Plex Appeal
Design Consulting
Multi-Unit Residential
Vancouver, BC
Exhibition
Design Consulting, Rendering, Physical Modelling
2023
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Plex Appeal is a travelling exhibition debuted at Design Vancouver Festival with the Field Collective. Diving into the novel Plex Zoning accross BC, 12 Architects came together to explore the regulations and find opportunities for the typology. We explored different ways of living these typologies can create.
We tackled the question of what senior downsizing could look like: could 5 elderly couples, or their families come together to develop a small community in their own neighborhood? Working with a newly allowed single stair access building, we connected 5 fully accessible units with pocket courtyards.
The typology is variable depending on the community’s needs. The design allows for natural light and ventilation and any unit mix.
Swap
From single family home to penthouse
From 1 to 2 to 3 Bed
Communal Roof Deck
Single stair and elevator
Natural light on 3 sides
Connect
Accessibility
With the optional addition of an elevator, every unit is fully accessible. Also, each unit is designed with at least one bedroom and bathroom to adaptable/accessible standards.
The point stair design allows for passive ventilation and lighting from 3-4 directions in each unit, similar to the experience of living in a detached home, without losing any of its highlights.
With the saved space efficiency, the design allows for larger outdoor spaces, including side courtyards for all units, and a shared deck on the top level.
Quality
Social
The design allows for aging in place in one’s own neighborhood. This allows long-time residents to remain part of their social circles and remain part of their lively communities.
The design has a variety of outdoor spaces, including a rooftop communal terrace.
This design lends itself to a Collective Building model like that of Baugruppen in Europe. Local seniors and families can come together to tune their building to their needs, and finance it together.
By creating novel aging-in-place units to seniors affords the filtering of single family home stock back into the market, contributing to lower market prices, and a higher variety of units on the market.
The building can be procured simply with an Architect, without need to pay developer profits. AIR specializes in leading collective housing models, with our collaborators, to create buildings which meet your quality, social, accessible, and financial needs.
Financial
In Partnership with
(Architecture Inge Roecker) AIR Studio Inc.