As many of you know, the Ontario Building Code requires multi-residential buildings over two storeys in height above grade to have more than one means of exiting the building. This typically means two exit stairs.

If you'd like to build something more ambitious than this, you generally have two options. One, you could design your second-floor homes to be multi-storey. I'm not a building code expert, but I've seen architects like Craig Race (and others) do this without triggering the requirement for a second exit.

Your second option is to apply for what's called an "alternative solution." This is basically a way of saying to the building department, "Hey, my design deviates from the standard prescriptive method, but it still achieves an equal or greater level of safety, performance, and functionality, so you should approve it anyway."

Last year, the City of Toronto sent a message that it was going to be more open to single-egress alternative solutions. It commissioned a report that looked at the feasibility of relaxing egress requirements for buildings up to four storeys and published a guide to help builders prepare these proposals. The goal was and is to encourage more missing middle housing.

So has it worked?

This past week, Pamela Blais shared her experiences on Twitter. She is trying to build a three-storey sixplex (Part 9 of the Ontario Building Code) with a single stair, so she submitted an ASP. It included:

• Fully sprinklered building

• Widened exit stair (1200mm vs. 900mm)

• Expanded landings (1650mm)

• Stairwell skylight for smoke exhaust

• Improved fire ratings (structure, suite separation, exits, and balconies)

• Balcony in every home for refuge or direct exit

And the city's response was: "Nope. This does not meet the required performance levels."

I can also share that we have had meetings with code consultants regarding the feasibility of doing a single stair in a six-storey building and the guidance we received was that there's no way an ASP would be approved. We would be wasting our time and money. All of this should make it clear that we're not there yet.

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your experience. As one commenter on Twitter said: "A noble quest you are on."

We just checked into our "aparthotel" in Paris. This is the last leg of our trip, and one that will incorporate some work-related meetings.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I plan on doing a comprehensive review of our accommodations, since this is a real estate asset class that I'm increasingly interested in. But before doing that, I'd first like to "live" here for a few days. So in the interim, here's a photo of the fire safety plan for our building that some of you may find interesting:

The building has 6 floors (remember, in Europe, you typically need to add 1 to the top floor to capture the ground level). The vide space in the middle of the floor plate is actually a courtyard that is open on one side. So graphically, these drawings aren't entirely accurate. But the two things that are most noteworthy to me are the small floor plate (only 2-3 rooms per floor) and the single exit stair.

As many of you know, this would not be allowed in Canada.

As many of you know, the Ontario Building Code requires multi-residential buildings over two storeys in height above grade to have more than one means of exiting the building. This typically means two exit stairs.

If you'd like to build something more ambitious than this, you generally have two options. One, you could design your second-floor homes to be multi-storey. I'm not a building code expert, but I've seen architects like Craig Race (and others) do this without triggering the requirement for a second exit.

Your second option is to apply for what's called an "alternative solution." This is basically a way of saying to the building department, "Hey, my design deviates from the standard prescriptive method, but it still achieves an equal or greater level of safety, performance, and functionality, so you should approve it anyway."

Last year, the City of Toronto sent a message that it was going to be more open to single-egress alternative solutions. It commissioned a report that looked at the feasibility of relaxing egress requirements for buildings up to four storeys and published a guide to help builders prepare these proposals. The goal was and is to encourage more missing middle housing.

So has it worked?

This past week, Pamela Blais shared her experiences on Twitter. She is trying to build a three-storey sixplex (Part 9 of the Ontario Building Code) with a single stair, so she submitted an ASP. It included:

• Fully sprinklered building

• Widened exit stair (1200mm vs. 900mm)

• Expanded landings (1650mm)

• Stairwell skylight for smoke exhaust

• Improved fire ratings (structure, suite separation, exits, and balconies)

• Balcony in every home for refuge or direct exit

And the city's response was: "Nope. This does not meet the required performance levels."

I can also share that we have had meetings with code consultants regarding the feasibility of doing a single stair in a six-storey building and the guidance we received was that there's no way an ASP would be approved. We would be wasting our time and money. All of this should make it clear that we're not there yet.

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your experience. As one commenter on Twitter said: "A noble quest you are on."

We just checked into our "aparthotel" in Paris. This is the last leg of our trip, and one that will incorporate some work-related meetings.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I plan on doing a comprehensive review of our accommodations, since this is a real estate asset class that I'm increasingly interested in. But before doing that, I'd first like to "live" here for a few days. So in the interim, here's a photo of the fire safety plan for our building that some of you may find interesting:

The building has 6 floors (remember, in Europe, you typically need to add 1 to the top floor to capture the ground level). The vide space in the middle of the floor plate is actually a courtyard that is open on one side. So graphically, these drawings aren't entirely accurate. But the two things that are most noteworthy to me are the small floor plate (only 2-3 rooms per floor) and the single exit stair.

As many of you know, this would not be allowed in Canada.