Co-ops, Non-Profits Potential for Housing and Climate Solutions
www.theenergymix.com
As nearly three-quarters of Canadians say non-profit and co-op housing could tackle the country’s deepening housing crisis, experts suggest these solutions could also help combat climate change.
  • rbesfe@lemmy.ca
    0·
    11 days ago

    We need far fewer condos in this country. They’re practically a scam that lures people in with the promise of “equity”. The vast majority of condos have terrible energy performance because first cost is all that the buyer cares about.

    • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
      0·
      11 days ago

      I disagree. The problem is the construction regulations that require buildings of more than x stories to have two staircases per floor. This leads to poor design architecture with small units with no ventilation. Also we don’t need 45 storey condo buildings either. 4-6 storeys can be plenty to increase density in some surrounding neighborhoods.

      • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
        0·
        11 days ago

        If there’s nothing stopping me from cramming more shoebox units in place of that second staircase you let me remove, I will do just that and pocket the margins.

        BTW, my building has two staircases per floor, with 10 1400sqft units per floor, with fine ventilation. It was built before I was born.

        But yes about the 4-6 rises. Even a bit higher should be fine, as long as complexities are kept low.

        • Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
          2·
          9 days ago

          It gives more options to customize layout. Removing the second staircase also removes the need for a hallway all the way through the middle between staircases. Since bedrooms need windows, removing the staircase also opens up space to add 1-2 more bedrooms per floor. Part of the issue with the hallway and 2 stairs is you get a corner unit on each one and everything in between gets just one outside wall. Making a bigger building footprint doesn’t help a lot because the floor area increases more than the wall space(which you need to put windows so your apartment doesn’t feel like a dungeon. Which is why apartments tend to be long and narrow, or sometimes wrapped around a central courtyard.

          I read somewhere about North American vs European apartments, particularly the smaller 2-4 floor/3-4 units per floor ones, and the European ones tended to have a smaller footprint, but more wall space and more practically usable space than the North American designs.