{"id":66803,"date":"2025-08-13T15:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66803\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T15:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:44:11","slug":"how-an-ontario-firm-designed-modular-housing-to-feel-airy-and-cozy-and-not-at-all-drab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66803\/","title":{"rendered":"How an Ontario firm designed modular housing to feel airy and cozy \u2013 and not at all drab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t a whiff of uninspired institutional drabness at the Durham Region-financed transitional housing complex of Beaverton Heights.Doublespace Photography<\/p>\n

It\u2019s surprisingly easy to find a dozen online articles or videos with titles such as \u201cWhy Modular Has Not Clicked in Commercial Construction\u201d or \u201cWhy Modular Building Hasn\u2019t Revolutionized Construction.\u201d <\/p>\n

Writing in the Harvard Business Review in 2023, Mark Erlich begins with a 1926 quote by Walter Gropius predicting a \u201cfundamental shift\u201d towards \u201cindustrialization,\u201d hinting that it\u2019s doubtful the Bauhaus school founder thought that shift would take a century \u2026 or more. In every piece, authors list the known advantages of modular \u2013 controlled climate, assembly line speed, viewing the almost-finished-product before delivery and almost zero waste \u2013 and the unanticipated roadblocks that have occurred since, such as the \u201csteep learning curve\u201d and \u201csnafus with design, manufacturing, transportation and assembly,\u201d writes Sebastian Obando in the Construction Management Association of America newsletter MCX.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s that moniker, \u201cmodular,\u201d which Finch Buildings founder Jurrian Knijtijzer is quoted as saying in the Financial Times, \u201cstill sounds temporary. People think it lacks quality, or that there might be something wrong with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Familiarity with the unique construction processes, with the wildly different timelines from stick-built, and with how modular can be made to look permanent \u2013 and even sexy \u2013 is key, then. If only there were a firm in Ontario able to deliver the goods.<\/p>\n

1\/12<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done nine of these now,\u201d says architect Daniel Ling, a principal at Montgomery Sisam, \u201cand we certainly have seen the ones where everything has gone well and the stars are aligned, and you get the approvals when you\u2019re supposed to and the site servicing was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ling and his colleague, Enda McDonagh, a certified Passive House consultant, are sitting in a wide, sunlit corridor connecting the high-ceiling community hub building to the 47 bachelor-suites that make up the new Beaverton Heights at 121 9 Mile Rd. in Beaverton, Ont., which was manufactured by NRB Modular Solutions\/ATCO Structures in the autumn of 2022. Completing our little tour group is Durham Region asset management co-ordinator Jacek Sochacki and Erin Valant, Durham Region director of housing services. <\/p>\n

Before Mr. Ling can finish his thought, a loud, clattering crash pierces the air, followed by laughter: it\u2019s the no-bake cookie class finishing up in the hub\u2019s commercial kitchen. Just some mixing bowls, however \u2013 the cookies are safe. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be fast,\u201d Mr. Ling starts up again with a smile, \u201ceight, nine months \u2026 that is possible; but we also see a lot of instances where there are unknown factors \u2026 and it drags on longer than we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Beaverton Heights, a Durham Region-financed transitional housing complex of 38,000 square feet, community resistance jammed a spoke in the wheel of progress for approximately a year because of \u201cthe stigma,\u201d says Mr. Ling. \u201cThe one location we got a different reception [for] was the one that we\u2019re doing now in Kensington Market\u201d (35 Bellevue Ave., Toronto). <\/p>\n

Look at how the finished product sits, gently, on the semi-forested site and it\u2019s hard to understand what all the fuss was about. While the complex does come somewhat close to single-family homes on Maplewood Avenue, the architects have placed the less massive, non-residential, steel module community-use building at the front of the lot and created a further buffer with the corridor (made up of one module) that leads to the back-of-lot, three-storey, wood module residential building. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the courtyards tucked between the main structures.Tom Ridout\/Tom Ridout<\/p>\n

Plus, by tucking things in here and there to create forecourts and a dining terrace, by changing the cladding, and by creating a raised, rhythmic grid on the residential portion (which also hides connections between modules), a very, very handsome building now exists where there was once an empty field almost devoid of trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does affordable housing need to look affordable?\u201d asks Mr. Ling rhetorically. \u201cWhy can\u2019t it be something that fits into this context?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear that from so many different [people],\u201d adds Mr. McDonagh. \u201c\u2018Hey, I like the concept of modular, I just don\u2019t want it to look like modular\u2019 [and] that\u2019s on us to figure that out through design.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside, despite the necessity of standardization and durable finishes, there isn\u2019t a whiff of uninspired institutional drabness. Rather, things range from open and airy to cozy and private: \u201cLittle areas, little vignettes,\u201d says Mr. Sochacki. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m going to sit on the terrace here, [or] we\u2019ve got spaces in the back, we\u2019ve got spaces inside. \u2026 It just allows people to find their own space with the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, despite what seems like a ridiculously low 15 per cent glazing, natural light floods into all parts of the complex. That small window percentage, however, helps Montgomery Sisam hit some very tough sustainability targets, aided by a heat pump water heating system (SANCO2), 308 solar panels on the sloped roof (not typical of modular, so the architects had to fight for it; estimates are these will produce between 35 to 40 per cent of the required energy for the complex), PTAC units (packaged terminal air conditioner) with integrated heat pumps in each suite, and common spaces connected to ERVs (energy recovery ventilators). This, says Mr. McDonagh, brings the project in at \u201c40 per cent more efficient than the building code.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite having only 15 per cent glazing, natural light floods into all parts of the complex.Doublespace Photography<\/p>\n

Which is all fine and good, but not worth the paper the report is printed on if people don\u2019t enjoy living there. Touring a typical, tidy, 400-square-foot unit \u2013 complete with an induction stove, pots and pans, fridge, bed and a nice bathroom \u2013 Ms. Valant reassures us that while Beaverton Heights has been open for less than a year, residents are raving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a home. \u2026 It also feels to residents that it\u2019s just a place that they\u2019re living like any other market-rent apartment building,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t know why, but it just feels right to them,\u201d Mr. Sochacki finishes with a smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: There isn\u2019t a whiff of uninspired institutional drabness at the Durham Region-financed transitional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[967,76,354,355,49,48,356,75,968],"class_list":["post-66803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architourist","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}