Platforms for Life is a modular system for net-zero affordable housing
An innovative design-to-delivery system that tackles pressing issues in the North American housing sector
Last updated: January 01, 2024 Vancouver, BC, Canada
The system is part of a longer study in affordable net zero homes, conducted by Vancouver-based design firm LWPAC (Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture) and Intelligent City, a leading developer in Canada.
LWPAC’s approach favors compressed laminated timber (CLT) as a material of choice to create modular units that incorporate diversity of use and form and are assembled into larger, more complex built forms.
Pre-fabrication and parametric design serve as tools to produce these variations that permit a response to site and programme, while enhancing speed and reducing cost simultaneously. In place of the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ model, this adopts a scalable, bottom-up approach. The system’s proprietary software enables participatory design and mass customization of apartments.
Global finalist entry 2018 – Stacked
Our research driven in-house parametric software engine allows for the exploration of a multiplicity of scenarios, providing feedback for liveability, urban design, environmental performance, systems integration, and critical project data.
Building livable and inclusive communities
The housing units can range from micro-suites for individual occupancy to larger units for extended families. This flexibility in internal layouts empowers people to take charge and manifest their own vision of urban living.
The system uses a variety of distinct clusters developed through generations of prototypes. The units are stacked in efficient hallway-free layouts, fitting up to 50% more homes in the same footprint as standard housing models.
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