Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Design Competition
WINNERS ANNOUNCED!Thank you to everyone who registered for this competition. |
➪ Learn more about building an ADU with pre-reviewed plans here
First Place Winners |
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Carriage House: |
Elevated Cottage: |
Front Yard ADU: |
Kâmwâtan (a quiet place) |
Little Peak |
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Second Place Winners |
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Carriage House: |
Elevated Cottage: |
Front Yard ADU: |
"Peak"aboo Lookout |
Kingfisher Cabin |
"No Name" |
Third Place Winners |
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Carriage House: |
Elevated Cottage: |
Front Yard ADU: |
Thuja |
Tsuga |
The Nook |
Contest Information (now closed)
The District of Squamish is hosting an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Design Competition. The competition is one of the actions outlined in the Squamish Housing Action Plan Overview and is funded by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation Housing Accelerator Fund, a Federal grant program that was awarded to the District of Squamish in January 2024.
The purpose of the design competition is to raise awareness around the benefits of ADUs as one way to address Squamish’s housing shortage and encourage housing variety and affordability. The design competition also aims to inspire homeowners with examples of ADU’s that can be built across the community in a range of locations and situations. In addition, the intention is to reflect potential ADU opportunities with more relaxed zoning regulations in line with guidelines recommended by the Province of British Columbia as part of the small-scale multi-unit housing initiative.
There are three design competition categories:
In addition to receiving a cash award, the winners of the competition will be credited with the design of Pre-Reviewed Plans which are recognized as being appropriate for use in specific neighbourhoods of Squamish, depending on the flood characteristics and Flood Construction Levels. Building permit applications that are submitted for Pre-Reviewed Plans will be placed in a priority sequence ahead of other ADU and suite applications; in the future, a reduction of building permit fees will also be considered for these plans. These Pre-Reviewed Plans will be identified in District information regarding ADUs as well-thought-out designs for Squamish properties; the intention will be to connect property owners with designers of Pre-Reviewed Plans who will have the opportunity to sell those plans to a broader customer base.
First, second, and third place winners for each of the three categories will be selected by members of the District of Squamish Advisory Design Panel on June 20, 2024.
First, second, and third place designs will be identified as Pre-Reviewed Plans and promoted as award winning designs, both through District of Squamish social media announcements related to the design contest, and within District of Squamish information about ADUs. Members of the public will have access to contact information for the designers of the Pre-Reviewed Plans for each of the categories.
Ownership of the Pre-Reviewed Plans will be retained by the designers, who will be able to sell the designs to members of the public interested in building those ADUs.
Download the ADU Design Competition Brief
The contest is restricted to BC residents. Non-Canadian citizens who live in BC can participate.
Renderings and visuals may be included in the narrative package.
There is not a page maximum on the narrative package.
Annotations to the plans are permissible.
Yes, you can submit to all categories.
There is no cap on the number of proposals, and if you are not able to submit a design there is no penalty.
District staff would appreciate advance notice of what categories you intent to submit to; but it is not a requirement.
There is not a page maximum on the narrative package.
A level of detail suitable for a Development Permit application is expected for submission to the design contest. Building Permit level drawings are not expected, nor is energy modeling.
Applicants may submit multiple designs for each category.
Submission details are outlined in the design brief pdf.
There is no suggested scale; however, all plans should be to scale and clearly and fully dimensioned in metric.
Yes, it is appropriate to submit previous designs if they align with the design competition guidelines.
Construction drawings will not be required as part of this contest.
Yes
ADU design must meet BC Building Code regulations. There are not zoning bylaw restrictions on proximity of ADU to a principal building.
The setback requirements are from the property boundaries, irrespective of the location of the principal building on the property. The orientation of the principal building must remain as depicted as it represents a typical orientation of an existing home in areas of Squamish.
This is correct. The Carriage House is expected to be located above a garage. Front yard ADUs may be located above a garage, but it is not a requirement.
Structural engineering is required when constructing dwelling units out of sea cans.
No, there is no minimum distance between ADUs and principal dwellings in the Zoning Bylaw; however, designs must meet BC Building Code requirements. The rear yard setback is included for context but is likely not relevant to this category.
Mechanical rooms can not be built below FCL.
No, open-air roof deck do not count toward gross floor area.
No, there is no minimum ADUs size in the Zoning Bylaw; however, designs must meet BC Building Code requirements.
Yes, a door can be located on the side of a carriage house.
A carriage house or elevated cottage could be built within side yards, provided the lot configuration allows for the design to meet setback requirements. There are no specific allowances as part of this design competition.
Storage areas are not permitted below FCL.
Demonstrate that the ADU design meets the minimum prescriptive requirements of the BC Building Code 2024. We do not require a report from an energy advisor.
Demonstrate that the ADU design meets the minimum prescriptive requirements of the BC Building Code 2024. We do not require a report from an energy advisor.
Please submit a projected cost per metre square and total project cost. Although the design brief did not originally stipulate a standard costing mechanism, this is a good suggestion and we encourage applicants to utilize the Altus Group 2024 Canadian Cost Guide.
Please base permitting costs on the current fee structure.
Please submit a projected cost per metre square and total project cost. Although the design brief did not originally stipulate a standard costing mechanism, we encourage applicants to utilize the Altus Group 2024 Canadian Cost Guide.
Interpretation of this criteria will be up to the judges; however, the intent is that an appealing design will provide visual interest to the area.
Landscaping is not expected to be a consideration in judging and is indeed a separate scope. However, if depicting landscaping, it would be appropriate to depict FireSmart landscaping elements.
The plans will be considered ‘’pre-reviewed’ rather that “pre-approved”.
Plans will be displayed on a dedicated webpage on Squamish.ca. References to ADUs on the Squamish website will promote the award winning pre-reviewed plans and include a link to the page of award winners. In addition, the page will be promoted across social media channels at the conclusion of the design contest.
The intent is to make the entire submission package available; however, the applicant can request which items are and are not made available.
The intention is to keep the award-winning plans available on the website for the foreseeable future, provided the designer is supportive. There are no plans to remove the plans at a given date.
Staff would be happy to update the costing information if submitted by the designer.
Staff intent to consider opportunities for reduction of fee permits in the year after the contest.
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Comments
Where can we see the Winners? Have the winning designs been released? Aug 1, 2024, 7:28 PM (3 months ago)
It looks like the Winners were supposed to be announced a month ago at the end of June. I haven't seen anything yet. Is there going to be a press release that will anonunce the outcome of the competition?
Communications Oct 23, 2024, 6:06 PM (19 days ago)
Good afternoon,
Thank you for sending in your comment regarding the District’s ADU competition. As you noted, unfortunately we were experiencing some delays with our release process, however, we are happy to advise that the winners were announced yesterday! Please find the release here: https://squamish.ca/yourgovernment/news/winners-selected-for-the-districts-accessory-dwelling-unit-design-competition/. The winning designs are now available to view on our website here: https://squamish.ca/yourgovernment/projects-and-initiatives/housing/adu-design-competition/ . If you are interested in purchasing a design, please contact the architect or designer noted on the design information.
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