CENTRE VILLAGE

Multifamily Affordable Housing

Winnipeg, Canada

INTRODUCTI
ON
Centre Village is a housing project
that focuses on the issues of
maximizing density in an urban site
while providing a variety of spaces
and forms to bring together the
feeling of a micro-community.
Composed entirely from compact
modular units, the neighbourhood
provides 25 housing units in a lot
originally intended for 6 singlefamily detached houses while also
providing enough space for a
variety of communal gatherings.
Serving underprivileged families,
Winnipegs Centre Village housing
cooperative utilizes design to help
revitalize a neglected inner-city
neighbourhood and to provide its
residents with a unique setting that
inspires pride and encourages
community-building.

Architects - 5468796 Architecture +

Cohlmeyer Architecture Limited
Location Winnipeg, Canada
Year 2010
Unit Count 25
Eight 1-bedroom
Seven 2-bedroom
Eight 3-bedroom
Two 4-bedroom
Resident Profile Underprivileged families
Total SQ. Footage 15,000 sq ft 1,400 sq m
Financing/Cost - $2.5 Million 1.5 Crores

CONTEXT & COMMUNITY

The project is located directly north of one of Winnipegs major housing districts, the typology
of which is dominated by row housing.
Underprivileged families reside in Centre Village.
This particular type of row housing stretches the entire width of the block and thus provides
the conditions for long narrow housing with streets alternating between the double front
facade and a double back facade of housing program.
Another consequence of the resulting form is a series of intimidating alleyways between
houses that serve little to no use for residents.
Centre Village wishes to go beyond this typology by arranging its units into a dense
composition that minimizes the width and depth of these alleys so as to allow for the creation
of a common courtyard space and a larger common alleyway that can be used both by
pedestrians and vehicles for circulation through the block.

SPACE PLANNING

The lot on which Centre Village was built was at one time an abandoned site in a neglected
inner-city neighborhood that was slated to hold just six single-family homes.
Instead, the project established a micro village of 25-dwellings within six, three-storey blocks
that would be easy to build and maintain.
Rather than cramming all the housing into one block, the firm created a micro village complete
with its own streets and public courtyard. The design encourages community interaction,
getting to know your neighbors and multiple uses for space.

SPACE PLANNING
Two public spaces a throughstreet and a shared courtyard.
The landscaped courtyard offers a
calm and protected place for
children to play, and the new
street is an informal meeting
place.

N
SITE PLAN

Each dwelling has its own

entrance, either at grade or up an
exterior staircase, thus reducing
internal circulation and the size of
the overall building, and also
prompting residents to connect
and get to know one another.

SPACE PLANNING
The final design is based on
simple, 8 x 12 modules
organized on a central spine or
bar.

The sizes of all ROOMS are

based on European standards,
compressing the North American
norm while still producing livable
space and ultimately allowing the
site density required by the
business plan.

Occasionally, the base module is

replaced by a larger 14 x 12 unit
that cantilevers off the main
spine to expand the master
bedroom and living room.

All upper units have their own

rooftop patio, and any second-

SPACE PLANNING

SPACE PLANNING
The ground floor footprint was limited to 475 sq.m. to allow for pedestrian and vehicular
circulation as well as providing areas for leisure.
The second floor footprint was expanded by almost 30% to 610 sq.m. to provide the required
living space for the units. At the same time this expansion provides covered patios and perches
scattered throughout the site for informal protection from the elements.
The third floor footprint is reduced again to under 500 sq.m. which is a response to the need
for natural light to penetrate the site while providing rooftop terraces for every unit.

SPACE PLANNING

The blocks arrangement both defines and

animates two public spaces a through-street
and a shared courtyard that weave the city
through the project and provide amenities for
residents and the surrounding neighborhood.

The landscaped courtyard offers a calm

and protected place for children to play,
and the new street is an informal meeting
place.

SPACE PLANNING
With entries and windows
positioned on all sides of
the blocks, there is no rear
side to this project, thus
improving the street
quality and safety and
security in all directions.
Further, a typical
residence has eight or
more windows on at least
two sides of the building,
providing ample and
varied access to views,
and cross daylight
Each dwelling
has its own
ventilation.
entrance, either at grade
or up an exterior
staircase, thus reducing
internal circulation and
the size of the overall
building, and also
prompting residents to
connect and get to know
one another.

SPACE PLANNING

Deeply set, vibrant orange cowlings around the

windows modulate privacy and views into the
units, granting Centre Village a distinct identity
in the city.

Designed to make the most of space, material

and daylight, the units have rich and playful
compositions made from compact 8'x12'
modules and cantilevered 14 x 12 modules for
larger living areas that offer broader views.

SUSTAINABILITY
The projects main contribution to the ongoing discussion
of sustainability is its innovative approach to an
affordable, yet quality standard of living in both public
and private realms that can be achieved with densified
living.
What was originally six single family house lots were
amalgamated to create the site for 25 homes, the number
of units required by the client. Quadrupling the density
had the potential to fill the entire lot, leaving no shared
community space, breathing room for the units, or even
enough wall area for windows which would have rendered
both the interior and exterior spaces uninhabitable. All
these problems had to be carefully tackled be creating a
very cleverly designed living space.
Careful mixing of the modules resulted in a range of unit
sizes for individuals and families, and proved that less
mass could be built on the site and still accommodate the
required number of units.

MATERIALS
The exterior material of stucco was used
as a blank canvas to allow the complex
massing to read without becoming
overwhelming with added texture.
The windows then being the dominant
feature of both the interior and exterior
composition were, highlighted with
custom welded aluminium cowlings
powder coated white and orange
reflecting the transition between the
interior and exterior through the glazing
threshold.
The materials of the site are a mixture
of concrete, paving stone, wood seating,
and intentional specific areas of
softness through vegetation.