The architecture of Bird’s Wing Passivhaus+ is rooted in nature, with a modern take on a gabled profile. A folding roof line, like the wing of a bird in flight, features prominently in the front elevation. The footprint of the home is continuous from foundation to roof and incorporates a single notch in plan to create architectural interest while keeping the thermal envelope simple. The exterior siding is primarily dark tones of fiber cement cladding, in colors inspired by Eichler’s mid-century palette and found in the rich plumage of the great blue heron. The dark blue and black tones are complemented by warm wood accents and provide a high-contrast backdrop to the lush green landscape and boulevard trees in front.
A design objective for this high-performance duplex was to bring up to four households in under its wing, including a brother and sister, both accomplished professionals looking forward to their future retirement plans. It is a home designed to bring their immediate and extended families together, with communal outdoor living spaces for larger gatherings, while providing each with their own functional, and fully customized, spaces within.
In Vancouver, where land comes at a premium, affordability and density go hand in hand. Splitting the cost of land and construction between two families, while also creating income generating and sustainable rental suites, made the dream of building a custom and modern Passive House a reality. We capitalized on the City of Vancouver’s recently created floor area incentives that encourage Passive Houses and acknowledge the additional space occupied by the thick floor, roof, and wall assemblies of a Passive House. This provision allowed for an additional 610 square feet of gross floor area.
The planning of the duplex was an exercise in optimization of space, like a creative three-dimensional puzzle of interlocking pieces. The suites bend and fold around each other to maximize efficiency and provide evocative volumes within strict zoning regulations. Each unit has a full floor plate, open to the south at the front and with access to ample daylight and cross-ventilation through strategically placed side windows and framed views to the north. We opted for a stacked arrangement with one unit on the main floor and one on the upper, with front- and back-facing entry doors, respectively. This configuration strays from the design guidelines imposed by the city, but we were able to work with them on this relaxation to provide both units with equal access to large south-facing windows and private entries. The main floor unit has a large south-facing covered front porch, featuring a stone-clad landscape wall for privacy. Above, and wrapped in the protection of the wing-like roofline, the upper unit has a south-facing balcony. Both outdoor spaces provide flow from inside to out, with south-facing exposure and an added layer of privacy from the street.
Bird’s Wing Passivhaus+, currently in construction, can provide shelter to as many as four separate households, all within the scale of a single-family home. The magic is in the basement where locking doors can create two separate lock-off one-bedroom or studio suites. The lock-off suites, which are within the Passive House thermal envelope, offer the owners potential rental income and flexibility in how they use their home. They feature compact kitchens with all the amenities of a larger kitchen, shared or in-suite laundry, large windows, full bathrooms, and their own front door with access to the shared outdoor space.
