Basically I was trying to figure out whether or not size matters. Or, more to the point, whether it matters more than anything else.
So there I was the other morning wandering about my house with a tape measure. I wanted to determine what 145 square feet looked like. That is the size of each of the 43 micro units (more like nano units) UBC is planning to build as an experiment. It is the first step in an attempt to help out the 6,000 students on their wait list and looking for affordable, accessible housing.
It turns out that 145 square feet is smaller than my dining room. It also turns out, as I discovered after trekking up to my corner grocery store, it is about the same size as a parking stall.
And in that parking stall-sized unit the university plans to have a bed, a desk and chair, a kitchen area with a stove, sink and a small fridge and a bathroom complete with sink, shower and toilet. Yikes!
This is just the latest example of densification as a way of dealing with the crisis of housing affordability in Vancouver.
On the question of size, it is less important than — as the old real estate cliché goes — location, location, location. And it is the location of these units that makes this idea a good one. At least it is worth a try.
An 145 square foot space on the Downtown Eastside, slightly more than your average single room occupancy hotel room, would be an improvement but still a major challenge given the sketchy surroundings in much of that neighbourhood.
According to UBC’s Director of Student Housing Andrew Parr, that will not be the case at UBC. The modest (tiny) living spaces will be located in buildings that include separate quiet rooms for studying, lounges to hang out with friends, a workout room and sound-proof practice rooms for music students. There will also be a 24-hour concierge at the front desk.
And the views from the windows will range from 120 feet to the next building for some units and all the way to the Gulf Islands for others.
The main buildings — there will be four of them up to 12 storeys high — will be on top of a major bus terminal, so public transit a few steps away. There are secure lockers for bicycles. The new aquatic centre is right next door.
A coffee shop is just a slurp away and the Student Union Building is down the block.
The buildings will also have a mix of units from two to three bedrooms down to studios and these small units.
And if all that isn’t appealing, consider the cost. This bit of space will rent for between $670 and $690 a month when it is finally built in 2019, which by today’s standards is reasonably affordable.
When it comes to housing, our culture is hooked on space. Unlike folks in Europe or Asia, we think bigger is better. Smaller is unthinkable. Or at least it was.
But then nobody thought that when Yaletown was developed it would appeal to anyone other than singles or couples. People wanting to raise families would surely move to the suburbs. But, guess what? Families with young children moved in in great numbers only to discover that the city’s planners were so sure this wouldn’t happen that they didn’t build any public schools.
Parr says we are at a stage in Vancouver where a single family home on a 50 by 150 foot lot “is no longer a goal.” People are finding co-operative housing or rentals more acceptable.
You may quibble with that but now we see the experiment at UBC. There will be a mockup available to be walked through by the fall of this year. Students can see how it feels and give feedback.
In the event that the 43 units are finally built and nobody comes, or if they do, they find the space too constricting, UBC is hedging its bet.
Parr points out units are being built so one will be adjacent to another and they will be constructed in such a way that the adjoining wall can be knocked out to make a bigger single living space.
@allengarr
