With our city now so laughably unaffordable, thousands of Vancouverites are stuck imagining wonderful homes instead of living in them. “Spaced” is a record of our minds wandering the world of architecture and design, up and away from the unrewarding realities of shoebox condos, dark basement suites, and sweet fuck all on Craigslist.

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(via) Thai architecture shop Alkhemist built this clever compound in suburban Bangkok for two brothers who wanted to be close to each other while retaining a distance and their individual tastes. One is a professional golfer and the other is a nightclub owner and entrepreneur. Their solution was a divided lot featuring two similarly designed modern houses (albeit with respectively idiosyncratic interiors) joined by a connecting courtyard/pool accessed by sliding doors that open/close both living areas.

It’s admittedly more luxurious than most of the spaces we typically feature in this column; what attracted us to it was the notions of family wanting to stick together and arriving at creative housing solutions and living situations. Family compounds would make a lot of sense here in Vancouver. Living with brethren or – gasp – parents might be anathema to some, but if more than a modicum of privacy could be had in a family collective that would make living easier and more affordable for all, then it makes sense.

Of course the feasibility of the thing would be dependent on how well you got along with your family. It’s obviously not for everyone, but if we could have our way (and city zoning restrictions didn’t exist), we’d scale down something along these lines (the pool is a bit over the top) and build it somewhere urban but out of the way, like on a Franklin Street industrial lot off Commercial Drive just north of East Hastings (ideal address shown at bottom). Your move, Mom & Dad. We’re ready to move in when you are…