Decoding Density

Missing Middle and Mixing Middle housing forms, the subjects of Urbanarium’s previous ideas competitions, are becoming mainstream policies. Urbanarium’s next competition again explores missing middle housing, this time at the high end of that density range. 

Decoding Density is an international invitation to imagine new possibilities for six- storey plus apartment forms by addressing two of the most existential problems of today: climate change and housing affordability. Submissions will challenge the constraints of code and other regulations to do so. 

The six-storey wood frame apartment building is becoming a standard for municipalities in the Metro Vancouver region for increasing density. And yet, designers exploring these apartment forms find that code and other regulations, combined with financial factors, generate boxes that are not affordable, do not address climate change, and struggle to offer outdoor space, light, and cultural, communal and family-orientated features.