st 7, 1992 —- North Shore News HOME & GARI AN ARTIST'S rendering of the 1992 PNE Prize Home, which features high ceilings, hardwood floors and tots of windows and skylighis. VANCOUVER AR- CHITECT Charles Moorhead, assisted by Marie Nolan, has pushed the limits of modular hous- ing in his design of the sty- lish two-storey 1992 PNE prize home. A modular house consists of separate modules or units that are constructed in a factory. The units are then transported and pieced together like a puzzle at the hous- ‘ing site. Moorhead’s new design ‘‘shows that modular housing doesn’t have to be a 50-foot-long, 10-foot- high box,’’ the architect says. He Stresses the numerous advantages of modular housing: ‘‘It’s a bet- ter-quality product because it’s built in’ a fully controlled en- vironment.’ With construction taking place indoors, the materials aren't vul- nerable to wet or windy weather . conditions, so they are generally in better shape. _ Another advantage is that it takes only about one month io complete a factory-manufactured . : The traditional method of building on-site takes ~ modular home. ‘and kitchen, ‘windows. about four or five months. The prize home is now being constructed by Britco Structures, the Surrey-based manufacturer of portable and modular buildings, at the company’s Agassiz plant. Upon completion, it will be trans- “ported to the PNE fairgrounds and assembled. Foilowing the 18-day fair, it will be taken apart and relocated to the fully tand- scaped lot in. Tsawwassen. The house consists of two sepa- tate wings joined by a. glass- enclosed walkway with a skylight. There are three bedrooms, a fami- ly room, living room, dining room, kitchen, two bathrooms and an attached two-car garage. The house, excluding the garage, is about 1,800 square feet. “We wanted to make it smaller than normal, but give it high- volume rooms, a lot of windows and skylights —— open it up to the outdoors,’’ Moorhead explains. The living room ceiling is 17 ‘feet high, and the bedroom cei!- ings are 13 feet high. There will be hardwood floors through most of the house, including the bedrooms and wood-framed Moorhead predicts that smaller houses are the way of the future. Custom built closet organizer installed or ' Do-it-yourself Mirror Doors Melamine finish Elfa Baskets Wire shelving Accessories Showroom Qpen Mon-Sat. 9-5 CANADIAN CLOSET ‘A family owned business since 1984” 1385 Crown St. NVan. 986-4263. “There is a fairly strong objection in many of the neighborhoods these days to the big house,’’ hé says. He notes that some Lower Mainland municipalities have in- troduced bylaws restricting the size of new single-family housing. ‘“‘And we think that you can © build (the smaller house) in such a way that it’s comfortable and feels spacious with large windows and doors,” he says, adding it’s also more economical for the buyer. GS ARCON General Contractors & Engineers Ty PINE, nS RAVE 2077 PINE uel August 7-31 only! . SECOND TIME AROUNDIE ANTIQUES 4428 Main St, Vancouver Fe (across from McDonalds Restaurant at 29th St) Call 879-2313 BEAT THE HEAT SUMMER SALE ZLEVOLOR’ || MARKI + Built in valance i waterproof fibreglass decking NOW! Do it yourself or installations arranged. Call today for a free estimate <= SHIP-RIGHT |} 984-2090 rR: ONLY! Mosquito Creek Marina, Foot of Bewicke We Design & Build A YOUR Renovation | ; . : | Professionally - : | with Quality & Care SARCON CONSTRUCTION LID. 706 E. Tih Street, North Yencouver, BC. V7L 186 Telephone 986-0663 Fax 986-0525