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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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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