26 King St E | 3 fl | U/C

[ac3r]

Elevate Properties and Neo Architecture are constructing a 3 floor mixed use building at 26 King Street East. Containing commercial space on the ground floor, residential on the upper two and a small rooftop amenity, this project is perhaps the skinniest building project within Waterloo Region (correct me if I'm wrong!) at just over 3 meters wide.

[ijmorlan]

Absolutely amazing that it doesn’t make more sense to combine with the adjacent lot. Definitely a challenge for the architect! But sometimes the greatest creativity comes from grappling with unusual or extreme constraints.

[ac3r]

Absolutely amazing that it doesn’t make more sense to combine with the adjacent lot. Definitely a challenge for the architect! But sometimes the greatest creativity comes from grappling with unusual or extreme constraints.

You clearly haven't seen Takeshi Hosaka's extremely narrow, calm and cute house in Tokyo. It's only a challenge if don't know how to use space! :'P

[jmrappolt]

Ahh! I love quirky buildings like this! :-) This'll be an interesting addition to DTK and I'm excited to see it come together. I also enjoyed the video you posted. It really makes you question how much space we actually need in a home.

[nms]

How does a narrow building like this handle something like an elevator (presumably to meet AODA guidelines) ? I can't see how one could be included anywhere along it's depth without seriously impacting travel through the space.

[BruceAshe]

Is this the same size building that used to be there before the fire?

[Spokes]

This is awesome!

[panamaniac]

How does a narrow building like this handle something like an elevator (presumably to meet AODA guidelines) ? I can't see how one could be included anywhere along it's depth without seriously impacting travel through the space.

A three storey building wouldn't require an elevator, would it?

[SF22]

Oh yeah, I am DEFINITELY hoping they post the proposed floorplans for this one online. I have to know how this is going to look.

[ijmorlan]

Absolutely amazing that it doesn’t make more sense to combine with the adjacent lot. Definitely a challenge for the architect! But sometimes the greatest creativity comes from grappling with unusual or extreme constraints.

You clearly haven't seen Takeshi Hosaka's extremely narrow, calm and cute house in Tokyo. It's only a challenge if don't know how to use space! :'P

I had not! Thank you for that link. Absolutely fascinating. I love the headroom. Other narrow houses I’ve seen are multiple levels but this one feels more spacious — I won’t say larger, but more spacious — because of the high ceiling.

[ac3r]

Yup it's great. This project (26 King) won't have such playful use of space, but it's still interesting. I suppose the main reason that one in the video looks so nice is because the guy (the older Japanese man) is an architect himself so he did the entire design and has the knowledge on how to utilize space and light. The work reminds me a bit of Tadao Ando's designs with the use of simple concrete and utilizing light as the main feature. 26 King is narrow and will be interesting, but nothing like this, sadly.

[ijmorlan]

You clearly haven't seen Takeshi Hosaka's extremely narrow, calm and cute house in Tokyo. It's only a challenge if don't know how to use space! :'P

I had not! Thank you for that link. Absolutely fascinating. I love the headroom. Other narrow houses I’ve seen are multiple levels but this one feels more spacious — I won’t say larger, but more spacious — because of the high ceiling.

Another interesting narrow house, this one in Toronto:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klPfMQR-ohQ

Totally different use of space but also very interesting.

[panamaniac]

Is this the same size building that used to be there before the fire?

Not sure, but I can't recall anything that narrow on the site.

[Chris]

Is this the same size building that used to be there before the fire?

Not sure, but I can't recall anything that narrow on the site.

You got me curious. I just checked Google streetview. I went back to 2009 before the Stage Shop burned down. There was a little shop next to it called Inception that came down after the Stage Shop building. It looked like it was part of the building next to it.

If you scroll through the years it's interesting to see the changes. https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.449627,-8...6656?hl=en

[DK519]

I saw some digging happening here the other day but just assumed it was waterproofing for the foundation next door.