E44 巷道住宅丨加拿大温哥华丨Imu Chan Architecture

Architects:Imu Chan Architecture

Area:700ft²

Year:2023

Photographs:Lucas Inacio Photography

Manufacturers:Cosentino,Daltile,Excel Woodworking Ltd,Kolbe,Velux

Energy Analysis:DW Energy

Builder:Cypher Developments

structural Engineer:Fast+Epp Engineers

Category:Houses

City:Vancouver

Country:Canada

Text description provided by the architects. E44 Laneway House is the first permanent home for a young couple and their cat. Within 700 square feet (65 square meters), the project responds to the habits and nuances of both human and feline occupants.

By approaching the design from two points of view, the house explores interspecies co-existence: parallel yet distinct routines, privacy and autonomy within a compact footprint, and moments of shared occupation shaped with empathy and practicality. Though modest in size, the project is defined by a series of small, deliberate interventions that accumulate into a cohesive and holistic whole.

Architecturally, the house is conceived as a simple, modern urban cabin organized around a clear parti. Two volumes intersect at a stair: the lower volume accommodates the kitchen and bathroom on a single level, while the higher volume contains the living space below and a sleeping loft above, set beneath a gable roof.

With the exception of the bathroom, spaces unfold sequentially from entry to kitchen, living area, and up the stairs to the loft. Ledges, nooks, and cubbies are integrated throughout for the cat, while storage is embedded within residual spaces and beneath low ceilings. Three skylights bring daylight into the loft, the largest of which opens fully to allow a person to stand comfortably beneath the lift-up glazing.

Conceptually, the project is structured around two lines—representing human and cat—that alternately run parallel and intersect. Their crossing occurs at the stairs, where a slot cut at mid-flight creates a cat-only bypass, providing direct access from the sleeping area to the food source and landing on the kitchen island beyond. This moment of overlap has become a source of intrigue for both occupants.

All millwork and built-ins are custom-designed to maximize space efficiency. The kitchen, less than nine feet wide (2.74 meters), is carefully planned. The bathroom is conceived as graph paper folded into space, with all elements—including the combined shower-soaking tub and vanity—clad in continuous white glazed tile with cornice and corner profiles. A custom handrail visually stitches the lower and upper levels together and is accented in bright yellow.

Completed in summer 2023, the house has since supported a comfortable and harmonious shared life between the cat and her humans.

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