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Mole Hill Missing Middle Housing

3-storey infill replacing a 1950s bungalow with six rentals

Vancouver, BC

Built: 2018

Low Carbon i Low Carbon housing reduces the emissions that cause climate change. This can be achieved through family-friendly density, factory-built components, low embodied emissions, green building materials, higher energy efficiency, transit-oriented locations, onsite clean energy, and being electric-ready.

  • Electric ready
  • Family-friendly density
  • Green materials
  • Low embodied GHGs
  • Transit-oriented

Resilient i Resilient housing is built to withstand worsening weather events. This can be achieved through design and siting features that protect homes from flooding, rising sea levels, wildfires, extreme temperatures and power outages.

  • Extreme temperatures
  • power outages

Affordable i Affordable housing ensures no Canadian spends more than 30% of their income on shelter costs. This can be achieved through social housing, below-market rents, lower tenant costs, lower energy bills, lower insurance costs, lower construction costs, and affordable purchase prices.

  • Lower energy bills
  • Lower tenant costs

Set between a seven-storey heritage apartment and a 2.5-storey heritage house, this project provides multi-family housing on a typical Vancouver 33′ x 122′ lot. It delivers a walk-up building with six rental homes, a green roof, and a shared courtyard that preserves an existing mature cypress tree. With its sloped roof and separate exterior entrances, it fits right into the character of the surrounding neighbourhood.

The design addresses walkability, transit and car-sharing access, housing diversity, accessibility, and aging in place. An example of gentle densification, and an enhancement to the existing housing in this area.

Replicability

This development shows how standard single-family lots (33’×122’) can accommodate multi-family housing without disrupting neighbourhood character. This small-scale walk-up, with separate front doors and shared open space is highly replicable, subject to local policies. The building is a model of efficient, high performance design creating an affordable and durable long-term community.

Neighbourhood Type

  • Suburban

Building Type

  • Low-rise

Occupancy Type

  • Rental

More Information

Haeccity Project Page

An architectural review of the project:

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