Snow-capped mountains, water views, urban art and culture, ridiculously nice people—the very things that make Vancouver a desirable place to live have also created a housing crunch. In response, city leaders have enacted strategies aimed at increasing density, such as allowing residents to build laneway houses—small backyard abodes that open onto the narrow lanes that run between city blocks.

So when Stephen and Karen Dadson decided to downsize, seeking a lighter environmental footprint as well as separate accommodations for their daughter, Rebecca, and her two young girls, a primary home with a laneway house seemed like the perfect arrangement. “We liked the European idea of the multigenerational family being a unit,” says Karen, 70, a retired teacher and artist whose work hangs throughout the house. “But at the same time, we all value our privacy.”

Once they found their ideal lot on a hill in the leafy Dunbar neighborhood, looking over the water and out to Grouse Mountain, Lions Gate Bridge, and the Coast Mountains beyond, the couple turned to the same architect who had built their last home, their son, Leland Dadson. He was joined on the project by Yvonne Popovska, his wife and cofounder of Toronto-based DPo Architecture.

Together they created a 2,600-square-foot house for Stephen and Karen that anchors the property. On the lower level are the kitchen and living areas. The upper level holds the master bedroom and Karen’s art studio, which has a daybed with a trundle for impromptu sleepovers by the grandchildren.

Across a shared courtyard, the green-roofed laneway house is an efficient 710 square feet, with the layout reversed. The kitchen and living areas are upstairs, while the lower level includes the master bedroom, which Rebecca shares with her partner and their new baby, and sleeping quarters for the older children. Besides being a gathering spot for the entire family and friends, the courtyard provides a natural buffer zone between the two houses, with a route from door to door that is slightly circuitous, adding a bit of extra privacy for all.

While having both private and communal spaces was a primary design concern, so was the project’s environmental impact. “Like us, Leland and Yvonne are proponents of honest architecture that shows what it’s made of and treads lightly on the planet,” says Stephen, 75, an attorney with a biochemistry degree who’s currently focused on energy storage protocols to help reduce fossil fuel dependency. Adds Karen, “Leland told me, ‘Mum, I’m not going to build you a frame house—it’s not environmentally responsible.’”

Instead, the architects were keen to build both houses of cross-laminated timber. Often referred to as “plywood on steroids,” CLT is made by gluing together layers of solid-sawn lumber in alternating directions to provide an impressive degree of structural strength, obviating the need for support beams—traditionally hewn from old-growth wood—even in expansive spaces.

The prefabricated panels are quick to assemble, and, unlike a stud partition, offer fire resistance, seismic performance, and insulation. “Not to mention, being surrounded by wood has been proven to reduce stress,” Leland says. It’s also attractive enough to be left unclad inside, thus avoiding the kinds of off-gassing finishes common in stick-frame construction.

Following Passive House principles for energy reduction, the houses feature radiant-heated concrete floors and strategically placed windows and doors supported by a ventilation and heat recovery system. Bookended by glass doors that slide all the way open, the main floor of the larger house can become a breezeway that spills into the courtyard. A retractable skylight at the top of the staircase releases hot air in summer months and allows access through a glass door to a partially green roof deck.

Looking ahead, Leland and Yvonne have made the main house elevator-ready, and there are plans for both homes to become even more energy efficient. “I want to get completely off the grid by integrating a solar panel system that’s in development at a company in California,” says Stephen. “Without getting too technical, it uses the sun’s energy to break the bond between hydrogen, oxygen, and water, and will give us all the electricity we need and enough hot water for showers for everyone—yes, even future teenagers.”

Project Credits:

Architect: DPo Architecture

General Contractor: HR Pacific Construction Management

Structural Engineer: Equilibrium

Construction Engineer: RDH Building Science

Fire Engineering Consultant: GHL Consultants Ltd

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A Vancouver House Connects a Family