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Every Unit a Penthouse. The high-rise has become a major inner-city building type and this building attempts to advance it from the relentless “sameness” of current buildings. The building of interlocking geometric forms is a reversal from conventional interpretation and results in every unit having the look and feel of a penthouse. The interlocking geometry of glass, creates modern and highly adaptable living environments, filled with space and light. The inside is connected to the outside by opening glass walls, accessing large private terraces.
 
105 W18th Ave Vancouver B.C. Canada V5Y2A6  P 604.338.7400  F 604.736.2402  info@katzarchitecture.com
The Barraclough Block.
The project is located in the downtown of the District of North Vancouver, B.C. It combines two buildings from different eras, a reconstruction of a 19th. Century two-storey Heritage building, destroyed in a fire, with a new, modern, two-storey addition above.
 
The upper units are designed as interlocking, glass triangles. These geometric forms create light-filled, living spaces, opening onto large private  terraces overlooking the harbor and downtown Vancouver. The building is the recipient of a number of design and Heritage awards.
 
Ogden and Chestnut.
Six luxury units on the waterfront in Vancouver, B.C. are designed as three seperate buildings, each containing two units, one at grade and a two-storey unit above.
 
All units have unobstructed 180 degree views of the ocean, city and mountains to the North and open onto large sunlit gardens on the South.
 
The buildings are separated and served by landscaped, entry courtyards with direct access from enclosed double garages. The entry courtyards provide light to the entire length of every unit.
 
 
 
Greentree Village.
This townhouse complex is one of a number of housing types in the 50 acre, 500-unit "Village" in Burnaby.
 
The project illustrated comprises four 14' wide townhouses, interlocked to provide wider living rooms. The roof design adds to the sense of space  by providing high pitched ceilings in the living spaces.
 
Zero-lotline single-family houses, a first in B.C. also were developed for Greentree and were an innovation which provided useable side-gardens not found in traditional narrow-lot,  single family houses.
 
 
 
Compact Townhouses.
Compact townhouses were designed and built at 45 units/acre, the highest density in British Columbia. By stacking the units, densities of 90 units/acre were achieved. These were the first stacked-townhouses in the province.
 
With these higher densities, it has become possible to provide inner-city, family housing at the same cost as suburban housing. The result is that lower-income families can live at the center of the work pool, have easy access to the amenities of the City and avoid expensive commuting costs.
 
All units have large gardens at grade and the upper units of the stacked townhouses have roof gardens. The projects all are built around landscaped courtyards and include playgrounds and community facilities.
 
Hundreds of compact houses were developed for the Government of British Columbia and many market-housing projects were built.
 
 
 
 
Sylvia Tower.
In this 15-storey building on the waterfront in Vancouver, B.C. the units have been designed as single-storey, courtyard houses. Every unit has been configured with multiple courtyards which afford all the rooms with additional light and direct access to private gardens.
 
The lower six floors consist of two 3,000 sq. ft. units/floor and the upper nine floors have one 3000 sq.ft. unit/floor. All the units face at least three directions and enjoy unobstructed 180 degree ocean views. The units on the 7th. and 15th. floors have, in addition to courtyards, 3000 sq. ft., planted  rooftop gardens.
 
This courtyard design represents a step forward for highrises and illustrates that it is possible to move beyond the typical glass box and to provide units with the sense of identity, privacy and variety of open and enclosed spaces found in single-family houses.