The New Plex
© Philippe Fournier 2023. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited unless advanced written permission is granted by the author. Final self-directed research project completed in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Architecture degree at McGill University. Summary: A multiplex is a low-rise multifamily residential building with two or more separately accessed dwelling units, built at a similar scale to a traditional house. To address severe housing shortages, many jurisdictions across North America and around the globe are reforming long-standing zoning laws to permit multiplex construction across vast areas of land which formerly only permitted building single-family houses. This opens up a new frontier of design possibilities for builders: how should these buildings be designed? Though well established across the province of Quebec and once historically common in many other places, multiplexes are rare in the rest of postwar North America, with the majority of private households now dwelling in single-family detached houses. The scale of the housing crisis demands a radical expansion of denser building stock, but the carbon intensity of large-scale new construction poses environmental problems. As an example of ‘missing middle’ housing, multiplexes have many advantages which make them opportune for addressing both the housing and climate crises simultaneously. While increasing density and housing options, plexes have the advantage of being small enough to construct in light wood frame, embodying low carbon and employing local materials and trades. Their human scale and adaptability can allow them to blend unobtrusively within the built character of many established suburban neighborhoods. Their low capital requirements would permit a competitive market to emerge among small builders, while their rapid constructability lends itself well to prefabrication and other efficient construction techniques. This project revisits historical North American multiplex designs, makes the argument for streamlining multiplex construction in contemporary infill suburban contexts, investigates their regulatory and practical constraints, and explores ways of designing the typology in order to improve its environmental performance, cost effectiveness, and above all the quality of life for residents.
© Philippe Fournier 2023. All rights reserved.
Reproduction prohibited unless advanced written permission is granted by the author.
Final self-directed research project completed in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Architecture degree at McGill University.
Summary:
A multiplex is a low-rise multifamily residential building with two or more separately accessed dwelling units, built at a similar scale to a traditional house. To address severe housing shortages, many jurisdictions across North America and around the globe are reforming long-standing zoning laws to permit multiplex construction across vast areas of land which formerly only permitted building single-family houses. This opens up a new frontier of design possibilities for builders: how should these buildings be designed? Though well established across the province of Quebec and once historically common in many other places, multiplexes are rare in the rest of postwar North America, with the majority of private households now dwelling in single-family detached houses. The scale of the housing crisis demands a radical expansion of denser building stock, but the carbon intensity of large-scale new construction poses environmental problems.
As an example of ‘missing middle’ housing, multiplexes have many advantages which make them opportune for addressing both the housing and climate crises simultaneously. While increasing density and housing options, plexes have the advantage of being small enough to construct in light wood frame, embodying low carbon and employing local materials and trades. Their human scale and adaptability can allow them to blend unobtrusively within the built character of many established suburban neighborhoods. Their low capital requirements would permit a competitive market to emerge among small builders, while their rapid constructability lends itself well to prefabrication and other efficient construction techniques. This project revisits historical North American multiplex designs, makes the argument for streamlining multiplex construction in contemporary infill suburban contexts, investigates their regulatory and practical constraints, and explores ways of designing the typology in order to improve its environmental performance, cost effectiveness, and above all the quality of life for residents.
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The New Plex
Redesigning an Old Housing Type
for New Urban Contexts
By Philippe Fournier
Completed as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Master of Architecture degree
at
McGill University Peter Gua ho Fu School of Architecture
© Philippe Roy Fournier, 2023
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2023
The New Plex
4
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 05
Author’s Note 07
Part 1:
(Re)Introducing the Plex
1.1 The Housing Crisis 14
Red Tape & Yellow Belts
1.2 Multifamily Living 24
The Old New Normal
1.3 Yes in My Backyard 34
The Case for the Plex
Part 2:
(Re)Designing the Plex
Project Outline 48
Design Objectives 50
2.1 Model 1: Habitat Plex 54
Detached Narrow
2.2 Model 2: Sky Plex 62
Attached Narrow
2.3 Model 3: Flex Plex 70
Detached Wide
Conclusions 138
Bibliography 140
List of Figures 144
5
The New Plex
Disclaimer
This document, including all data and information
incorporated herein, is being provided for
information purposes only and is not intended for
and has not been approved for use for construction
at any location. For certainty, the author provides
no representation or warranty regarding any use
of or reliance upon this document, including no
representation or warranty that this document
complies with applicable laws (including any
applicable zoning by-laws or building code
requirements) and no representation or warranty
that any cost estimates included in or based upon
this website have been validated by the applicable
market. Any use of or reliance upon this document
by any person for any purpose shall be at such
person’s sole risk and the author shall have no
liability or responsibility for any such use of or
reliance upon this document by any person for
any purpose. Prior to any use of or reliance upon
this document by any person for any purpose,
consultation with a professional architect duly
licensed in the applicable jurisdiction is strongly
recommended.
6
Acknowledgements
There are many people who deserve thanks for helping
me, in large or subtle ways, to complete this project.
A special thanks goes to my advisor, Philip Tidwell for
all of his support and valuable technical knowledge.
Additional thanks are due to professors Michael
Jemtrud & Avi Friedman for their feedback and
support, and to many other guest critics along the way.
Thank you to all of the extended Fournier family for
welcoming me to Quebec with open arms. Christian,
Melanie, Ariane, Robin, Claudia, Maude, Dani-Pierre,
Claude, Monique, Steve, Valerie, and Mami. Lastly, to
Jacques. I am sad you could not see the final project.
Finally, of course, all thanks go to mom.
7
The New Plex
Author’s Note
I’ve been following the progression of Canada’s
housing crisis intently for years. Like most
Canadians, this is out of necessity, as most of us
have had our lives affected in one way or another
by the runaway costs of living and the raw nerves it
has brought to our political and economic life. But
partly it is due to the fact that long before housing
became the national scandal it is now, I knew what
it meant to be ‘housing insecure.’
I grew up in a single-parent household in relative
poverty by Canadian standards, and despite living
in a small town we were constantly moving, rarely
staying the same place for more than two years at a
time. At various times we lived in city-run housing
among addicts and pests, or with friends and relatives
who had spare rooms, sleeping in basements and on
couches. For some time we opened our apartment
to a friend who had been forced out of her own
home. I also watched one of my close relatives
descend into homelessness. Unlike the majority
of Canadian households who are homeowners, we
never took the ‘Canadian dream’ of single-family
detached homeownership for granted: shared
accommodations and multifamily living were the
norm, and the notion of owning an entire
house for ourselves seemed a far away luxury.
Later when I went out in the world and began to
work in big cities like Toronto, New York and
Vancouver, the state of the market shocked me. In
Toronto finding ‘affordable’ rent meant tolerating
bed bugs. In Vancouver it meant breaking some
rules: I was stuffed behind a bookshelf in the
living room of a two bedroom condo with three
other people, and instructed to move out in the
middle of the night without alerting building
management. In New York it meant hanging a
sheet from some wire to sleep on a bed facing the
kitchen, in an AirBnB shared with two others. Now I
8
understood why we moved around so much as a kid.
These experiences have made me very critical of
prevailing Canadian attitudes towards housing, as
well as the relative inattentiveness that design has
given to spaces like the ones I lived in growing
up. Multifamily buildings in North America are
generally not given the level of care that singlefamily
houses are. They are seen as transitional
homes at best, chosen by economic necessity
rather than preference, and afforded less comfort
as a result. To their builders and owners, they
are seen as spreadsheets for generating revenue,
not architecture. To planners and municipal
politicians, they are blights on “neighborhood
character,” legally relegated through exclusionary
zoning to a minority of city lands in less desirable
areas, out of sight and out of mind. To federal
and provincial politicans, their occupants are a
minority of voters, thus their concerns go ignored
and needs unmet. The unspoken implication is
that people who live in such places don’t matter,
and that nobody in their right mind should want
to. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, since
multifamily living becomes poor by design &
neglect, which reinforces the stigma against it.
I hope to push back on some of these assumptions.
I do not believe multifamily housing must be
unpleasant. The multiplex is a case study of a
multifamily housing type which combines the
pleasantries of single family homes – relative
spaciousness, human scale -- with the higher
densities demanded by contemporary urban living.
They are not a silver bullet to the housing crisis,
but rather a piece of the larger puzzle occupying
an intrinsically interesting space of architectural
possibilities.
--Philippe Fournier
9
Part 1
(Re)Introducing the Plex
The New Plex
A multiplex is a low-rise multifamily
residential building with two or
more separately accessed dwelling
units, built at a similar scale to
a traditional single family house.
12
When paired with accessory units,
multiplexes can multiply the housing
capacity of suburban single family infill
neighbourhoods while retaining a similar
built scale.
13
1.1
The Housing Crisis
Red Tape & Yellow Belts
“Most cities are bound by decades-old exclusionary-zoning rules originally
designed to keep poor people out of favoured districts. It’s still illegal to build
multifamily housing in most urban neighbourhoods in Canada. In Toronto,
two-thirds of residential land is reserved for detached homes. In Vancouver,
apartments...are outlawed on more than 80 per cent of residential land.
The result? Old homes in so-called ‘single-family’ districts near urban amenities
get replaced by multimillion-dollar executive homes, while more affordable
apartments get pushed onto noisy, polluted arterial roads. Two-thirds of
Vancouver’s households now squeeze into just a fifth of the city’s residential land.”
-- Charles Montgomery, “There’s plenty of room for housing in Canadian cities.
We just need to legalize it.” The Globe and Mail, 2022
Canada is currently experiencing a severe housing
affordability crisis, reflected both in skyrocketing
home prices relative to incomes since the mid-
2000s, as well as steadily increasing rents in
almost all major cities, well above the affordability
benchmark used by the Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC) at 30% of household
income going towards housing costs.
There is consensus among experts that this crisis is
due mostly to a chronic shortage of housing supply.
Per a 2021 report by Scotiabank, Canada has had
both the highest population growth and lowest
per-capita housing stock in the G7 for years. The
CMHC estimates Canada would need an estimated
22 million housing units by 2030 in order to restore
housing affordability to all Canadians, but notes
we are only on track to have less than 19 million
at current rates -- a shortfall of almost 3.5 million.
To add fuel to this fire, average household sizes
in Canada have steadily declined while the total
number of households has grown.
In turn, this shortage can be attributed to widespread
adoption of land-use policies like single-family
zoning, which make it illegal to build anything
other than single family homes ‘as-of-right’ on
the majority of land in most major Canadian cities.
This practice is particularly accute in Toronto and
Vancouver, also our two most exepensive housing
markets, where single family housing makes up
approximately 70% and 81% of residentially-zoned
land respectively as of Spring 2023. In Vancouver,
roughly 52% of the total land supplies only 15%
of its housing stock.
In Toronto this area of land is known as the
‘yellowbelt’ due to its yellow coloration in
the city’s zoning maps. The Greater Toronto-
Hamilton and Greater Vancouver metro areas
14
The Housing Crisis
350%
National home prices
300%
250%
200%
disposable income
150%
100%
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Figure 1. Canada house prices vs disposable income growth since 1975.
15
The New Plex
$20,000
Canada average Calgary Edmonton Montreal
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
0
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR
Ottawa Toronto Vancouver Winnipeg
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
0
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR
Average annual rent
30% of median income, the CMHC’s
maximum threshold for affordable housing.
Figure 2. Average annual rents of major cities vs “affordable” rents per the CMHC
combined account for approximately a quarter
of Canada’s population and continue to attract a
large share of Canada’s 500,000 new immigrants
annually, as well as propel economic growth.
As the name implies, single-family zoning
constitutes an effective density cap of one ‘family’
or unit of housing per parcel of land, even if the
land and buildings thereon are large enough to
accomodate more households. Furthermore, even
in neighborhoods where higher densities are
technically allowed, other laws strictly regulating
the architecture of buildings can make it difficult
to design multifamily housing. These laws vary
from one city and neighborhood to another, but can
include: height limits, setbacks from property lines,
minimum parking requirements, lot coverage rules,
maximum floor-area ratios, sightlines, roof angles,
tree coverage rules, unit composition mandates,
amenity requirements, or even aesthetic rules on
materiality and window and door placement. While
any of these regulations may have good rationale
or intentions, in the aggregrate they amount to a
tangled web of red tape that makes building housing
more difficult, risky and costly than it needs to be --
often prohibitively so. While this project focuses on
the Canadian context as a case study, this problem
is endemic to many other jurisdictions around the
world, particularly in former British colonies and
including most cities in the United States.
In addition to zoning most of their residential land
16
The Housing Crisis
550
500
G7 Average
Units per 1,000 persons
450
400
Canada Average
350
300
Province
NL
NS
QC
NB
PE
SK
BC
MB
AB
ON
% of Canada’s
Population
1.4% 2.6% 22.3% 2.1% 0.4% 3.1% 13.7% 3.6% 11.7% 38.8%
Figure 3. Canada home-to-population ratio vs. G7 average
# of Households (Millions)
People per Household
Figure 4. Canada Household Sizes vs Number of Households
17
The New Plex
Figure 5. ‘Yellowbelts:’ Single Family Zoning in Major Canadian Cities as of 2018
18
The Housing Crisis
Figure 6. The ‘Greenbelt’ around Greater Toronto-Hamilton. Buildings shown in black
exclusively for single family homes, most cities
in North America practice ‘Euclidian’ zoning,
enforcing a strict separation between residential
land use from commercial and other uses. In
Toronto designated mixed-use lands -- which also
permit relatively unrestricted densities -- constitute
a small minority of overall land and are relegated
mostly in the downtown core or major arterial
roads, where land is already intrinsically expensive.
It is also coloured ‘red’ on the city’s official zoning
maps. For many cities, further outward expansion
through suburban sprawl is not a viable option.
Aside from being environmentally destructive, many
cities have either natural geographic boundaries
(such as the mountains, ocean and American border
in Vancouver) or legally imposed urban growth
boundaries like Ontario’s greenbelts around Ottawa
and the Greater Toronto-Niagara region. The merits
of such policies can be debated, but the important
point is that they restrict the supply of developable
land near major urban centres, which is already
limited. With no room to grow out, cities must grow
up to provide more housing supply.
19
The New Plex
Figure 7. ‘Orangebelts:’ Zoning Reforms in Major Canadian Cities
20
The Housing Crisis
Urban scholar Sonia Hirt has done comparative
studies of land use policies among developed
nations and notes that Euclidian zoning is
practically non-existant in Europe, where most
land is zoned for mixed use by default. This has
significant consequences for urban walkability, car
use and transit ridership, as research in Sweden by
Erik Ellder suggests that the significant factor in
people’s willingness to get out of their cars is close
proximity to amenities used in daily life -- cafes,
grocers, restaurants, gyms, laundromats, and other
things -- rather than just residential density. This
also has consequences for the city’s property tax
base: research by data anaytics firm Urban3 has
found that dense and mixed-use properties generate
the overwhelming share of a city’s property tax
revenue, whereas single-use low density zones
tend to be a net drain on city finances, receiving a
tacit subsidy from more productive property. Lastly,
allowing mixing of uses could improve the financial
feasibility of developing ‘missing middle’ and midrise
density buildings, since commercial spaces can
lease for significantly higher rents.
Recognizing the problems of single-family zoning,
many jursidictions across the globe have begun
formally repealing it to allow multiplex construction
Figure 8. Diagram of Toronto’s Euclidian Land Use Patterns
Recognizing the problems of single-family zoning,
many jursidictions across the globe have begun
formally repealing it to allow multiplex construction
‘as of right’ across single family zoned land. The
maps opposite show the status of some of the
prominent reforms in Canada that have passed in
recent years or are in the process of being advanced.
The following pages show reforms across global
jurisdictions.
21
The New Plex
22
The Housing Crisis
Figure 9. Major Single Family Zoning Repeals: Jurisdictional Levels
23
1.2
Multifamily Living
The Old New Normal
“Where the discipline of architectural history has had difficulty, is in dealing with the
rest of the built environment, typically 90% or more of the built record. While middle
class housing, particularly single family detached, has had some success in benefiting
from trickle down of theoretical concepts, particularly stylistic, the urban vernacular
has gone largely unnoticed or considered to be not worth of treatment...
How does such a systematic blind spot arise? Perhaps the obsession with singlefamily
housing in twentieth century North America has conditioned researchers to
ignore other forms of housing, excepting...apartment buildings because of their
sheer bulk and the fact that they tend to be architect-designed...Clearly what has
been missed are the deep cultural and historical roots of such housing and
their powerful signficiance in terms of generating eminently habitable lowcost
housing in dense yet human scale neighborhoods.”
--David B Hanna & François Dufaux,
Montreal: A Rich Tradition in Medium Density Housing
Multiplexes are an example of ‘missing middle’
housing, a term coined by Daniel Parolek to describe
the lack of housing options in many North American
cities between the extremes of spacious single family
detached houses and dense units in apartment towers.
Partly due to zoning and other government policies,
single-family homes have been the predominant
dwelling type for a majority of households in the US
and Canada for several generations, with profound
effect on their national cultures and identities. Many
people now take this style of housing for granted
and identify its ownership as a baseline standard of
living and a symbol of personal success. As of 2021,
single-family detached houses account for 52.6% of
all occupied private dwellings in Canada. The next
largest category, ‘apartment buildings below 5 storeys’
-- which would include most multiplexes -- accounts
only for 18.3%. Counting an additional 5.5% found
within duplexes, multiplexes currently account for
a total of 23.8% of Canada’s building stock, though
are overwhelmingly concentrated in Quebec. Yet
historically and globally, single-family detached
houses are an anomaly housing typology rather
than the norm. Even in North America, where
their cultural footprint is particularly profound,
they did not become commonplace until the
push towards mass suburbanization after World
War 2. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of
rapid industrialization and immigration brought
unprecedented housing demand to major cities
like New York, Boston, Chicago and Montreal.
The task of accomodating these rapidly expanding
working-class populations fell largely to small
private builders, and multiplex-style homes
became a popular living arrangement, often
with the builders themselves living in one of the
units while renting out the others. Each region
developed a unique vernacular spin shaped
by local regulations, material availability and
craftsmanship. In this chapter I analyze & contrast
four historic North American multiplex typologies.
24
Multifamily Living
Figure 10. Canadian Households by Building Type
25
The New Plex
Montreal ‘Plex’
Montreal, QC, Canada
1870-1930
3 storeys, 4 units, 6 bedrooms
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
190m 2
53.6%
1.61
3 + basement
305.5m 2 (3,288 ft 2 )
50.9m 2
front facade doors
& balconies
wood frame, limestone & brick
masonry. Catalogue ordered
stairs, parapets, components
No
Part 3, Group C
2 exterior
Bedrooms must be at front and
rear only; require fenestration
Montreal is unique among North American
cities for having a large concentration and
variety of missing middle housing stock.
About 40% of Montreal’s existing building
stock consists of ‘apartments under 5 stories’
including multiplexes. The iconic historic ‘plex’
is distinguished by its unique, often twisting
exterior staircases and balconies which provide
most of the vertical circulation to upper floor
unit doors located directly on the exterior
facade. This maximizes interior leasable area
and minimizes the amount of heated unoccupied
space. However, the exterior staircases become
very precarious in poor weather. Units typically
take up the full depth of the floor plate, with
bathrooms centrally located and aligned to share
chase walls with a drain pipe from the roof.
26
Multifamily Living
3rd Floor
Unit 3
1-bd
Unit 4
1-bd
2nd Floor
Unit 2
2-bd
1st Floor
Unit 1
2-bd
Circulation
Residence
98.9%
Section
Net Leaseable
27
The New Plex
Chicago ‘Three-Flat’
Chicago, USA
1900-1920
3 storeys, 3 units, 6 bedrooms
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
290m 2
29.6%
0.88
3 + basement
257.4m 2 (2,771 ft 2 )
42.9m 2
from front interior stair well
wood frame, limestone & brick
masonry
Yes
Part 3, Group C
1 interior, 1 ext
Side setbacks required for side
bedroom fenestration
Chicago’s vernacular multiplex type came in
the form of the ‘two flat’ and ‘three flat,’ and
even sometimes ‘four flat’ and above, named
for their respective unit counts. The standard
arrangement is to have a single shared interior
stairwell leading to all units from the front porch
entrance, with the nearly-identical stacked units
taking up the rest of each floor. A secondary,
exterior metal or wood fire escape would be
provided at the rear. The typical Chicago lot
around this time is narrow and long because
a garage would commonly be provided at the
far rear of the site. Characteristically, local
Illinois or Indiana limestone would be used
on the facade, also lending them the nickname
‘greystones.’ Interior layouts would typically
place the kitchen at the rear and common living
quarters at the front, with bedrooms loaded
along the sides off of these rooms.
28
Multifamily Living
3rd Floor
Unit 3
2-bd
2nd Floor
Unit 2
2-bd
1st Floor
Unit 1
2-bd
Circulation
Residence
88.6%
Section
Net Leaseable
29
The New Plex
New England ‘Triple-Decker’
New England, USA
1900-1920
3 storeys, 3 units, 6 bedrooms
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
239.1m 2
56.1%
1.69
3 + basement
402.9m 2 (4,377 ft 2 )
44.8m 2
interior from from stairwell,
accessed from front door
light wood, balloon or platform
framing
Yes
Part 3, Group C
2 interior
Side setbacks required for side
bedroom fenestration
During post-civil war America, New England
became a major draw for waves of immigration
due to its textile industry. Boston, Providence,
New Bedford and various small mill towns
developed this unique wood frame typology to
accomodate them. An interior stairwell at the
front and back are provided to access the three
identical three-bedroom units, each of which
takes up a full floor. Bedrooms and the bathrooms
are loaded along one side of the building, while
the other side is given over to shared spaces
like dining rooms, living rooms, and pantries
for food preparation. Typically each unit also
has a porch or balcony at the front and back,
accessed off the stairwells. At their peak, they
comprised about 2/3 of the housing stock in cities
like New Bedford. They became seen as symbols
of the working class, inspiring resentment among
elites at the time. They declined in popularity as
local textile industry declined in the 20s, or were
banned by stringent fire codes in some places.
30
Multifamily Living
3rd Floor
Unit 3
3-bd
2nd Floor
Unit 2
3-bd
1st Floor
Unit 1
3-bd
Circulation
Residence
89%
Section
Net Leaseable
31
The New Plex
Sears Modern Homes ‘Atlanta’
Various Cities, USA
1921-1934
2 storeys, 4 units, 8 bedrooms
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
varies
varies
varies
2 + basement
331.6m 2 (3,569 ft 2 )
41.5m 2
Interior from common corridor
accessed from front door
Kit of parts: numbered precut
wood frame & components
mailed to site
Yes
Part 9, Division B
1 interior, 1 exterior
Side setbacks required for side
bedroom fenestration
The Atlanta was one of many designs included
in the Sears & Roebuck Company’s Modern
Homes catalogue, which from 1908 - 1934
offered predesigned kit-of-parts homes that
could be ordered in the mail, shipped to site
then erected by the owner. Most of the Modern
Homes catalogue were single family homes,
but the Atlanta was one of a few multifamily
home designs, with four 2-bedroom units total
in two storeys + a shared basement accessed
from the exterior rear for storage. All four units
can be accessed from a central single-run stair
corridor off of the main front door. A lightwell
is provided at the centre to allow natural light
to penetrate the interior as well as allow some
natural ventilation. Bedrooms are loaded at the
side, bathrooms are centred beside the light well,
kitchens are at the rear while an open plan living
and dining room opens to the front porch and
balconies. A common exterior porch structure
with stairs at the rear also provides egress.
32
Multifamily Living
2nd Floor
Unit 3
2-bd
Unit 4
2-bd
1st Floor
Unit 1
2-bd Unit 2
2-bd
Circulation
Residence
95.2%
Section
Net Leaseable
33
1.3
Yes in My Back Yard
The Case for the Plex
Densification
Figure 11: Canadian City Densities vs Global Cities
I argue multiplexes should be the baseline density
floors for ‘as of right’ construction in most practical
circumstances in North America. In addition to
expanding housing supply, multiplexes have many
advantages as a housing type which make them
uniquely timely, resilient, environmentally sensitive
and adapatable to many different urban contexts.
This is not an argument against permitting higher
‘as-of-right’ densities, nor against advancing
more aggressive zoning reforms, which should
be welcomed. Rather, this is simply to illustrate
that in form and scale, multiplexes already
conform to the established built character of most
suburban neighborhoods. Since multiplexes can
be built at a similar scale to single family houses,
they can greatly increase the density of existing
neighborhoods without significantly changing the
established built character. This helps pre-empt
NIMBY challenges while preserving the sense of
stability that motivates much community activism
against neighborhood changes. Some may question
if multiplexes can achieve unit counts demanded
of the scale of the housing crisis, or the densities
required for cities to maintain good fiscal health
and efficient infrastructure delivery. We can
look to a famous neighborhood dominated by
muliplexes as a case study: Le Plateau Mont Royal
in Montreal. A primarily residential neighborhood,
most of the building stock consists of old attached
multiplexes ranging two-five stories in height.
Local zoning forbids buildings above five stories
in height on most of the land in the neighborhood,
yet the neighborhood is among the most densely
populated in North America, and even more densely
populated than major global cities like New York
and Singapore.
34
Yes in My Back Yard
Figure 12 Zoning Map of Le Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal
35
The New Plex
Low Embodied Carbon
Figure 13 Embodied Carbon of Common Building Materials
Increasing awareness of the ‘embodied carbon’
of buildings -- emissions associated with the
manufacture and transport of building materials
during the construction process -- poses a dilemma
for environmentally conscious advocates of
increased building supply. Builders seeking to
reduce their embodied carbon are increasingly
looking towards have biogenic and plant-based
building materials such as wood and cellulose.
Furtunately, Canada already has a well-established
tradition of wood building, as indeed the majority
of its building stock is light wood frame. Light
wood frame in turn is one of the best structural
systems for sequestering carbon into buildings,
storing far more carbon over the building lifecycle
than is released to produce it. Since multiplexes
fall within the category of buildings conducive to
simple wood frame construction, they can help
increase overall building supply with far lower
carbon output -- or net carbon savings -- than larger
buildings which tend to be built with concrete and
steel. While recent changes to the building code
permit large buildings in Canada to be made of
wood products like mass timber, the Canadian
building industry has so far been slow to adopt
the technology. The case for carbon sequestration
in building materials becomes stronger when the
longevity of buildings are factored in. The longer
the carbon is stored in the material, the longer it is
not in the atmosphere. Here again we can look to
Le Plateau Mont Royal as a case study due to its
abundance of plex housing. The building map right
shows the age of the neighborhood building stock,
with many plexes still in use dating over a century
old. The Plateau is considered one of the most
desirable neighborhoods in the city and residents
take much care to maintain the many plexes in a
good state of repair.
36
Yes in My Back Yard
Figure 14: Age of Buildings in Le Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal
37
The New Plex
Figure 15: Canadian Wood Construction Categories
Ease of Construction
In Canada, buildings of residential occupancy,
below 3 storeys and below 600 m2 in total area
fall under ‘Part 9’ of the National Building Code,
designating buildings of relatively small and
simple construction. Most single family homes fall
under this category and multiplexes can likewise.
Furthermore per the provisions of the Architects’
Act and other applicable laws, many building
projects under this category may not require the
professional services of an architect, though other
duly licensed professionals or technologist may
be, with regulations varying from province to
province (readers should consult applicable laws
in their respective jurisdictions for verification).
Residential buildings under Part 9 also tend
overwhelmingly to be made of light wood
frame, a well established construction trade
with an abundant pool of capable labour.
This puts the building of many multiplexes within
the domain of relatively small builders, contractors,
and home renovators. The more hands on deck to
produce supply, the better.
38
Yes in My Back Yard
Figure 16: City of Toronto Unit Construction by Bedroom Count & Building Type
Family-Sized Units
Single family detached homes continue to be in
high demand despite demographic trends, not only
because of the spaciousness and autonomy they offer,
but also the fact that they supply the overwhelming
majority of ‘family sized’ dwelling units, here
defined as 3+ bedrooms, as well as their high rates
of owner-occupancy relative to other dwelling types.
The vast majority of new units supplied in urban
high-rise buildings are two bedrooms or less. While
this does reflect demographic and market pressures,
it underserves the market for homeseekers who
desire a middle ground of family-sized unit types in
urban areas. Multiplexes and other ‘missing middle’
typologies can fill the gap, providing units that
are larger than condos while incorporating many
amenities desired of single-family surburban life
such as yard access and spacious interiors.
39
The New Plex
Figure 17. Multigenerational Living In the Same Triplex Over Time
Multigenerational Homes
Multiplexes are inherently adaptable, allowing for
many types of tenureship, as well as the potential for
multigenerational living. Different units in the same
building can be owned or rented, or both. Historically,
it was common for owners and sometimes builders
of multiplex housing to live in one of the units and
rent out the others. There are many ways to adapt the
building over time without significant demolition, such
as by combining or dividing units, when demanded
by changing demographics, market demand, owner
needs or the needs of their family members.
40
Yes in My Back Yard
Figure 18. Potential for Dispersed Amenity Provision in Multiplex Neighbourhoods
Introducing Amenities
Multiplexes have an inherent formal flexibility
because of their multi-unit configurations: different
units can be easily converted to different layouts and
uses over time without disrupting activities in the
other units. In Montreal there are many examples
of multiplexes being converted to mixed uses.
This provides opportunities for residential
neighborhoods which currently practice strict
Euclidian zoning and separations of use. As
multiplexes become proliferated throughout
formerly single-use, single-family neighborhoods,
the possibilities for future, relatively inexpensive
and low-intensity mixed use conversions multiplies.
While allowing these conversions requires
approporiate zoning reform, the presence of
easily adaptable building stock provides the pipes
for future capital investment to flow through as
legalization turns on the taps.
41
The New Plex
‘Too Soft’ Densification
Some cities have moved to permit ‘soft density’
options for homeowners to build limited, small
new units in single-family areas. These options
include secondary suites, backyard suites and
laneway suites as well as the conversion of existing
homes to rooming houses. To simplify, I category
all these unit types as ‘accessory units.’ However,
the motivating logic behind these options is to
fundamentally preserve the existing built form and
prestige of single family neighbourhoods, ‘hiding’
the residents of the secondary units (who are likely
to be less affluent) out of sight. While these options
should certainly be legal and do supplement supply,
42
they are manifestly insufficient to the meeting the
targets laid out by bodies like the CMHC to achieve
affordability. Consider this case study to illustrate.
The diagrams to the right show the range of options
(as of 2022) for legally redeveloping a standard
20’ wide residential property with a single family
home in the Toronto yellowbelt. In each case, the
maximum household count of the site never exceeds
two, and form restrictions on the secondary units
greatly limit the bedroom and resident count. The
households themselves are by necessity small or, in
the case of the rooming house, crowded.
Yes in My Back Yard
43
The New Plex
Figure 19. Change in Condo, House Sizes in Ontario over Time
Now consider options for the same property (images
right side) if the existing home is allowed to be
demolished and replaced with a higher-density home,
in this case standard attached Montreal ‘plexes’ as
well as backyard suites. The overall household and
bedroom capacity of the site multiplies, without the
buildings ever exceeding three full storeys in height.
Laws which greatly restrict the redevelopment
opportunities of single family properties give rise
to the lucrative industry of wildly speculative,
cosmetic “house flipping.” Property investors
seeking a return have limited options: since they
cannot increase the net supply of housing stock,
they can either bid up the cost of the existing
housing stock, replace an existing home with a more
luxurious home, or convert homes to rentals. Rental
conversions such as rooming houses can increase
the avilable rental stock and provide a cheap option
for tenants, but this comes at the expense of privacy
and the potential for overcrowding, especially if
44
licensing rules are uncertain and poorly enforced.
An even more lucrative option for many investors
is to simply convert properties into illicit short-term
hotels like Airbnb. Poor enforcement of regulations
as well as property tax codes which treat Airbnbs
as residential rather than higher-tax commercial
properties can exacerbate the phenomenon. Partly
due to these factors and others, the average detached
single family home size in Ontario has increased
25% since the 1990s while new condo units have
shrunk. This is concerning as Canadian household
sizes are decreasing while the overall number of
households are increasing. This means single family
properties are taking up even more space to house
less people. Many parts of Toronto’s Yellowbelt
are now depopulating despite surging demand. In
Vancouver, the 52% of city land zoned exclusively
for single family homes and duplexes (constituting
81% of residentially zoned land) only house 15%
of the population.
Yes in My Back Yard
45
Part 2
(Re)Designing the Plex
The New Plex
Project Outline
Narrow Lot
<25’
Wide Lot
36’ - 40’
Detached
Custom
Model 01:
Habitat Plex
Attached
Custom
Model 02:
Sky Plex
Detached
Custom
Model 03:
Flex Plex
Attached
Very rare at this
lot size; building
would fall into
‘small apartment’
scale category
This portion of the book proposes 3 of my own
new custom designed multiplexes. Similar to the
historic precedent types discussed in Part 1, these
three designs can be thought of as new ‘types,’ in
that they are intended to be standardized templates
that could potentially be mass-replicated on many
sites with minor augmentations, rather than one-off
projects tailored to a specific context.
The designs address three ‘typical’ infill site
conditions: detached on a narrow (25’) site, attached
on a narrow site, and detached on a wide site (40’).
These dimensions were chosen after consulting data
on suburban lot sales in the Greater Toronto Area
in the past few years, which showed the weighted
average width for all lots sold was 25’, while the
majority of all detached house sales involved lots
36’ wide or more, with 52% occuring in the range
of 36’ - 40’ alone.
Narrow and wide sites represent urban and
suburban neighbourhood contexts respectively,
while the detached or attached condition reflects the
building’s relationship to its neighbour, which will
impact internal circulation, fire egress, bedroom
layouts, passive lighting and thermoregulatory
strategies. For all three designs I imposed a set
of design objectives, shown on the following
48
Figure 20. CMHC House Design Catalogues
pages. Key among these were to use low-rise light
wood frame assemblies to keep their construction
relatively simple, low-carbon and low-cost with
potential for prefab manufacturing.
This idea for preparing a ‘catalogue’ of standardized
(yet adaptable) designs was inspired by historic
catalogues that the Canadian government issued in
the postwar decades. The CMHC hired architects
to design catalogues of house plans, which were
then distributed to private builders. Though mostly
single family houses, at least one catalogue was
made for duplexes, though it was mainly marketed
in Quebec.
The predesigned catalogue represents a decentralized,
‘all hands on deck’ model for mass homebuilding.
By standardizing designs, professional expertise
is enlisted upfront to pre-empt excess costs that
can be incurred by unsophisticated bespoke
construction, as well as establishing a high baseline
level of building performance. However, by being
prescriptive rather than binding, they allow private
builders the freedom to adapt them as they see
fit to meet their desires, market demand and site
specific conditions.
49
The New Plex
Design Objectives
Minimum Unit Count:
Fourplex (4)
Four Units minimum per plex, more if possible
Max Height:
4 Storeys
Part 3
Part 9
3 storeys above grade, not counting basements &
Attics. For ease of wood construction. 3+ storeys
require two means of egress. 3+ storeys require
elevators
NBCC Designations:
Part 9: <3 Floors above grade
Part 3: 3+ Floors above grade
Maximize Passive Potential
Incoporate natural ventilation, lighting and heat
retention as much as possible. Incorporate lowimpact
mechanical systems, power generation
50
1 Family Sized Unit Minimum
(1x) 3+ Bedroom Units
Incorporate at least one 3+ bedroom unit
approporiate for families
Standardize Volumes for Efficiency:
Kit-of-Parts & Panelized Prefab Potential
Incorporate efficient layouts, grids, stacking of
similar components
Sustainable Materials:
Wood Structures, Biogenic Products
Light wood frame or CLT panel structure
Biogenic Insulation & Building Products where
possible
Interrogate Planning & Code Regulations:
Identify Regulatory Barriers
Each proposal will draw attention to and question
regulations that affect design of multiplexes, both
planning & code
51
The New Plex
+
Single Family + Accessory
2 Total
10-minute walking radius
around rail transit stops;
includes projects planned for
completion by 2033.
Site Selection
There are strong arguments that the currentlytabled
multiplex reforms in cities like Toronto and
Vancouver, while certainly welcome, do not go
far enough to both meet housing demand or curb
suburban sprawl on their own. This project agrees,
and welcomes more sweeping zoning reforms to
speed up and increase housing supply. There will
be many sites where multiplexes make economic
sense, but others were far higher densities should
be allowed. The most obvious sites to promote
more densification are lands within short walking
distance to rapid transit stations and other major
public investments. ‘Transit-Oriented Development’
is based on the principles that maximizing the
number of people and businesses who have close
access to such transport nodes improves ridership,
reduces car use and helps cities recoup their
investment costs through improved tax productivity.
Furthermore since transit stops typically inflate
nearby land values, in the absense of some land
value capture taxation scheme, zoning which
limits development near transit stops provides
a windfall subsidy to nearby landowners.
In Toronto, most densification is only permitted on
lots along major arterial roads, usually not even on
52
Sky Plex
Narrow + Attached
Habitat Plex
Narrow + Detached
Flex Plex
Wide + Detached
Fourplex + Accessory
5 units Total
Toronto Draft Plan Amendment
(pending, 2023)
+
+
Duplex + Accessory
3 units Total
or
Triplex
3 Total
Ontario Bill 23 (Passed 2022)
properties that immediately abut these high-density
zones. This results in many ‘yellowbelt’ areas of
low density single-family homes falling within a
ten minute walk of major transit stops, as shown
in the map above, opposite This is an extremely
inefficient use of both the land and by extension
the taxpayer money invested in the transit system,
which will be underused relative to its capacity so
long as building supply in close proximity is not
maximized. One of Toronto’s existng subway lines,
Line 4, loses $10 per passenger due to low ridership.
Therefore for this project, I focus my case studies
on yellowbelt sites that are outside these ten-minute
walk zones. These outside zones are not necessarily
poorly served by transit, however; they typically
are well connected to streetcars and bus routes,
and within walking or biking distance to arterials.
Furthermore, introducing mixed commercial uses
and other amenities within these zones can improve
their walkability and thereby reduce the number
local car trips. Generally the higher capacity
the transit service, the higher density should be
promoted around it.
53
2.1
Model 01
Narrow + Detached
Habitat Plex
3.5 storeys, 6 units, 9 bedrooms
Optional Accessory Unit
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
varies
varies
varies
3.5
412.3 m 2 (4438 ft 2 )
45.8m 2
Interior from common stairwell
accessed from front door
light wood frame
Yes
Part 3, Group C
1 interior, 1 exterior (rear)
Side setbacks required for side
bedroom fenestration
The Habitat Plex is a six-unit model which uses
a staggered split-level strategy to maximize
density. Micro-studio units at the front are
accessed from a main stairwell inside the front
door, while the larger rear units have entrances
in the stairwell but also have a required second
means of egress via exits onto an exterior stair
connecting the rear yard to a rooftop garden.
Each rear unit also has a private garden balcony
staggered from the unit below to form a series
of stepped terraces descending to the rear yard.
A common, shared basement area is avilable
for common storage and utilities. All units can
share the rear yard and rooftop terrace. The
largest unit, a family sized three bedroom, opens
directly at grade to the rear yard. Windows &
bedroom doors of rear units are always aligned
to allow cross-ventilation. 0.9m side setbacks
are provided at both ends of the site, the standard
for detached houses. Toronto zoning arbitrarily
demands a wider 1.2m side setback for plexes,
but 0.9m is the sufficient minimum to provide
fire department access to the laneway suite at
the rear.
54
Habitat Plex
Unit 6
1-bd
Unit 5
studio
Unit 4
2-bd
Unit 3
studio
Unit 2
3-bd
Unit 1
studio
Circulation
Residence
88.8%
Section
Net Leaseable
55
The New Plex
LANEWAY
GREENLAW AVE
ASHBURY RD
ST CLARENS AVE
LANEWAY
0 50m 100m
Address:
Neighbourhood:
Lot Size:
Lot Area:
Price (February 2023):
Units:
Beds:
Features:
20 Greenlaw Ave
Corso Italia-Davenport
7.6m x 45.1m (25’ x 148’)
343.7 m 2 (3700 ft 2 )
$1,600,000
1
3
Rear Laneway Access
Rooming House Allowance
Location
Case Study Property Data
Toronto Map
56
Habitat Plex
Zone:
Front Setback:
Side Setbacks:
Rear Setback:
Max FSI:
Max height (current):
Max height (draft bylaw):
Max bldg depth (current):
Max bldg depth (draft bylaw):
Red: noncompliant
R
Avg of neighbours, or 6m
0.9m house, 1.2m plexes
1m (laneway suite)
0.6
4 storeys, 10m
10m
14m
17m
Gross Floor Area (GFA):
Net Leasable Area (NLA):
Floor Space Index (FSI):
Lot Coverage:
Depth:
Height:
Laneway Suite GFA:
Total Site GFA:
Total Site NLA:
Total Site FSI:
412.3 m 2 (4438 ft 2 )
366.3 m 2 (3943 ft 2 ) = 88.8%
1.19
162.2 m 2 (1746 ft 2 )
29.78 m 2
9.58 m
30.9 m 2 (333.5 ft 2 )
443.2 m 2 (4771 ft 2 )
397.2 m 2 (4275 ft 2 )
1.29
Zoning
Proposal
57
The New Plex
laneway
laneway
green roof
UP
+0.00m
+2.88m
DN
UP
UNIT 2
3-bedroom
UNIT 4
2-bedroom
+0.00m
+2.88m
UP
DN
UP
DN
-1.44m
+1.44m
UNIT 1
studio
-1.44m
UNIT 3
studio
DN
UP
+0.00m
DN
UP
+0.00m
Greenlaw Ave
Greenlaw Ave
Units 1 + 2 Units 3 + 4
58
Habitat Plex
laneway
laneway
+5.76m
DN
UP
UNIT 6
1-bedroom
green roof
DN
+8.64m
terrace
+5.76m
green roof
UP
DN
+4.32m
UNIT 5
studio
Greenlaw Ave
Units 5 + 6
Greenlaw Ave
Roof Plan
59
The New Plex
Property Line
1m rear setback for ADU
7m setback for 2 storey ADU
Min. 5m ADU Setback
UNIT 4
2-bedroom
UNIT 6
1-bedroom
Green Roof
UNIT 7
studio
UNIT 2
3-bedroom
Garden
Terrace
Living /
Dining /
Kitchen
Garden
Terrace
Living /
Dining /
Kitchen
Laneway Suite
Common Yard
Garden
Terrace
Living /
Dining /
Kitchen
Bedroom
Shared Storage & Utilities
Zoning Box
Unit Separations
60
Habitat Plex
Roof Terrace
UNIT 5
studio
Front
Property Line
Green Roof
Bedroom
W.C.
W.C.
Living /
Bedroom /
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
W.C.
W.C.
Living /
Bedroom /
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
W.C.
W.C.
Living /
Bedroom /
Kitchen
UNIT 1
studio
UNIT 3
studio
61
2.2
Model 02
Narrow + Attached
Sky Plex
3.5 storeys, 6 units, 10 bedrooms
Optional Accessory Unit
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
varies
varies
varies
3.5
402.1m 2 (4328 ft 2 )
40.2 m 2
each unit has direct exterior
access door
light wood frame
No
Part 3, Group C
each unit has direct ext. door
Must be loaded at front and
rear
The Sky Plex is a six-unit model designed for
narrow sites where side setbacks are not required,
allowing the building to comprise the full width
of the lot. The Sky Plex addresses several major
difficulties of designing multi-unit homes for
narrow attached sites: passive thermoregulation,
passive lighting, proper fenestration and
satisfying the code requirement for fire egress.
Doors to the upper units are provided centrally
along a portico along one side of the building so
that they can exit directly to the exterior, while
doors to the split level basement and first floor
units are provided with their own exterior stairs
from grade. The portico also provides required
fire department access to the rear yard, allowing
for a potential backyard garden suite. The two
3-bedroom upper floor units span two storeys
internally each, and are provided with operable
skylights above the stairwell both to provide
ample natural lighting and stack-effect buoyancy
ventilation into the deepest part of the unit. The
top floor bedrooms have private terrace spaces.
The basement contains a common central storage
and uility space and is accessible from exterior
stairs.
62
Sky Plex
3rd Floor
Unit 5
3-bd
Unit 6
3-bd
2nd Floor
Unit 5
3-bd
Unit 4
2-bd
Unit 6
3-bd
1st Floor
Unit 3
1-bd
Basement
Unit 1
1-bd
Unit 6
3-bd
Circulation
Residence
100%
Section
Net Leaseable
63
The New Plex
DUNDAS ST W
ST JOHNS RD
CLENDENAN AVE
QUEBEC AVE
LAWS ST
0 50m 100m
Address:
Neighbourhood:
Lot Size:
Lot Area:
Price (February 2023):
Units:
Beds:
Features:
469 Clendenan
The Junction
7.6m x 48.8m (25’ x 160’)
371.6 m 2 (4000 ft 2 )
$1,969,000
1
5
Garden Suite Option
Rooming House Allowance
Location
Case Study Property Data
Toronto Map
64
Sky Plex
Zone:
Front Setback:
Side Setbacks:
Rear Setback:
Max FSI:
Max height (current):
Max height (draft bylaw):
Max bldg depth (current):
Max bldg depth (draft bylaw):
Red: noncompliant
R
Avg of neighbours
0.9m house, 1.2m plexes
1m (Garden Suite)
0.6
10m
10m
14m
17m
Gross Floor Area (GFA):
Net Leasable Area (NLA):
Floor Space Index (FSI):
Lot Coverage:
Depth:
Height:
Garden Suite GFA:
Total Site GFA:
Total Site NLA:
Total Site FSI:
402.1m 2 (4328 ft 2 )
402.1m 2 (4328 ft 2 ) = 100%
1.08
125.7 m 2 (1353 ft 2 )
17m
10.96 m
45.5 m 2 (490.1 ft 2 )
447.6 m 2 (4818.3 ft 2 )
447.6 m 2 (4818.3 ft 2 )
1.20
Zoning
Proposal
65
UNIT 7
1-bedroom
common
yard
+0.00m
UP
DN
UP
DN
-2.88m
+1.44m
-1.44m
+1.44m
UNIT 2
1-bedroom
UNIT 4
1-bedroom
+0.00m
UNIT 6
3-bedroom
storage/
utilities
UP
UP
-2.88m
UNIT 5
3-bedroom
+1.44m
UNIT 1
1-bedroom
portico
UNIT 3
1-bedroom
DN
UP
-2.88m
+1.44m
-1.44m
+0.00m
UP
DN
Basement Level 1
66
green roof
+4.32m
UNIT 6
3-bedroom
UNIT 6
3-bedroom
+7.20m
DN
DN
UP
UP
DN
DN
open to below
open to below
skylights
skylights
+7.20m
+4.32m
UNIT 5
3-bedroom
UNIT 5
3-bedroom
terraces
Level 2 Level 3
67
The New Plex
Property Line
Front
UNIT 5
3-bedroom
Green Roof
Operable Skylights
UNIT 6
3-bedroom
Green Roof
Max depth (17m)
Bedroom
Bedroom
Living /
Dining /
Kitchen
Living /
Dining /
Kitchen
Bedroom
WC
W.C.
Bedroom
Bedroom
WC
WC
Bedroom
Storage
& Utilities
UNIT 3
1-bedroom
UNIT 1
1-bedroom
UNIT 4
1-bedroom
UNIT 2
1-bedroom
Zoning Box
Unit Separations
68
Sky Plex
5m setback for ADU
7m setback for 2 storey ADU
1/2 height rear setback for ADU
Property Line
Green Roof
Garden Suite
UNIT 7
1-bedroom
69
2.3
Model 03
Wide + Detached
Flex Plex
1.5-2.5 storeys, 4-8 units, 8-14 bedrooms
Optional Accessory Unit
Lot Area:
Coverage:
FAR:
Storeys:
GFA:
GFA / Bedrooms:
Unit Access:
Construction / Materials:
Detached?
NBCC Division:
Means of Egress:
Bedroom Window Egress:
varies
varies
varies
1.5 - 2.5
332.9 m 2 - 500m 2
varies
each unit has direct exterior
access door
light wood frame
No
Part 9
each unit has direct ext. door
Loadable against all exterior
walls
The Flex Plex is not one design, but rather a
system for generating many designs using
modular unit plans that can be configured in
many combinations within the same 2-3 storey
building form and chase wall layouts. Using
a typical 40’ wide lot as a basis, a dimension
constituting over half of GTA lots sold in recent
years, and assuming a maximally restrictive
RD-Zone setback requirement, I use the resulting
permissible building footprint as the basis for
generating unit types, each sized to be either
half the width or depth of the footprint, though
always accessible directly to the exterior from
walkup steps at the front or rear. The building
can be maximally divided into four ‘quadrants’
with loadbearing chase walls running midway
along the width and depth. All plumbing and
mechanical fixtures within units must load along
these demising and exterior walls to maximize
efficiency. Exterior finishing material is left up to
the builder. Builders have the option of leaving
quadrants empty as ‘flex space’ to provide
amenities, storage or commercial uses.
70
Flex Plex
Unit 7
studio
Unit 6
studio
Unit 8
studio
Unit 5
studio
1st Floor
Unit 3
studio
Unit 1
studio
Unit 4
studio
Basement
Unit 2
studio
Circulation
Residence
100%
Section
Net Leaseable
71
The New Plex
MANHATTAN DR
AINSDALE DR
WARDEN AVE
LILIAN DR
TWIN PAULS CR
0 50m 100m
Address:
Neighbourhood:
Lot Size:
Lot Area:
Price (February 2023):
Units:
Beds:
Features:
1251 Warden Ave
Wexford / Maryville
12.2m x 38.1m (40’ x 125’)
464.5 m 2 (5000 ft 2 )
$1,099,000
1
6
Garden Suite Option
Location
Case Study Property Data
Toronto Map
72
Flex Plex
Zone:
Front Setback:
Side Setbacks:
Rear Setback:
Max FSI:
Max height (current):
Max height (draft bylaw):
Max bldg depth (current):
Max bldg depth (draft bylaw):
RD
Avg of neighbours
1.2m
1m (Garden Suite)
None
10m
10m
14m
17m
Gross Floor Area (GFA):
Net Leasable Area (NLA):
Floor Space Index (FSI):
Lot Coverage:
Depth:
Height:
333 m 2 - 500m 2
333 m 2 - 500m 2 = 100%
0.72 - 1.08
166.5 m 2 = 36%
17m
6.47m - 9.75m
Red: noncompliant
Zoning
Proposal
73
The New Plex
Rear Yard
Rear Yard
(SFH Max Depth)
(SFH Max Depth)
Max
Buildable Area
Typ Max Front Setback
Typ Max Front Setback
Front Yard
Front Yard
Typical Site Description
The flex plex template is designed for more suburban
contexts with wide lots typically designated for
detached single family houses. While I consulted
a specific site in Scarbrorough for demonstration,
it was chosen for being represenatative of most
postwar North American single family suburbs.
Site coverage rules were ignored due to the variable
nature of lot sizes, but representative setbacks were
chosen.
Loadbearing Chase Walls
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
74
Flex Plex
Typical Floor Section
STC: 50-54
Fire Rating: 1hr
Thickness: 12-1/2” (318mm)
x1 layer 1” [25.4mm] (nominal) Wood Finish Flooring
x1 layer 1” [25.4mm] (nominal) Wood Panel Subfloor
x1 layer 2” x 10” [38 x 235 mm] Wood Joists, 16” [406 mm] O.C.
3” (minimum) insulation
x1 layer 1/2” [12.7 mm] resilient channel, 25 ga. (0.018”), 24” [610 mm] O.C.
x1 layer 3/8” [9.5mm] Type X Gypsum Lath
x1 layer 1/2” [12.7mm] 1:2 - 1:3 Gypsum Sand Plaster
x1 layer 1/2” [12.7mm] Gypsum Panel (Type ‘X)
Typical Interior Demising Wall Plan
STC: 60
Fire Rating:
Thickness:
1hr
9-1/4” (235mm)
x1 layer
x1 layer
x1 layer
x2 layer
5/8” [15.9 mm] Sheetrock® Gypsum Panel (UL Type SCX)
2” x 4” [38 x 89 mm] Wood Studs, 16” [406 mm] O.C.
1” [25.4 mm] air space
2” x 4” [38 x 89 mm] Wood Studs, 16” [406 mm] O.C.
3-1/2” [89 mm] insulation
5/8” [15.9 mm] Sheetrock® Gypsum Panel (UL Type SCX)
Typical Exterior Wall Plan
Max Extent, Exterior (Masonry Veneer)
Thickness:
x1 layer
x1 layer
x1 layer
x1 layer
x1 layer
up to 17-1/6” (437mm)
5/8” [15.9 mm] Sheetrock® Gypsum Panel (UL Type SCX)
1/2” [12.7mm] Plywood Sheathing
Vapour Barrier
2” x 4” [38 x 89 mm] Wood Studs, 16” [406 mm] O.C.
3-1/2” [89 mm] Cellulose insulation
1” [25.4 mm] air space
2” x 4” [38 x 89 mm] Wood Studs, 16” [406 mm] O.C.
3-1/2” [89 mm] Cellulose insulation
4” [100 mm] Gutex Multitherm Wood Fibre Insulation Board
Waterproofing Mmebrane
Exterior Finish TBD by Builder. Control Layers as required.
Typical Details
The Flex Plex incorporates three typical separation
detail: interior demising walls, interior demising
floors, and exterior walls. The interior demising wall
and floro assemblies provide a minimum 1hr fire
rating and STC rating over 50 to miniimize sound
penetration between units. Other non-loadbearing
partitions interior to the units themselves assume
typical wood stud walls and gypsum with finishing
up to the builder’s discretion. Exterior walls are
provided with minimum R-40 insulative values
using biogenic cellulose and wood fibre insulation.
Though drawn to assume a maximally thick masonry
veneer wall, exterior cladding material outboard
to the thermal envelope is left to the builder’s
discretion to allow for aesthetic personalization
and variability.
75
The New Plex
UNIT A
RESIDENCE
UNIT B
RESIDENCE
UNIT C
RESIDENCE
0.5d x 0.5w
1 storey
1 Bed (Studio)
41.6 m 2 (448 ft 2 )
Toronto average studio rent
= $3.82/ ft 2
RENT:
= $1,711.36
0.5d x 0.5w
2 storey
2 Bedroom
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Toronto average 2-bedroom rent
= $2.78/ ft 2
RENT:
= $2,490.88
d x 0.5w
1 storey
2 Bedroom
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Toronto average 2-bedroom rent
= $2.78/ ft 2
RENT:
= $2,490.88
Typical Unit Types
I provide 5 residential unit configurations, ranging
from studios to 3-bedrooms, each designed to fit
within the quadrant grid and load all mechanical
and plumbing fixtures along either the exterior
or loadbearing chase walls. These ‘modules’ are
demonstrative and each assume single-household
tenure, but have potential to be adapted over time
as household demand changes, such as by being
merged together, connected with doors, converted
to different uses, etc. Builders can also opt to provide
one-storey ‘flex’ units of up to two quadrants in
size. These empty spaces can accomodate shared
amenity or storage space for residents, or they can
be leased to non-residential uses such as commercial,
office or retail space. This provides an opportunity
to introduce mixed uses into otherwise Euclidian
single-use residential neighborhoods. Commercial
uses can also lease for significantly higher rents
than residences, improving the financial viability of
plex projects on more sites. The following catalogue
shows many possible configurations including
incorporating a single-quadrant flex unit.
76
Flex Plex
UNIT D
RESIDENCE
UNIT E
RESIDENCE
Flex Unit
OTHER USES
d x 0.5w
1 storey
3 Bedroom
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Toronto average 3-bedroom rent
= $2.33 / ft 2
RENT:
= $2,087.68
0.5d x w
1 storey
3 Bedroom
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Toronto average 3-bedroom rent
= $2.33 / ft 2
RENT:
= $2,087.68
0.5d x w
1 storey
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Toronto average commercial /
retail lease rate = $19.79 / ft 2
RENT:
= $17,731.84
8.49x residential 3-bed
7.12x residential 2-bed
Flex Unit
0.5d x 0.5w
1 storey
41.6 m 2 (448 ft 2 )
Flex Unit
d x 0.5w
1 storey
83.2 m 2 (896 ft 2 )
Possible Flex Uses:
• Storage
• Utilities
• Exercise Room
• Workshop
• Commercial Unit
• Office Unit
• Retail Unit
• Amenity Space
77
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
78
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
3x UNIT C 2 bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
7x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
79
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
80
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
7x UNIT A studio
1x Flex Unit
7x
7x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
81
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
82
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT C 2-bed
8x
8x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
83
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
84
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
8x UNIT A studio
8x
8x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
85
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
86
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT C 2-bed
4x
8x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
87
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
88
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
1x UNIT C 2-bed
2x UNIT D 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
9x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
89
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
90
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
3x UNIT A studio
2x UNIT D 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
5x
9x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
91
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
92
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
2x UNIT C 2-bed
1x UNIT E 3-bed
5x
9x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
93
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
94
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT C 2-bed
2x UNIT D 3-bed
4x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
95
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
96
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
3x UNIT E 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
97
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
98
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
2x UNIT D 3-bed
1x UNIT E 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
99
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
100
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT A studio
2x UNIT D 3-bed
6x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
101
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
102
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
1x UNIT D 3-bed
2x UNIT E 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
103
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
104
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
1x UNIT A studio
3x UNIT D 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
4x
10x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
105
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
106
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
3x UNIT E 3-bed
5x
11x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
107
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
108
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
2x UNIT D 3-bed
3x UNIT E 3-bed
7x
11x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
109
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
110
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
3x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x Flex Unit
7x
11x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
111
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
112
Flex Plex
Diagram
1x UNIT A studio
1x UNIT C 2-bed
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x Flex Unit
6x
11x
Model Data
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
113
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
114
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT D 3-bed
4x
12x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
115
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
116
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT E 3-bed
4x
12x
Units
Bedrooms
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
117
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
118
Flex Plex
Diagram
1x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x UNIT E 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
6x
12x
Model Data
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
119
The New Plex
Flex Unit
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
120
Flex Plex
Diagram
1x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x UNIT D 3-bed
1x Flex Unit
6x
12x
Model Data
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
121
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
122
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT B 2-bed
2x UNIT C 2-bed
6x
12x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
123
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
124
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
6x
12x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
125
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
126
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x UNIT D 2-bed
7x
12x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
127
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
128
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x UNIT E 3-bed
7x
13x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
129
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
130
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
2x UNIT A studio
4x UNIT B 2-bed
1x UNIT D 3-bed
7x
13x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
131
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
132
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT B 2-bed
2x UNIT D 3-bed
6x
14x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
133
The New Plex
Basement
L1
Loadbearing Chase Walls
0 5m
10m
1hr FR, 60 STC Demising walls
134
Flex Plex
Diagram
Model Data
4x UNIT B 2-bed
2x UNIT E 3-bed
6x
14x
Units
Bedrooms
L2
+4.59m
L2
L1
Grade
Basement
+1.53m
+0.00m
-1.53m
Elevation
0 5m
10m
135
Index: Bedroom Count
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
w/ Flex Unit
136
Index: Leasable Unit Count
4
5
6
7
8
w/ Flex Unit
137
The New Plex
Conclusions
138
This project barely scratches the surface of
architectural possibilities for multiplexes and other
‘missing middle’ housing typologies, but as a design
exercise it is an opportunity to walk through some
of the most important considerations impacting
their form and quality. In the coming years as
more zoning reforms progress, we will see more
architectural experimentation with multiplexes, the
proliferation of new vernacular and regional types,
and more radical innovations. The era of singlefamily
Euclidian zoning as the ‘norm’ pattern
for city planning is reaching an inevitable and
necessary conclusion as more awareness is raised
of its disastrous consequences for affordability,
sustainability, muncipal solvency, health and social
dynamics.
Abundant supply is a critical ingredient of housing
affordability, and this includes supply of many
diverse types of housing to meet the needs of
many diverse buyers. A dynamic market which
permits experimentation, adaptation over time
and even niche housing styles allows the overall
housing market to better absorb demand shocks
from population and demographic changes. In this
regard, restrictive planning practices like single
family zoning imposed a top-down ‘one-sizefits-all’
style of housing, which also happens to
require consuming a disprortionate amount of a
city’s intrinsically limited and valuable land. People
should be allowed to build and buy such dwellings,
if they choose; but forbidding the development and
denser, more efficient housing is a regressive and
outdated policy.
Much of the present day cultural aversion to
densification can probably be attributed to
memory of times when cities were indeed much
dirtier, more polluted, less hygenic, less pleasant,
less safe and even much denser than today, and
some vestigial regulatory structures that encumber
current efforts to expand housing supply likely
reflect these realities. Even the most enthusiastic
urbanist must admit that there are still downsides
to city life. However, technological and educational
advancements in planning, engineering, design, fire
safety, public health, crime prevention, and so on
have enormously improved the quality of dense city
living and rendered many laws outdated.
Where does architectural agency fit into this
discussion? Architects rarely have the choice of what
site they can design on, let alone the laws governing
what can be built on the land. But as these laws
loosen to permit more multifamily construction and
more such projects fall into our lap, the success of
these dwellings to overcome negative stereotypes
and become intrinsically desirable places to live
in their own right will be squarely in our purview
as designers. We can also influence how these
reforms take place by understanding the practical
architectural considerations of their construction.
As a building type, the multiplex demonstrates that
density need not always be achieved at the expense
of comfort, family sized dwellings, human scale,
privacy, greenery, environmental sustainability and
other quality of life metrics that people have come
to associate with the suburban single family ideal.
Through these designs, I am throwing my hat into
what will be a much longer conversation in the
coming years about how designers can improve
the quality of multifamily homes in North America.
The multiplex is only one housing form of many,
but a uniquely timely and interesting one given
contemporary challenges.
--Philippe Fournier
139
The New Plex
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Evergreen. “What is the Missing Middle? A Toronto housing challenge demystified.” N.d. https://www.evergreen.ca/downloads/pdfs/2018/What_is_
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The New Plex
NotJustBikes. “Suburbia is Subsidized: Here’s the Math [ST07]” YouTube video, 10:15, March 7, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nw6qyyrTeI&ab_channel=NotJustBikes.
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com/watch?v=7IsMeKl-Sv0&ab_channel=NotJustBikes.
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DC: Island Press, 2020.
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montreal-375-buildings/.
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The New Plex
List of Figures
Figure 1: Adapted from:
Author Unknown. Graph. TWImg. N.d. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0PIr9kXoAQvbeR.jpg:large
Real disposable income and real home price index. Rebased to 1975 (100). Timeframe is 1975 Q1 to Q4 2020. Image Data Sources: Mack, A., and E.
Martinez-Garcia, 2011. “A cross-country quarterly database of real house prices: A methodological note.” Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute
working paper No. 99 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, author calculations, 2021.
Figure 2: Adapted from Fluorish chart, provided in:
Rutgers, Julia Simone. “No Place to Live” The Walrus. September 21, 2022. https://thewalrus.ca/no-place-to-live/.
Figure 3: Adapted from:
Scotiabank. Graph. N.d. https://www.scotiabank.com/content/dam/scotiabank/global-economics/images/housing-note-charts/2022-01-12/Picture1-2.
png.
Jean Francois Perrault. “Which Province Has the Largest Structural Housing Deficit?” Scotiabank. January 12, 2022. https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/
en/about/economics/economics-publications/post.other-publications.housing.housing-note.housing-note--january-12-2022-.html
Figure 4: Adapted from:
Statistics Canada. Graph. N.d. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/2015008/c-g/c-g01-eng.jpg
Statistics Canada. “The shift to smaller households over the past century.” May 17, 2018. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-
x2015008-eng.htm
Figure 5: Adapted from:
Sun, Yang. “A visual guide to detached house zones in 5 Canadian Cities.” DataLabTO. N.d. http://www.datalabto.ca/a-visual-guide-to-detachedhouses-in-5-canadian-cities/.
Figure 6: Adapted from:
MapTO. Digital drawing. N.d. “Every Building in the Greater Toronto and Hamitlon Area.” http://www.mapto.ca/maps/every-building-in-the-gtha
Figure 7: Adapted from:
MapTO. Digital drawing. N.d. “Every Building in the Greater Toronto and Hamitlon Area.” http://www.mapto.ca/maps/every-building-in-the-gtha
Figure 8: Self-produced.
Figure 9: Self-produced.
Figure 10: Adapted from:
Statistics Canada. “Census in Brief: Dwellings in Canada.” https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016005/98-200-
x2016005-eng.cfm
Figure 11: Adapted from:
Vella, Erica. “Population density in Toronto significantly less compared to other major cities: Fraser Institute.” Global News. January 9, 2018. https://
globalnews.ca/news/3954609/population-density-in-toronto-fraser-institute/
City of Montreal. 11 Borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. Montreal Master Plan. Montreal: City of Montreal, n.d. http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/
docs/page/plan_urbanisme_en/media/documents/150427_densite_11_en.pdf
City of Montreal. Arrondissement du Plateau-Mont-Royal (Édition mai 2018). Montreal. Montreal: City of Montreal, n.d. http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/
pls/portal/docs/PAGE/MTL_STATS_FR/MEDIA/DOCUMENTS/PROFIL_SOCIOD%C9MO_PLATEAU%20MONT-ROYAL%202016.PDF.
144
Figure 12: Adapted from:
City of Montreal. “11 Borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal.” Zoning map. N.d. https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/plan_urbanisme_en/
media/documents/150427_densite_11_en.pdf
Figure 13: Adapted from:
Piepho, Lauren. “New Advances in Mass Timber Construction.” HGA. December 31, 2018. https://hga.com/advantages-of-mass-timber-construction/
Figure 14: Adapted from:
Rocha Ramona. “Montreal is 375 years old, but how old are its buildings?” CBC News. 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/
montreal-375-buildings/.
Figure 15: Self produced.
Figure 16: Evergreen. “What is the Missing Middle? A Toronto housing challenge demystified.” N.d. https://www.evergreen.ca/downloads/
pdfs/2018/What_is_the_Missing_Middle_Evergreen_CUI_s2.pdf.
Figure 17: Self produced.
Figure 18: Self produced.
Figure 19: Adapted from:
Storeys. “Ontario’s Condos are Getting Smaller as Detached Homes Get Larger.” October 19, 2022. https://storeys.com/ontario-condos-getting-smaller-detached-homes-get-larger/.
Figure 20:
Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Small House Designs: 2 Storey and 1-1/2 Storey Houses. November 1954. https://publications.gc.ca/
collections/collection_2016/schl-cmhc/NH17-66-1954-eng.pdf
Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Small House Designs. 1962. https://archive.org/details/ca-1-mh-62-s-53-w.
Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Small House Designs: Bungalows and Split Level Houses. April 1954. https://publications.gc.ca/
collections/collection_2016/schl-cmhc/NH17-65-1954-eng.pdf
Flex Plex wall and floor details prepared cosnulting CGC’s Wall Assembly Catlogue and WoodWorks assembly catalogues:
CGC. “Wall Assemblies.” https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en_CA_east/design-studio/wall-assemblies.html
WoodWorks. “Light-Frame.” https://www.woodworks.org/cad-revit/light-frame/
FourSevenFive. “Gutex Multitherm” Product Data. https://foursevenfive.ca/gutex-multitherm/
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