With all the recent media talk about shopping Canadian, supporting Canadian, and celebrating Canadian culture, it’s a good time to talk about Canadian design and what has defined Canadian housing over the generations.
I touched briefly on Canadian design in this recent post, Dear Urbaneer: What Does ‘Buying Canadian’ Mean For House & Home?, but much of housing history is older, and much of Canadian housing developed more recently, like during the post-war decades.
Here is a coast-to-coast round-up of some of Canada’s most iconic, historic, post-war housing styles- and some fun facts about each.
The Vancouver Special
The Vancouver Special, a boxy, two-storey home, often with a balcony and a shallow-pitched roof, was built in Vancouver in large numbers from 1965-1985.
What’s remarkable about this home isn’t just its recognizable exterior, but how it reflects innovative urban development around cost, zoning restrictions, and maximizing home size on tighter, narrow lots. Builders innovated with building styles and materials to create the largest home possible on a narrow lot while keeping construction costs low. Notably, the home was built in response to a Vancouver zoning bylaw that said basements don’t need to be included in the square footage calculation.
The designer, Larry Cudney, designed the Vancouver Special with the first floor 18 inches below ground, low enough to qualify as a basement, thus allowing what was essentially a two-storey home to be classified as a single-storey home. The lower floor (or technically the basement) was tailor-made for multi-generational families or homeowners hoping to generate rental income, with a basement suite that could easily be created.
Typically clad in low-maintenance stucco or brick, or a combination of both, the front door was often set to one side of the facade (sometimes on a corner lot). Slider windows were common. The low-pitched roof required fewer materials and was therefore cheaper to build.
With a large, unfinished basement, these homes were tailor-made for multi-generational families or homeowners hoping to generate rental income, with a basement suite easy to add.
The home was partly designed to accommodate a population boom in Vancouver during the 1960s-1980s, as high immigration increased the population faster than housing supply. First-generation Canadians often bought these homes, enticed by the chance to purchase an affordable home soon after immigrating.
While the Vancouver Special did its job well during the era, building lots of purpose-built housing quickly and affordably when supply was greatly needed, critics disliked the style, in part because some felt the boxy, purpose-built home didn’t blend well into existing neighbourhood streetscapes. The creative building to accommodate zoning bylaws also opened the door to other massive homes on tiny lots, which met resistance from various communities.
Here is some background reading on the Vancouver Special:
UBC: “A History of the Vancouver Special“.
CBC: “How The Vancouver Special, Once Described As Bland, Holds A Key To Solving B.C.’s Housing Crisis“.
Vancouver Heritage Foundation: “Vancouver Special”
The Toronto Special
Meanwhile, a similar housing type emerged in Toronto during a post-war housing boom to accommodate a rapidly growing population. During the post-war years, much of Toronto’s new housing development focused on the growing suburbs, but development continued in established neighbourhoods.
Typically, these were two or three stacked units, connected by a central stairwell. Units often spanned the width of the building, so they were decently sized. The Toronto Special’s relatively simple design offered several benefits: it was easy to produce at scale, provided multiple homes in a single footprint (great for density), and served as a good solution for urban infill.
The National Housing Act, introduced in the 1950s, changed mortgage lending and made it easier for smaller builders to build multi-unit buildings, which may have sped up construction. These buildings drew on Modernist architecture, which was prominently displayed in earlier city apartments, including Garden Court apartments and Oaklawn Garden: rectangular, boxy forms, broad windows, a simple, unornamented brick facade, and a flat, low-pitched roof.
Beyond the architectural history of this housing style, immigrant builders played a key role in popularizing the design, with specific ethnic groups credited with developing the Toronto Special.
Here is an interesting Spacing.ca article with more in-depth history: “The Emergence Of The “Toronto Special” Modernist Walk-Up Apartments”
Montreal Plex
Take a stroll or drive through Montreal’s urban core; you’ll see the Montreal plex, buildings with units stacked one on top of the next, and, notably, twisty exterior staircases. These plexes, usually low-rise duplexes, triplexes, or, less commonly, quadraplexes, first appeared in Montreal in the mid-19th century to house a growing immigrant population. Later, in the 20th century, as the city’s population grew even faster, builders constructed them more commonly, especially in the urban core, to maximize living space on smaller lots. They were often built in rows, occupying entire streets, sometimes with shared walls, depending on the neighbourhood and the era.
As with other housing types in other cities, the designers of this home tried to navigate bylaws. Rules governed setbacks (there needed to be a green area in front of the home) and limited width. To meet these rules and keep livable space inside, designers moved the staircases to the exterior of the home. Beyond the staircases, these homes are typically narrow and tall, with stone or brick facades and stacked balconies.
Spiral staircases are the most common, but L-shaped and straight staircases were also used.
While this housing type proliferated from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, construction largely halted after 1950 as other housing types gained popularity.
A side note: while the outdoor, iron, winding staircases aren’t always easy to navigate through the seasons, especially in wintry Montreal, they’re iconic. According to this Atlas Obscura article, “The Twisty History of Montreal’s Outdoor Staircases“, these outdoor spiral staircases were named Montreal’s most iconic symbol in a 2012 survey.
Here is more about the history of the Montreal Plex.
Maisonneuve: “Getting to Know the Plex”
Plateau Triplex: “Montreal Plex”
The Winnipeg Cab Over
The Winnipeg Cab Over gained popularity much later than some other iconic Canadian housing types, becoming especially popular in suburban development in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Manitoba from the 1990s through the 2000s. However, some regional builders are reviving its design today.
Like other home styles, though, the design emerged in response to the need for larger-scale, cost-efficient home building. It’s essentially a modified split-level home. Some design features that make the Cab Over instantly recognizable include a fully developed suite, often designated as a bedroom, built over the garage (i.e., the ‘cab over’). The design uses typically unused space over the garage to increase livable indoor space. With the rooms over the garage, the facade is asymmetrical, with a staggered roofline and a sizable front-facing garage.
Stacking the living spaces, rather than building out, makes the home design more efficient.
These homes are bright and light inside, usually featuring open-concept floor plans and vaulted ceilings. The basement sits slightly above ground level, so it has larger-than-average windows that bring in natural light. Visually, the basement often reads as an extension of the main-level living space because of its exceptional brightness and stair placement. Foyers are wide and have lots of space for drop zones without bottlenecking at the entry.
To maximize space, the home typically separates the sleeping quarters from the main living areas, with steps from the foyer leading to the cab-over section (where one or more bedrooms are housed). The main floor often includes additional bedrooms. This design still offers practical benefits today, improving functionality and livability. This home design does well because, although compact, it looks and feels much larger than its actual square footage.
Here is some more background reading from the Winnipeg Free Press: “Head Over Heels“.
Halifax Split Level
Ranch homes were extremely popular in North American suburbs in the mid-20th century. As suburban development sped up, lots got smaller, and ranch-style homes required a comparably larger footprint than other types. As a result, designers got innovative, “raising” the ranch-style home by slightly increasing its height and using staggered levels and well-placed staircases, typically spanning three floors. Homeowners could get significantly more living space from a smaller footprint while still keeping many of the beloved design features of the popular ranch home.
The Halifax split entry is a regionalized variation on the iconic split level. Where the traditional split-entry design is asymmetrical, with staggered rooflines of varying heights and windows aligned with a staggered floor plan, the Halifax version is much more symmetrical, with a boxy design, matched rows of upper and lower windows, and a prominent front entrance, often near the centre. Rooflines are decidedly flatter.
The design became particularly popular as Halifax’s suburban communities expanded through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In places such as Lower Sackville, where residential development was underway to accommodate growing housing demand (for background on the urban planning history and population growth, click here: Early Settlement of Sackville
With decades of experience navigating Toronto real estate, and a personal and professional fascination with all things housing and home, I am here to reflect on housing history to help you build your housing future. I’m here to help!
*Title Image courtesy of Home Network, with thanks. We hold no rights.
Did you enjoy this? Here are some other architecture-related posts for your consideration.
Why Toronto And Its Residents Benefit From Building Multiplex Condos
Buff Brick And Its Role In Toronto’s Housing History
How Mid-Century Modern Apartments Housed The Post War Immigration Boom In Toronto
A Conversation About Corner Store Conversions In Toronto
Exploring Edwardian Residential Architecture In Toronto
Since 1989, I’ve steered my career through a real estate market crash and burn; survived a slow painful cross-country recession; completed an M.E.S. graduate degree from York University called ‘Planning Housing Environments’; executed the concept, sales & marketing of multiple new condo and vintage loft conversions; and guided hundreds of clients through the purchase and sale of hundreds of freehold and condominium dwellings across the original City of Toronto. From a gritty port industrial city into a glittering post-industrial global centre, I’ve navigated the ebbs and flows of a property market as a consistent Top Producer. And I remain as passionate about it today as when I started.
Please consider contacting me at 416-845-9905 or emailing me at Steve@urbaneer.com. It would be my pleasure to assist you.
We’d love to introduce you to our services.
Serving first-time Buyers, upsizers, downsizers, and people building their long-term property portfolios, our mandate is to help clients choose the property that will deliver the highest future return on their investment while ensuring it best serves their practical needs and their dream of “Home” during their ownership.
Are you considering selling? We welcome providing you with a comprehensive assessment free of charge, including determining your Buyer profile, optimizing your return on investment, and tailoring the listing process to your circumstances. Check out How Urbaneer’s Custom Marketing Program Sold This Family-Friendly Home In Riverdale to learn more about what we do!
Consider letting Urbaneer guide you through your Buying or Selling process, without pressure or hassle.
We are here to help!
-The Urbaneer Team
Steven Fudge, Sales Representative
& The Innovative Urbaneer Team
Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage – (416) 322-800
– we’re here to earn your trust, then your business –
Celebrating Thirty-Five Years As A Top-Producing Toronto Realtor
*Did you know we were recently listed as one of The Top 60 Best Toronto Blogs & Websites? And we earned the #5 spot on Feedspot’s Top 30 Toronto Real Estate Blogs & Websites’ List!
Consider signing up in the box below to receive our FREE monthly e-newsletter on housing, culture, and design, including our love for unique urban homes and other Toronto real estate!
*Love Canadian Housing? Check out Steve’s University Student Mentorship site called Canadian Real Estate, Housing & Home, which focuses on architecture, landscape, design, products, and real estate in Canada!