East Van Residence
East Van, Yo
We think Jim Sutherland said it best about this project in Western Living:
Maybe it’s more prose than poetry, but Carscadden’s description of the project as “beautiful decisions that fit within the rules” is as apt a description of a successful urban renovation as is likely to be found. Leave it to the client to supply the poetry. “There’s nothing about it that I’d change,” says Cossever (client). “We got it all.”
Photographs: Ema Peter
Heatley Street Residences
Vancouver, BC
Apartment buildings are rarer than rare in Strathcona and preserving these two were critical to maintaining the existing neighbourhood fabric. Now newly connected via a modern central stair, the buildings maintain their primary heritage value: a strong urban presence on the corner and modest apartments in a sea of single family houses.
Photography: Krista Jahnke
Brackendale Community Apartments
Brackendale, BC
The site was selected on the basis of its longstanding community value and the design intent is to maintain the existing general store and post office, while also honoring it through material and massing cues – while simultaneously acknowledging the pressing need to provide much-needed rental apartments in Brackendale. The property is constrained by significant SPEA setbacks that govern both new buildings and lot coverage.
18 West Hastings Microlofts
Vancouver, BC
The Microlofts at 18 West Hastings were Canada’s first microunits, a groundbreaking affordable housing model integrated into a refurbished heritage building. With each interior feature custom designed to maximize space, liviabilty, efficiency, and beauty, these apartments prove that the City can be your living room if you have a beautiful bedroom to return to.
SFU McTaggart Cowan Student Residence
Burnaby, BC
SFU’s McTaggart Cowan Hall long suffered the undignified, if typical, abuse of university dorms. The renovations are more a reimagining than a refresh: Communal kitchens that could be on Top Chef, washrooms for this century, and – hold on a second… is that a make-out couch? Priortizing common areas for ths project reinforces the importance of the social aspect of university life.