FULL HOUSE

A multigenerational home that can take different shapes

Homebuyers will sometimes talk about a “forever house.” One Vancouver family is taking that impulse more seriously than most: Their custom home in Kitsilano is designed to last not just their lifetime but for generations to come.

Designed by architects Leckie Studio and interior designers Gaile Guevara Studio, the dwelling presents restrained form to the street: It is a black box whose vertical slats half-conceal expanses of glass. A narrow slot courtyard cuts lengthwise down the centre, its surface planted with small trees and ground covers. Out front, a lush garden steps down toward the lower-level suite and up half a level to the front door.

This modest mass conceals a wealth of spatial complexity and flexibility. The steps up to the front door are very shallow. If the residents later need a wheelchair or other mobility aid, an accessible ramp can be constructed on top of the steps.

For the moment, the homeowners’ family of three occupies the main and second floors, which include three bedrooms and an office. A tenant occupies the half-sunken garden suite, which includes a bedroom on the main floor and another one below.

But all this turns on a single pivot door on the main floor. If that’s locked into a different position, then all three levels of the house become one dwelling – albeit with two kitchens, and the possibility to live entirely on the main floor.

“The spaces are less discretely defined than in a conventional house, which allows for a lot of things to happen,” architect Michael Leckie says. “The spaces are not associated with any particular family member, but with a certain stage of life.”

Ultimately an elderly couple could live in a semi-shared arrangement with their children and young grandchildren, while adult children or tenants live in the basement. “The house can either grow or contract with our needs,” one of the homeowners says. “And that lends a lot of peace of mind.”

The house’s design is meant to provide different options for extended families, just as the postwar “Vancouver Special” did. But in this case the house can be converted with no construction required, simply by locking one door into a different position. As Leckie argues, this provides the family with a sort of insurance against the astronomical costs of housing in Vancouver. One, two or three separate households can comfortably occupy the place. “I can see myself living there for a real long time,” the homeowner says. “I can see it supporting my goals and my family’s goals for the future.”