4 level
stacked townhouses like this Vancouver development often have a higher density
than some highrises.
Last week
the Architectural Institute of British Columbia held its annual conference. The
theme was Shifting Perspectives but you did not have to be an architect to be
interested in many of the sessions being offered.
One
addressed post-disaster building safety evaluations. While we may not like to
think about an earthquake hitting our city, seismologists believe it is not a
question of if, but when. Many
Vancouver buildings will be affected, including older rental apartments, few of
which are being upgraded since landlords are reluctant to evict tenants.
Another
session explored building design and energy performance. It is a pity some COPE
and Green Party politicians who have been telling voters that highrises are the
least energy efficient building form had not been in attendance. They
would have learned that new highrises are more energy efficient than most
single-family dwellings. That is because apartment suites only have one or two
surfaces exposed to the outside, whereas a single family dwelling has six.
Another
session examined the future of market and non-market housing on city-owned land
along the south shore of False Creek. Developed
in the 1970s, these projects have less than 25 years remaining on their land
leases. As a result, it is difficult for condominium owners to sell and
non-profits to operate. The
situation is becoming critical for those non-profits who have been providing
housing for both low and moderate income households at rates significantly
below market, since they have not put money away for repairs.
One of
the panelists, the principal of a major Vancouver architectural firm, has been
living in his subsidized cooperative for more than 30 years. His
current monthly payment is about half of what the market rent would be. In
addition, three and four bedroom family homes in his development are occupied
by one or two person senior households who refuse to move out.
Many in
the audience were struck by the sense of entitlement expressed by the
panelists. Given the
urgent need for three and four bedroom family units, it would seem appropriate
for singles and couples to relocate to smaller homes, or possibly share homes.
Given the
need to fund repairs, higher income residents should be making larger monthly
payments.
As for
the future, there is an opportunity to significantly increase density through
infill housing and redevelopment. This was the topic of another popular
conference session.
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| Mixed
use developments like this Kitsilano project have a floor space ratio
of between 2.5 and 3.0 which is comparable to highrise projects found
around Metro Vancouver |
Titled
“DenCity,” it explored different perspectives on density as viewed through the
eyes of urban planners, developers, community activists, architects and
ordinary citizens. The
objective was to offer a better understanding of how density is defined and how
it influences and shapes urban environments.
As one of
the panelists, I noted that in some jurisdictions, density is measured in terms
of people per acre. In others, the measure is housing units per acre. In
Vancouver, we tend to measure density in terms of Floor Space Index (FSR) or
Floor Area Index (FAR) which is the ratio of building area to land area. However,
these measures can be misleading since it is often not clear whether the FSR is
calculated over the entire land area including roads and parks (gross density)
or just on the development site area (net density).
The
session revealed that the public often confuses density and building height. In
fact, it is possible to achieve much higher densities in four storey buildings
than in the 12 storey buildings found in Kerrisdale.
A fellow
panelist, Green Party city council candidate Pete Fry, spoke eloquently about
how citizens are often given little opportunity to provide their input into
community plans, both in terms of density and height. He urged
the architects in the room to join the citizen activists as architect
activists, and help communities to understand density and how best to plan
their neighbourhoods.
I agree.
Architects
and planners need to become more actively involved in neighbourhood planning,
even if it means having to criticize the city administration. While this could
affect their ability to obtain approvals for future projects, their
contribution could be invaluable.
©
Vancouver Courier
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| The density of street oriented townhouses such as these Toronto units can be surprisingly high, while providing a much desired form of housing |
In the Paddington train station I came across a marketing display for London’s
athletes village and decided to take a visit since the sign said it was not
that far away. I had seen it under construction in 2011 and wondered how the
finished product turned out. En route I came across a number of new developments including Westfield
Shopping Centre that had been built because the Olympics were coming.
While most were
quite mundane, a couple, including Icona, this multi-coloured condo were
quite
interesting.
