kim ma residence
>SINGLE FAMILY, RENOVATION - UNDER CONSTRUCTIONThis project is a comprehensive renovation of the vernacular Vancouver Special, originally built in 1976. The Vancouver Special can be found throughout the Lower Mainland with an especially high concentration in East Vancouver. The Vancouver Special typology was intended to be affordable housing for the working class with simple spacious floorplans in an affordable package.
The clients for this project are two young couples with intentions on starting families in the same neighbourhood they grew up in. To serve this, the intervention involved the creation of two three bedroom suites with a shared entry foyer. The clients had quite a limited budget, therefore the intervention primarily involved the complete reworking of the interior floorplans with a modest refreshing of the exterior. Both resulting units are provided with generously sized bedrooms and bright spacious living spaces.
Another key aspect of the renovation was to create a greater connection with the exterior, this was achieved via increasing the heights of most windows, and the creation of occupiable private outdoor spaces such as decks for entertaining. Unoccupiable but visible outdoor spaces were also strategically added to provide the suites with privacy and visual access to the outdoor.
A good portion of the limited budget was used for the remediation of the original building, careful intervention was necessary in order to meet the clients’ needs and expectations. The interior materials palette was kept simple, minimal, hard-wearing and affordable.