Vancouver Special Renovation by Iconstrux Architecture
Chris Doray and Arno Matis from Vancouver, Canada’s Iconstrux Architecture provided a complete redesign for this 1960’s “Vancouver Special” house in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood.
The term “Vancouver Special” refers to an architectural style of houses that were built between roughly 1965 to 1985 in Vancouver. The relatively cheap and easy to build houses were popular with house builders looking to fill the demand for new housing in the fast growing city. So many of the houses were built, and became such a common sight, that they were given the nickname of Vancouver Special.
Although thousands were built, the homes have never enjoyed much love from Vancouver residents for the way they look, and the term Vancouver Special is usually used as a derogatory reference meant to reflect the cheap tackiness that the style is known for. Today, the home’s are all 20 to 40 years old, and many are being torn down or renovated. One of those lucky enough to survive, is this 1960’s Vancouver Special that underwent a complete contemporary renovation.
Read more about the house in an article from the Globe and Mail – here.
See lots more photos of Vancouver Specials – here.
Visit the Iconstrux Architecture website – here.
matt on 02 Feb 2009 at 3:29 pm #
Ridiculously gorgeous. Timeless. Warm. Populist without pandering. LOVE.
Lance on 02 Feb 2009 at 3:49 pm #
A brilliant design. Damn those Canadians and their fabulous design aesthetics. I especially love the stairs and the bedroom. But the homeowners need to saw that foot board off though, it blocks the fireplace and that’s a no-no.
Jason on 02 Feb 2009 at 6:56 pm #
Love the work! The stair treads are cool!
Eric on 03 Feb 2009 at 7:58 am #
Really cool, but what happens if you drop something down behind the stairs?
perry on 03 Feb 2009 at 11:39 am #
trained angora guinea pigs – will fetch your keys & dust at the same time.
nice work. i’ve previously envisioned setting up a company that specializes in ‘vancouver special’ contemporization renos. they’re a blight on the city’s architectural landscape, and for the betterment of society, i believe this to be a noble cause. i’m currently accepting donations for startup costs…
anne on 03 Feb 2009 at 12:14 pm #
It’s a lovely home but there’s absolutely nothing left of the “Vancouver special” part of the home. It would have been nice to see an echo of the previous design, which is part of Vancouver’s architectural history, like it or not.
Silvia Chang on 03 Feb 2009 at 1:08 pm #
Anne,
There’s a lot left of the original Vancouver Special, and it’s really easy to see.
The front door is in the same place, the balcony is in the same place, the windows are in the same place, and the second floor is still slightly cantilevered over the first floor.
What more “echo” do you want?
Silvia Chang on 03 Feb 2009 at 1:14 pm #
If you click the link to the Globe and Mail article about the house, you’ll also read this:
“The original stucco has been painted concrete grey – as much an effort to keep intact some of the “original architectural DNA,” as Mr. Matis puts it, as it was a sly wink and nod to the 1960s ugly duckling.”
Stewart on 03 Feb 2009 at 2:12 pm #
One of the most typical features of a Vancouver Special is the balcony in the front, and they kept the balcony in the front.
This is great work, which does a wonderful job echoing the previous design, while bringing it into the 21st Century. I hope some of the Vancouver Specials in my neighbourhood get renovated as well as this.
Grant on 04 Feb 2009 at 10:51 am #
This house is for sale right now
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=7796286
4 Bedrooms
3 Bathrooms
2500 square feet
$1,898,000
john on 04 Feb 2009 at 11:57 am #
absolutely beautiful, and just the right size. I see the point, however, about wondering what you are supposed to do if something falls underneath the stairs. Maybe under the stairs is the Mother-In-Law’s room ; )
Allan Askew on 05 Feb 2009 at 9:20 am #
Actually, there is access to under the stairs and we left an inch and one half to clean the glass for those with smallish hands. thanks for all the positive comments, Allan.
John on 07 Feb 2009 at 5:12 pm #
I’d love to see more of this in Vancouver!
Allan Askew on 08 Feb 2009 at 10:33 pm #
I think it an obvious thing to do with existing non conforming homes with good square footage above grade. This is a good way to get good contemporary designs into desireable west side neighbourhoods without sacraficing square footage (some zoning restricts the size if one doesn’t build using traditional features. I plan to do more if this market smartens up.
kmwd on 09 Feb 2009 at 11:57 am #
Really lovely.
Evan on 10 Feb 2009 at 2:18 pm #
The fireplaces are fantastic. I was thinking they needed a mantle or something, but then again, that might spoil them.
mel on 16 Feb 2009 at 10:27 am #
I agree with Anne, the essential element of a Vancouver Special has been lost. And although it’s a beautiful renovation the location of the door/windows, etc does not lend it to still be a Vancouver Special…..does a roof in the same place qualify it also? There are many lovely renovated Vancouver Specials around the Westside of Vancouver which still reminisce of the traditional design yet with modern elements.
John on 16 Feb 2009 at 3:53 pm #
mel, nobody is claiming that this house is still a Vancouver Special. They clearly did not want it to be a vancouver special anymore, that was the whole point of doing the project. But saying “there’s absolutely nothing left of the “Vancouver special” part of the home”, is not true either, as Silvia has pointed out, there are a number of typical elements of a Vancouver Special that still exist.
So…it’s not a Vancouver Special anymore, nobody is saying that it is, but it does retain an echo of the original Vancouver Special that it was.
Kosta on 21 Feb 2009 at 11:47 am #
It’s a nice looking home, but I don’t like the harsh right angles. Also, it doesn’t look like a home you could raise a family in (uninviting backyard. Let’s admit, most people are looking for family homes.
With that said, it’s still a hot looking house!
Cindy on 05 May 2009 at 2:43 pm #
I love this design, my husband and I have just put an offer for a 1970’s special. We really hope we get it because your designs have inspired us.
Neil on 12 May 2009 at 3:36 pm #
I would tend to agree Stewart and others. We need to look beyond superfluous finishing details and focus more on the spacial vernacular as a basis for comparison. In this regard, much of original Vancouver Special shines through. One of the great things about the Vancouver Special that lead to its prominence was the large, usable interior space. This has been largely retained, just given a facelift.
I would like to see some wider shots to see how the building relates to its surroundings.
Also how did you get that front guard by the C.O.V.?
Tbo on 10 Aug 2009 at 10:55 am #
Oh who cares if the Vancouver Special-ness of this has been “lost”. There are 50,000 more of those eyesores blanding up our city. This house takes “Dogs playing poker” on velvet and turns it into something more Mondrian.