Brandon Donnelly

2 responses to “Weekend cycle around the city”

1. 

   Deborah Goss

   October 7, 2024

   Beautiful building, would love to see more buildings with balconies. Most often the sense of community is lost in taller buildings, however the balcony spaces made me think of the 1940’s homes with front porches (we live in one!). Neighbours often acknowledge us from the street and approach the porch if deeper conversation ensues…

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2. 

   Michael Gordon

   October 17, 2024

   Thank you for this important question and I highlight the importance of generous balconies and decks on my walking tours and in my course.

   Ideally form follows function and the ‘sculptural’ balcony shapes may add to a building’s unique character but they are problematic from a functional perspective.

   Balconies contribute two important elements to apartment living – livability and solar shading i.e. reducing the need for air conditioning in the summer months.

   Ideally, a balcony has consistent and generous depth. Ideal dimensions offer an opportunity for a table that seats at least four people and space for you to serve your guests plus room for plants and other elements to beautify your home. Deeper balconies also offer more solar shading that is diminished by the triangular and/or curved shape of ‘sculptural’ balconies.

   Also ideally, we are building apartment homes that will work for people for longer periods of their lives and also provide a couple of locations for hosting friends and family – an indoor and outdoor dining area.

   Regrettably, what we see are many tiny to modest-sized apartments and the dining areas are the first to go and all one can offer one’s family and friends is a high stool and a kitchen counter. I call these ‘Eleanor Rigby’ apartments because they appear to be designed for residents who do not have many family or friends to host in their homes and will likely not know their neighbours because the apartment only works for them for an intermediate stage of their lives so residents move in and move out with regularity.

   Building condo’s depends on investors who generally want to invest in a smallish apartment. This is an example of how the supply of homes is mismatched to needs.

   In Vancouver, we amended our zoning by-law to encourage larger balconies and decks. The intent was to achieve larger outdoor spaces and to increase livability and solar shading.

   I attended an open house for a Singapore high rise development and our host noticed the importance of outdoor spaces. Let’s also notice that in Singapore residents settle into their high rise apartment homes for many years.

   In my building, half the residents have ground level patios or on the upper floors, they have decks that have significant depth and dimensions and there is little turnover. I know all my neighbours on my floor which contributes to it feeling like home.

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