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
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.
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