Home: a small word filled with enormous emotional depth and breadth. Sure, four walls with a roof may make a house or a condo, but what is it, exactly, that transforms those walls into a home?

The question is so intriguing, Habitat for Humanity even sponsors a contest (found at meaningofhome.ca) where students in Grades four through six share their definition of the perfect home. “Home is an enjoyable, happy place where you can live, laugh, and learn,” says one Grade five winner. Another suggests home is “a secure, cheerful place where you are respected and loved.” Yet a third, unattributed definition found online is “a place of refuge… that tells a story and expresses a person or family’s interests. To create a home requires an emotional connection and sense of belonging.”

This issue, Yosh Kasahara, executive vice president of Alabaster Homes, shares his thoughts on some of the positive, pandemic-driven trends in multi-family design he believes will create homes buyers can enjoy today and far into the future.

Q: Integrating parks and public outdoor gathering spaces into the fabric of multifamily design has increased significantly over the past decade. How has the industry responded when these areas were suddenly off limits?

A: The pandemic has certainly given us a whole new appreciation of outdoor spaces. For condo dwellers who are lucky enough to have a good-sized balcony, it can be as easy as setting it up with plants, comfortable chairs, a table, and perhaps some nice flooring. But there’s an interesting challenge when it comes to townhomes — especially in Vancouver where skyrocketing land prices continue to push many young families and first-time buyers farther afield or out of the market altogether. For the developer, rising prices plus smaller land parcels mean many new projects simply can’t include a communal courtyard or large garden. So often people tell us they want to stay in the city because they love the schools and amenities, but they can’t afford a 1,500-square-foot townhome with nowhere they can be outside. One creative solution is a private, rooftop deck — something we’re incorporating into almost all of our Westside Vancouver townhomes. Effectively, it takes previously unused square-footage and gives you a generously sized, private place for a garden or outdoor lounge.

Q: Are there specific design changes required for a rooftop deck?

A: Traditionally, townhouses use a deep and narrow configuration with three bedrooms up. But if you rethink that configuration so there’s a single-level, two bedroom unit on the ground level with a two-level, wide and shallow unit above, you can add a rooftop deck and suddenly you’ve got a beautiful, highly usable outdoor space that’s completely private. The reduced number of stairs also makes these interior layouts far more functional, so a slightly smaller footprint feels just as spacious as a bigger, more expensive unit. Suddenly that Vancouver townhome becomes more realistic.

Q: During the past year and a half, lockdowns have also left many people scrambling to figure out how they can efficiently work from home and still preserve a professional image. What’s the number one design trend that meets this new need?

A: A dedicated room that allows you to keep work and personal time separate. Pre-pandemic, it was okay to set up your laptop on the kitchen or dining room table. But now, when most meetings are at home via Zoom, you want your clients to see a nice painting or bookshelf — not the kitchen sink.

Q: So how do you achieve that separation, especially if it’s a smaller home, in a market where skyrocketing prices are already pushing many buyers farther and farther east just to be able to afford a home that’s bigger than a shoebox?

A: Again, the answer comes from thinking outside the box. As floorplans become increasingly efficient, we’re finding ways to do things like tuck a workstation under the stairs or on a landing. And in some, larger developments, co-working rooms as part of the amenities are beginning to show up more regularly. Like many people, I don’t think we’ll ever completely return to the old way of working from the office five days a week, so these are positive changes for everyone.

For information about Alabaster Homes current Westside Vancouver projects, visit alabasterhomes.ca.