Skinny-Dipping Into Laneway Housing

Why builders should take a narrow approach to infill

by Dr. Avi Friedman

Have you ever wondered how narrow a home can be? As cities are being densified and people are moving to the cores, builders are exploring opportunities to build on infill urban sites. One of the prototypes being explored is the narrow home.

Narrow homes were a favourite of builders for centuries. First, the joined units of row housing reduce lot areas and street lengths, which saves on land costs. Second, when attached, the row-house configuration can effectively reduce energy consumption, since heat loss is limited to fewer exterior walls and smaller roof areas. Further, grouping houses is also an effective way to improve construction efficiency.

When homes are built in a row, exposure to natural light is critical. Ideally, each function may have an exposure to daylight, but this often isn’t possible, so prioritization is necessary. The tendency is to locate the kitchen and living area in each of the dwelling’s extremes and, on the sleeping level, to place the bedrooms at either end. On both levels, the centre is occupied by utility and service functions, where natural light is less important.

The design of narrow dwellings requires careful attention to the location and design of stairs between floors. In general, reducing the amount of space allocated to circulation is the objective. The common approach is to use the less-lit areas for movement, which in townhomes would be the axis along the longitudinal wall.

Despite its small width, there are several possibilities for locating stairs and designing circulation in a narrow house. It’s practical to place them near the entrance for fast and easy access to upper levels, whereas a rear location would block natural light.

The location of the stairs determines the layouts of upper or lower levels. Reaching the middle of the sleeping floor or the attic is preferred since it frees the extreme ends for bedrooms. This is less of a priority for a basement floor, where the arrangement of functions is less formal.

The 80m 2 (861 sq. ft.), four-storey building uses split-level floors to create natural partitions and increase the efficiency and use of space. This construction method reduces the need for interior walls, making small rooms feel more spacious. There is a staircase in the back of the house that connects the three upper-most levels, while an additional small, central staircase allows for circulation between the lower floors. To maximize the space, there are open shelves around the stairs and in the kitchen, as well as open piping routes that are both adaptable and easy to maintain.

The oft-asked question is how narrow can the house be? In Tokyo, where such homes are common, you might come across the “1.8m Width House” by YUUA Architects and Associates— built on a site just 2.5 metres wide and 11 metres long—in the Toshima Ward.

As it is difficult to have natural lighting enter such a narrow house, tall windows are used on the building’s front facade, overlooking the street. Towards the back of the home, there are two skylights to illuminate areas where daylight streaming through the main windows cannot reach.

In addition, the stairs are steel-tread open-risers with slender handrails to allow light to filter through. Due to the constraints of the space, the architects thoughtfully chose the materials for the interior in order to to manipulate the sense of space.

The 1.8m Width House demonstrates an innovative layout that provides comfort—physical and psychological— while maintaining the privacy of the home’s inhabitants. It also demonstrates that narrow homes will continue to be a viable urban solution for cities, builders and homeowners.

Dr. Avi FrieDMAn is an architect, professor and social observer. He can be reached at avi.friedman@mcgill.ca.

Originally published in Ontario Home Builder Spring 2019