In recent years, a new housing typology has emerged in London that involves the practice of building penthouses on top of existing buildings. Here's a post I wrote back in 2021. This is not the simplest way to build new housing, but there are clear benefits. New housing does get created (however incremental it may be), existing buildings are preserved (which is positive from a sustainability perspective), and housing complexes with maintenance and repair needs have a new way to raise money.

Here's a penthouse example completed in 2023 that was designed by David Kohn Architects for Baylight Properties.

What I think I glean from the plans is that the building's existing elevator and exit stair were extended up into the new penthouse space, and a new internal stair was added within the penthouse. This would have required a great deal of coordination to minimize disruption to the existing building. Presumably, they built the new shaft extension, got everything ready, and then shut down the elevator for the shortest possible period of time to switch everything over. The existing building is only 4 floors, so it's not the end of the world.

As an aside, Baylight Properties has other rooftop projects underway, including the Sky Houses at Ransome's Dock. I also very much appreciate the ethos of the firm. On their website, they clearly state: "Our overwhelming interest has been to combine the harsh realities of business with all the benefits good architecture bring." It sounds a lot like how we think about our approach at Globizen. Maybe it's time we also start looking at some rooftops.

Project photograph by Will Pryce via David Kohn Architects

Plans from David Kohn Architects

It's that time of year again. Monocle just released its annual survey of the most liveable cities in the world.

If you're a regular follower of the magazine and/or its quality-of-life survey, you'll know that North American cities don't generally fare well in this ranking. This year, the only one to appear is Vancouver. You'll also know that there are some usual suspects that appear near the top (here comes the spoiler). This year's top city is Tokyo.

One of its standout features, yet again, is its liveability and orderliness despite being one of the largest urban regions in the world. But there's also talk about some of its grandiose city-building initiatives, one of which includes the new Takanawa Gateway City.

The 13-hectare (32-acre) development is a transformation of a former rail yard in south Tokyo into what is being called a futuristic "global gateway." The megaproject includes retail, office, hotel, residential, and cultural uses, plus a 1.1-kilometre elevated pedestrian promenade that stitches it all together.

There are also autonomous mobility devices called "iino" that actively roam the district and offer pedestrians free, futuristic rides. Here's a video and an image from JapanStation:

We talk a lot on this blog about Tokyo's granular, small-scale urbanism. But obviously the city also builds big, though it's not exactly what you'd find in other cities. For one thing, the development is vertical in a way that is difficult to achieve outside of cities like Tokyo.

Here's a comprehensive walking tour of the district. At 42:02, you'll see a rooftop public space that is extremely well used, especially given that the development only recently opened. I also find it remarkable that so many people in the video have taken their shoes off to use the free, public foot bath.

Could you imagine doing that in your city? It's perhaps a perfect example of how Tokyo miraculously pulls off being both big and liveable.

Cover photo by Tsuyoshi Kozu on Unsplash

It's never a good political look to be seen as helping out, or worse, bailing out developers. Developers are about as popular as cyclists who ride through red lights.

Last week, the feds and the BC government botched this housing announcement when they offered minimal details and said that they would step in to buy vacant condos and turn them into affordable housing. According to CMHC, there are around 4,376 completed condominiums sitting vacant in Metro Vancouver.

The reaction to the announcement was immediate: This is the government overtaxing the housing industry into a crisis, and then turning around and giving it a bailout.

Since then, BC Premier David Eby has acknowledged that maybe they should have worked out more of the details before going public. He also clarified that this is about buying "distressed condos" below replacement cost. No developer will, in theory at least, profit from this program.

My knee-jerk reaction is that the private sector should be left to sort itself out unless you believe the answer is "yes" to one or both of the following questions: (1) Is government intervention necessary to prevent systemic risk and contagion in the market, and/or (2) Should our governments be in the business of owning affordable housing?

I'll leave it to you all to form your own opinions.

Cover photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash