This housing project, for BC Housing and Penticton District Society for Community Living, adds vital public house space in Penticton, B.C.

The project consists of two separate structures: a 10-unit, one-storey multi-family building and a five-room group home with 24-hour onsite care. HDR designed the project to meet the standards of the BC Housing Design Guidelines. The design team focused on creating an efficient, compact and carefully considered plan, combined with durable materials, to ensure the design optimizes the budget while providing welcoming, comfortable and supportive living spaces.

The design of the buildings was intended to fit seamlessly into the existing neighbourhood context of single-family homes. Building two separate structures supports this objective; a single building would have resulted in a dominant massing that would have stood out in the community. Having two buildings also creates the opportunity to use slightly different approaches to materiality to generate residences with unique characters.

The 10-unit multi-family facility comprises nine one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit. A common room amenity space includes a kitchen, providing a gathering place for residents with natural light and outdoor views of the surrounding landscape. Each of the apartments has a substantial overhang that creates a covered outdoor area for open-air socializing. Fir siding at the building’s main entry creates a warm, welcoming and highly intuitive entrance experience.

The group home also features wood at the entrance, creating a complementary visual character between the two buildings and establishing a non-intimidating tone. All rooms in the group home are accessible, and the two-bed unit in the public housing facility is also adaptable, capable of accommodating a wheelchair-bound resident.

The buildings include energy-efficient design features to comply with BC Housing’s Step Code sustainable design guidelines. Features include an efficient mechanical system, highly rated building insulation, drought-tolerant landscaping, and durable, low-maintenance building materials. Energy modeling was conducted by an outside consultant to ensure optimized systems that maximize energy efficiency, interior comfort and budget.