A collaboration with AIRStudio, the project started as an alternative solution submitted to the City of Vancouver for a six-storey mixed-use apartment building proposed to be constructed with a single exit stair serving the residential occupancies above grade. The building contains two commercial units on the ground floor and four dwelling units on each of the upper floors. The small number of dwellings is anticipated to foster a sense of community among neighbours, centred on a shared courtyard.

In Vancouver, the standard lot width of 33’ (10m) is often achieved by combining multiple adjacent properties to develop large mid-rise buildings (with a double-loaded corridor floor plan served by two exit stairs). However, the proposed development on a single property provides the type of medium-density housing encouraged by recent planning policy reforms in the City of Vancouver.