s largest passive house. It’s all part of an effort to combat a severe and pioneer a new pathway to zero emission buildings. That’s great because buildings account for 25 per cent of all carbon emissions worldwide.

Vancouver even has a Greenest City Action Plan and is working on a Zero Emissions Housing Plan. Vancouver is a coastal city and Sean Pander, Vancouver’s green buildings manager acknowledges this reality.

“We’ve got sea level rise, and we recognize that we’re one of those cities that’s going to live with the impact. With the fisheries and the changing water temperatures, the impacts are real, we’re starting to feel them here right now.”

“In Vancouver we’re looking to have all new buildings achieve zero emissions by the year 2030.”

Things looking up for city’s second co-housing complex

Cohousing is a collaborative form of living in which residents develop close ties. Most own their homes within the complex, but they share large common areas, some common meals, as well as duties around the building. They benefit from social relationships and collective skills, which enable them to share responsibilities, interests and activities such as childcare, vehicles, tools and hobbies. Members determine how the cohousing group functions, which may include many or few rules. Decisions are made by consensus.

Brondwin’s group — Little Mountain Cohousing, a reboot of an earlier group of the same name — started recruiting members in 2015, and now its six-storey building is nearing reality. A model of the project, designed by Cornerstone Architecture, was unveiled at a September open house. Feedback was largely positive, according to city staff.

The Urban Design Panel, an advisory committee to the city, voted in support of the project at a Nov. 2 meeting in a 7-1 decision. The application is now going through the final staff review before it heads to public hearing sometime in the new year. In the meantime, Little Mountain Cohousing members hold regular meetings and meals to plan their future.

Green Living: Passive-house project in East Vancouver sets new city standard for green buildings

A recent development, however, may just be one of the city’s most important environmentally minded initiatives to date: the construction of Canada’s largest “passive house” building, a structure so energy-efficient that experts estimate residential utility bills will cost as little as $10 a month.

Dubbed the Heights, the six-storey, 85-unit mixed-use property at 388 Skeena Street is slated to be complete next spring.

It joins more than 10,000 residential, institutional, and commercial properties across Canada that have been built according to passive house, a voluntary standard forwarded by German researchers that emphasizes significant levels of insulation, airtight design, and the recycling of outgoing warm air in highly energy-efficient buildings.

Builders tour Canada’s largest ‘Passive House’ in Vancouver

Have you ever seen an apartment building wearing a sweater?

It’s not as wild an idea as it sounds, according to the Vancouver architect behind what will be the country’s largest near-zero emissions building when it’s finished.

The 85-unit, six-storey rental apartment building, located at East Hastings and Skeena streets, meets the European-pioneered Passive House standards, the highest environmental certification in the world.

“The first thing you do is put a really good sweater on the building,” explained Cornerstone Architecture principal Scott Kennedy, “that keeps the cold out in the winter and keeps the cold in in the summer. The idea is to actually moderate your climate better than a typical building.

“It's what we call an 'envelope-first' building.”

Second cohousing development in Vancouver planned in Riley Park neighbourhood

A second cohousing development is in the works. City hall has received an application to rezone three lots on Quebec Street in the Riley Park neighbourhood for a six-storey residential building.

The development will have 25 strata-titled homes to be owned by members of a group called Little Mountain Cohousing.

City staff and members of Little Mountain Cohousing will hold an open house from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. next Wednesday (September 21) at 4588 Clancy Loranger Way.

For more info check complete Georgia Straight article.