This exquisite Laneway House enriches the overall experience of Vancouver by carefully considering how the design interacts with the public space onto which it faces – the lane.
This is the quintessential Laneway House. It possesses all the elements fundamental to a small home. The house is liberal with its floor plan, with a focus on single level living. It has one bedroom, a large open space for living, dining and cooking, and a smaller workroom. Being a single level home enabled the design to maximize its footprint while also retaining the large tree on the western property line and using that area for on-site parking.
The merit of this home’s design is its modest, simple nature. It responds to its site and context by integrating with the main house around a combined outdoor space, and using materials and colours that match the existing house. This home speaks to its neighbourliness through its quiet presence rather than drawing attention to itself: the perfect neighbour. It feels as though it has always been there.
The City’s laneway house program is intended to create new infill housing that provides alternative housing choices and strengthens communities in a subtle yet substantive manner: this house achieves just this. This home will allow its occupants to age in place and contributes to the urban fabric of the city.
