urban living, simplified
Design
This design is based on prefab building system made up of a kit of parts. This system can be used to generate a variety of designs in response to a wide range of site variables, personal preferences, and social parameters. This design has been developed for a specific site - a 50'x120' lot in Vancouver, B.C., a particular client - the owner of that lot, and a particular regulatory environment - the B.C. Building Code and the City of Vancouver bylaw relating to laneway housing.
Social Dimension
With flatpak prefabrication and a kit of parts approach, owners can be co-designers, intimately involved with the design professional in the creation of their laneway house. The system is easily and inexpensively adaptable to site variables and orientation, and responsive to personal preferences of the owners. Variations in configuration, interior plan, cladding (type and colour), windows and doors, cabinets and wardrobes, wall coverings, floor coverings, etc. are all possible. Each laneway house can be unique.
The designer is part of the prefab team, which also includes component manufacturers and suppliers, the builder, and the trained assembly crew. The process of design, prefabrication and construction is collegial and cooperative in nature.
Social incentives: the system is designed to be cost competitive with conventional construction, while offering higher quality and thermal performance, as well as significantly faster speed of construction. In terms of cost, no special government or other incentives are required. Because of energy efficiency, the owners will realize attractive savings on utility costs annually and over the life of the building.
Environmental
SIPs offer superior thermal and sound performance compared to frame construction, with minimal material wastage. All off-cuts from the manufacturing process are recycled. The SIPs and their constituent materials are all manufactured in Vancouver. SIP buildings can qualify for higher Building Green or Energy Star certifications than comparable framed buildings.