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To address the increasingly urgent urban housing crisis, cities across Canada, and Metro Vancouver in particular, face many challenges. Key among them is the “missing middle,” a term that highlights the disparity in affordable housing options for middle-income households in densely populated areas. As cities grapple with housing affordability, limited housing options and scarcity of developable land, there is an urgent need for transformative approaches to urban development. This article delves into a key piece of research exploring the potential of single stair access in multi-unit residential buildings to provide viable solutions to these challenges.
One promising approach to housing innovation lies in a careful review of building codes. The National Building Code of Canada standard requires two staircases in residential buildings with more than two storeys. Although it may seem trivial, this small piece of code has a huge impact on the quality of life in our cities. It tends to produce large buildings bisected by long, windowless corridors. Most apartments in these buildings only have windows on one side. As a result, limited windows have led to more studios and one-bedroom apartments, and therefore a limited supply of family-friendly apartments.
The requirement for double staircases was to protect against the threat of fire, which was common in late 19th and early 20th century North America. This was also a time when wooden buildings were common. Today, however, with stringent fire codes (alarms, sprinklers, complex fire departments) and the need for density, the dual staircase requirement may no longer best serve the public.
The single-staircase residential study was initiated by Public Architecture and commissioned by BC Housing and the City of Vancouver. We were supported by a variety of architectural and engineering experts and our research made a compelling case for reconsidering the double staircase requirement. At the heart of the matter is the desire to optimize the use of urban space while ensuring safety and promoting the development of more inclusive and vibrant communities. The study proposes revisions to the national building code to allow single exits up to six floors. This move will not only expand the housing market by introducing a wider range of housing types, but also improve affordability and accessibility.
These proposed changes, and the resulting new building types, have far-reaching implications for housing associations and developers, particularly those with limited budgets. By building efficient multi-unit housing on a limited footprint, these amendments may lead to more economical construction projects, especially for smaller local developers. This is critical to providing affordable housing solutions for diverse residents across income groups, cultural backgrounds and lifestyles, helping to create more inclusive and vibrant communities and enriching the city’s social fabric. The potential to increase density without compromising safety and livability offers a promising path to meeting growing housing demand in urban centers like Vancouver.
Through a comparative study of typical Metro Vancouver scenarios—one 50-foot lot; two 33-foot lots; and a group of five 33-foot lots—the report illustrates the transformative potential of a single stair access . Different apartment building types, including double-loaded corridors, single-loaded corridors, point towers and point-through blocks, were assessed in terms of circulation, fire safety and liveability. The findings highlight the efficiency and community benefits of a single staircase type, particularly for smaller sites and addressing missing middles. For example, point-like transportation blocks are considered a particularly promising model, characterized by their spatial efficiency and potential to create high-quality urban housing. With public spaces occupying only 6% of the floor area, this typology maximizes the salable/leasable floor area without compromising on design quality.
Additionally, social resilience is built into the design. Having just one staircase increases the likelihood of encountering neighbors, while clustered units create a micro-community on each floor. The single staircase model offers significant design flexibility, allowing the construction of larger apartments and duplex units, thereby enhancing daylight entry and natural ventilation. Additionally, point access blocks are scalable and therefore suitable for incremental development.
The study’s recommendations go beyond theoretical exploration and advocate the implementation of demonstration projects to demonstrate the practicality and benefits of single-stair access construction. These projects can serve as concrete examples of how building code reform can unlock new possibilities for urban housing development, paving the way for more sustainable, inclusive and vibrant urban communities. To provide leadership in this regard, BC Housing is issuing a call in early 2024 for teams to review and explore single stair egress types, assess technical design considerations for implementation, and potentially recommend single egress stair building designs that are highly accessible Up to eight floors.
The proposed building code changes are a critical step in addressing the challenges of housing scarcity, affordability and diversity in urban areas. Cities have the opportunity to adopt more flexible, efficient and inclusive approaches to urban development. As housing stakeholders unite behind these reforms, the vision of transforming the urban landscape to make housing options affordable and diverse for all is getting closer to reality.
Jamie Harte is a senior associate at the Public Architecture Office.
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