Prefab North Vancouver laneway home is a prototype for sustainable, stylish small-space living
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1,,000-square-foot home showcases modern esthetic and eco-friendly features
Though several have now been built, Modcube was a long time coming. When Krahn founded his firm back in 1994, he fully intended to focus on modular and innovative housing. But demand for this type of offering wasn’t there, at least not yet. So, he went on to create a successful custom home and residential renovation business. Over time, the market caught up, and Synthesis launched the Modcube concept in 2019, aiming to fill a growing niche of affordable, pre-fabricated laneway structures.
By this point, the company had already designed a slew of custom laneway and small homes – and started seeing common threads. “We thought, rather than doing all of these custom, since we know exactly what everybody wants, we’re going to design the perfect floor plan and prefab it,” Krahn says.
“We’re not locked into any one specific prefab company,” adds Krahn. Nor does the contractor need special skills to build a Modcube: “They can do the prep work, dig the hole and put the foundation in, and while they’re doing that, the prefabrication is happening offsite.” By the time the foundation is done, the structure is usually ready to go.
The East 4th laneway home was proof of concept. Synthesis had purchased the 50-foot-wide East Van lot with the goal of building and showcasing its first Modcube. “We got to build the design exactly the way we had intended,” Krahn says. “It’s the quintessential two-level, two-bathroom, two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot laneway home.”
Inside, the home has an airy feel, despite the small footprint. “It was very important for us to design a space that felt bigger than it actually was,” says Krahn.
Light-toned finishes and an open-plan layout on the main floor help achieve this goal. Design choices are also geared to creating an elevated and stylish feel, uncommon in prefabricated homes, says Synthesis senior interior designer Julie Lepper. “Just because it’s modular doesn’t mean that it has to be basic or spec-y,” says Lepper.
Luxury vinyl flooring (Karndean Korlok in Washed Butternut) runs through all of the home’s spaces, including bathrooms, in a durable and waterproof finish that closely resembles oak.
Dual-tone white-and-oak cabinetry adds some visual drama, while a backsplash in white hexagonal porcelain tile brings in some sheen – plus a subtle nod to the hex-shaped Modcube logo. Tiling also runs over the corner to frame a window that looks out to the lane. “The window and the sink having a relationship so you can look outside while you do dishes; that was definitely a design choice,” says Lepper.
As was orienting most of the home’s sightlines toward the back alley, with the aim of creating a neighbourhood feel, says Krahn: “The goal is to have a whole bunch of these [homes] up and down the lane, so the neighbour-friendly atmosphere is really important.” One sign they succeeded? Around 400 people came to the open house. And the home has been rented ever since.
