The government of British Columbia recently released a report on the feasibility of taller, single-staircase multi-family residential buildings as a measure to open up housing opportunities. The report, developed by Jensen Hughes with input from offices in several countries, outlines the detailed findings of comparable practices around the world, along with suggested options that would allow for larger single-staircase structures.
As reported by the Daily Hive, the report provides options for increased building heights for single-staircase, multi-family residential buildings to avoid triggering high building requirements and retain the option for combustible construction, such as mass timber. Accompanying options include small floor plates, fire sprinklers on all outdoor balconies, decks and covered patios, and local smoke detectors in all residential suites instead of smoke alarms.
The options provided in the report will assist the BC government in making building code changes to enable low-rise, single-staircase residential buildings, which may be ready as early as Fall 2024.
Ravi Kahlon, the BC Minister of Housing, applauded Jensen Hughes in the article for hearing different people’s concerns and providing solutions to address them. Robert Heikkila, Kevin Chen and Biswadeep Ghosh contributed to the project.
The article notes the provincial government is exploring these types of buildings to enable higher-density development on smaller lots. Smaller, simplified structures may fit better in the community, help lower construction costs and allow for more affordable housing.
Read the article BC government consultant recommends single-staircase residential buildings of up to 6 storeys in the Daily Hive.
