The federal government on Friday released about 50 standardized designs for rowhouses, fourplexes, sixplexes and accessory dwelling units across the country.
The Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities said in a release the free designs can help builders “streamline the process from concept to construction, cutting costs and speeding up housing delivery.”
“The catalogue simplifies design, ensures compliance with building codes and helps estimate costs—so homes can be built faster,” said the news release.
The government said the final architectural design packages will be released this spring, consisting of architectural and engineering drawings and specifications; technical guidance on topics such as site considerations and energy modelling; and construction cost summaries for each housing design.
The designs were developed by regional architecture and engineering teams, incorporating principles like adaptability, accessibility, energy efficiency, financial feasibility, and use of regional construction methods and materials.
There are designs for every region of the country. For B.C., the designs were produced by MGA | Michael Green Architecture.
“These standardized designs will help smaller homebuilders cut through the complexity, speeding up the time between concept and construction and lowering costs of building,” said federal Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith in a statement.
The eventual goal is for provinces, territories and municipalities to streamline and fast-track approvals for the standardized designs, which were funded by Budget 2024 to the tune of $11.6 million in 2024-25.
“Accessing federal dollars under the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund is conditional on provinces and territories collaborating with the federal government to support the adoption of standardized designs from the housing design catalogue,” said the government’s release.
At the provincial level, B.C.'s housing ministry released a separate set of free standardized home designs in September 2024.
