Richmond Infill

A three-storey semi-detached infill on a hillside lot, with four finished levels and a rooftop terrace over the downtown skyline.

A two-unit semi-detached infill built as a single project in Richmond, each half three storeys over a developed basement.

Richmond's established inner-city setting, close to downtown and the 17 Avenue corridor, made efficient use of the hillside lot central to the design. We replaced a single aging bungalow with a pair of mirrored three-storey homes, building vertically to put the best rooms highest: a full-width main floor at street level, the owner's suite on the second, and a third-floor “bird's nest” with wet bar, fireplace and rooftop balcony opening toward the downtown skyline. The two halves share a plan logic but read as distinct addresses from the street, one in white and cedar, the other in charcoal.

Delivering both units together meant the party wall, mechanical stacks, stair cores and roof terrace assemblies had to be resolved as one set of drawings before framing started. The interiors followed the same approach. In 2607, the dropped feature ceiling, appliance rough-ins, fireplace surrounds and open-riser stair with frameless glass guards were coordinated as a single package, so millwork and tile ran to fixed dimensions across all four levels.