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.

————————————————————

(via) This tall, skinny home in Seoul – dubbed ‘Grown House’ by FHHH Friends (the Korean firm that designed it) – would suit just about anywhere in Vancouver where street-facing townhomes make sense, whether that be lower Dunsmuir St. (Coal Harbour) or the West 2nd strip between Cambie St. and Granville Island. We’ve been in similarly narrow, multi-storied digs before in Gastown (there are several on the north side of Alexander St.) and in the Fairview Slopes area. We actually lived in one in Strathcona for many years and can attest to how they regularly force work-outs on their inhabitants — just answering the doorbell can be a seriously lung-puffing task! ‘Grown House’ feels a little slicker and more modern than the ones we’ve seen around town, which is not a bad thing. We like that it would stand out as being unique in a densely populated area (as opposed to being a same-same row-house) and that it appears outwardly impenetrable without being too imposing, like a tower fortress. If it really was a possibility for us to recreate it locally for our own enjoyment, we’d dress the exterior in English ivy and put it and its cool corner windows (and rooftop cat entrance) close to home in a Strathcona laneway where it could loom over and witness in warmth the neighbourhood’s always interesting (to our cat, at least) back alley comings and goings.