Vancouver Historical Building Styles — Vancouver Special

The much-maligned Vancouver Special

For better or worse, no building style is more emblematic of Vancouver than the infamous “Vancouver Special” or “BC Box”. Often derided for its lack of aesthetics, ubiquity and size, the Special’s focus on function over form has made it a polarizing topic when discussing the city’s architecture.

Homes similar to the Vancouver Special had begun cropping up in the late 1940’s, large buildings intended to house growing multigenerational families, constructed inexpensively and making use as much of the building’s lot as regulations would allow. This style of building became more popular in the aftermath of World War II, as immigration from Europe combined with postwar population growth to create a huge amount of demand for spacious, inexpensive homes.

The “Vancouver Special” as we know it was developed by drafter Larry Cudney of the Prana Group in the 1960’s as an adaptation of the California Rancher style of home. Cudney’s design philosophy was one of simplicity, maximization of floor space, and quick, inexpensive construction. Cudney was able to mass-produce these plans and sell them at the low cost of $50, far below the standard price of its day. Beyond the lack of expense, building a Vancouver Special was a way to avoid problems with permits or city regulations. City Planners were familiar with the design and the fact that it conformed to building codes to the letter, resulting in nearly instant project approval.

A row of Vancouver Specials (Wikimedia Commons)

Nearly everything in the Vancouver Special’s design was an attempt to create the lowest price per square foot possible. Early Vancouver Specials tended to have the ground level floor a foot below grade, taking advantage of building code exclusions intended for basements. Building footprints were as large as the city would allow, and roofs were at the lowest pitch that would still allow water to drain. Floor plans tended to be designed to allow the bottom floor to be converted into a secondary suite with minimal renovation and expense.

Materials were the cheapest available while still remaining durable. Aluminum windows, stucco exteriors with minimal brick accents, and ground level front doors to eliminate the need for steps. The simple design let these houses be built quickly, with construction times as short as two months from start to finish. The factors of price and ease of construction made them popular with buyers, contractors and city planners alike, leading to more than 10,000 being built in the span of 20 years

The backlash against the Vancouver Special began in the 1980’s. The popularity of the Special led to the demolition of a large number of Craftsman and Vernacular homes, replacing them with boxy, uniform and arguably ugly buildings. Kitsilano in particular felt the effects the most heavily, with British-inspired, turn-of-the-century streetscapes being uprooted. The idea of “Neighborhood Character” was not nearly as important to City Planners as it is today, but outcry from residents led the city to act.

In the mid-1980’s, after failed city-sponsored attempts to come up with a new design for the Special that would strike a compromise between character and function, a raft of building code changes were put in place targeted at preventing the design from being built. New limits on floor space ratio and the removal of some of the exclusion tricks used by the design to maximize size were put in place. This marked an effective end to the home’s dominance of new building projects.

A Renovated Vancouver Special

Over time, the hostility towards the Vancouver Special faded. While most would still call the stock design unattractive, if not hideous, many are coming to understand the important role they played in the city’s growth. Like the now-revered Vernacular kit homes before them, the Special allowed working class Vancouverites and newcomers to the country to own a piece of the city and have enough space to raise their families.

In the last decade or so, the Vancouver Special has begun to see a resurgence. Although the design is effectively banned from being built, existing buildings are being seen as a wise investment owing to their large floor space, potential for secondary suites and ease of renovation. Notable remodeling projects such as Architect’s Stephanie Robb’s award-winning Lakewood Residence have shown that the design is more than capable of being rehabilitated.

An extensively renovated Special

The Special lends itself to creative redesigns, essentially serving as a blank slate for designers to get creative. The relatively featureless rectangular nature that detractors of the style condemn it for offers more possibilities than Victorian-inspired designs common to many styles of character home.

Elements common in renovated Vancouver Specials include large windows added to the front of the building and the repainting or replacement of stucco with attractive siding. Aluminium railings are replaced by glass barriers on the front of the house. All of this, combined with attractive landscaping have allowed renovated Vancouver Specials to become a net positive to a neighborhood’s streetscape, turning an eyesore into an asset.

Homeowners considering a Vancouver Special should strongly consider the renovation potential it provides. Current building code regulations will not allow a new construction to come even close to matching the Special’s average floor space ratio of 0.76, a number that today would only be possible through a fully renovated character home taking advantage of the full suite of city retention benefits.

Article reposted with permission from kitsilanoconstruction.com

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Vancouver-based Construction and Renovation Company. Specializing in historical building restoration and residential buildings

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