HYAD Place
North Vancouver, BC
Housing for Young Adults with Disabilities (HYAD) is a non-profit society formed by families to provide sustainable housing for their young adults with developmental disabilities. VIA partnered with HYAD in 2007 in the early stages of strategic planning to secure financial assistance from the Government of British Columbia. Raising public awareness through fundraising events, car washes, several public open houses, and VIAVoxes – an information sharing and gathering session of people, VIA helped gain the momentum necessary to bring this prototypical project to the forefront of the community and municipality agendas.
Through facilitating client user group workshops and meeting each HYADian, VIA was able to identify the everyday living needs of these future residents. Within the four-storey wood frame building, there are 16 Level 3 Adaptable Design units and 2 manager suites flanking both the front and back doors. The building also accommodates a lobby/reception office and a communal room with a kitchen, mudroom, storage, and laundry which provides opportunities for interaction and family gatherings that symbolize one large family home.
The architecture allows the use of large windows and glass balconies which express an indoor/outdoor quality to the spaces. Outdoor main floor decking defines living areas off the kitchen and communal rooms. VIA volunteered time to plant the landscaping and provide opportunity to teach the HYADians how to care for their new communal gardens.
