1.5 ConEd Learning Hours
1.5 AIA LU

This session offers a first-hand history of the creation, implementation, and evolution of Toronto's laneway housing policy. Craig Race and his team at Lanescape began advocating for laneway housing in 2014. Through collaboration with Evergreen and City Council, an as-of-right policy was enacted in 2018 that allows Torontonians to build fully detached second homes through a fast, efficient, and affordable approvals process. To date, Toronto has approved more than 200 laneway suites. Learn about the size, shape, challenges, and delights of this new typology that is putting everyday homeowners in the driver’s seat of neighbourhood infill development.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the history of laneway housing in North America.
2. Understand how architects created and lobbied for the new zoning bylaws.
3. Understand the practical and theoretical limitations and possibilities of zoning and construction for laneway houses.
4. Understand the housing market and planning influences on Toronto and its new and forthcoming housing typologies.

Speaker:

Craig Race, OAA, LEED AP (co-founder, Lanescape)

Craig Race’s design process focuses on environmental and contextual sensitivity. His skill in crafting buildings that fit sensitively into their surroundings has engendered a passion for laneway development. In addition to his role at Lanescape, Craig operates an architecture and development practice focused on environmentally conscious, contextually sensitive residential design. It was during his time on the West Coast that laneway housing was conceived as a legitimate concept, allowing Craig to become familiar with the advantages and challenges of this emerging housing typology.