Conrad Speckert
@conradspeckert.bsky.social
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Building code, multiplexes, missing middle and mid-rise housing <www.singlestair.ca>
A truly ridiculous floor plan, the result of Chicago not allowing single exit stair design and not allowing scissor stairs (interlocking separate enclosures).
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2 days ago
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Jason Cox
4 days ago
Stockholm’s pedestrian fatality rate per 100k is 0.45. The U.S. is over 5x that. Like much of the EU Stockholm uses standards of 9.8’ for city street lanes and allows for 10.8’ in bus and truck corridors. The U.S. sets a 26’ minimum width for streets and common lane widths are 12-14’.
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Jason Cox
5 days ago
Three different kinds of illegal stepping out of our Stockholm apartment.
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William Skudlarek
20 days ago
After the Grenfell fire, England changed its building codes to cap single-stair buildings at just 18 meters (or ~60 ft) high. Their own regulatory cost analysis found that if they capped it at 30m instead, it would achieve 90% of the benefits while cutting the overall societal cost by almost half.
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Stephen Jacob Smith
21 days ago
E24-24, my proposal to raise the IBC’s single-stair apartment building height limit from three stories to four, has passed the final membership vote, and will now officially make it into the 2027 IBC 🎉
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Chris Higgins
24 days ago
New page on switchgear (electrical infrastructure for larger buildings) just dropped. it is a great explainer on what the hardware is and what to expect.
app.bchydro.com/accounts-bil...
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BC Hydro-owned switchgear
https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/electrical-connections/connection-requests/design/bc-hydro-owned-switchgear.html#When-is-switchgear-required--and-who-pays
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Stefan Novakovic
3 months ago
In Canadian Architect, I write out 10 case studies of housing innovation in Canada, from single-stair multiplexes to Indigenous-led city-building and rapid-assembly panelization.
www.canadianarchitect.com/housing-in-a...
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Housing in Action
Sustainable, affordable, high-quality housing requires experts who can translate policy and regulations into built form—and who can challenge those policies when they present technical barriers to pro...
https://www.canadianarchitect.com/housing-in-action/
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Alex Taliadoros
3 months ago
The Council just passed legislation to allow single-stair and single-entrance apartment buildings up to six stories in DC. Allowing single-stair buildings: âś… Reduces housing construction costs âś… Enables housing on narrow city lots âś… Facilitates more family-sized units The bill passed unanimously.
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Jonathan Berk đźŹ
3 months ago
"The kinds of multifamily we build most of, where many homes share a common internal corridor, is actually vastly more dangerous than single-stair buildings which are smaller and have fewer residents per corridor or stair."
commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/the-...
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The growing case for single-staircase buildings as one answer to our housing crisis
Nearly every other state in New England — Vermont dating back decades, and Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut more recently — has either changed or committed to changing its building code to allow ...
https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/the-growing-case-for-single-staircase-buildings-as-one-answer-to-our-housing-crisis/
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Stephen Jacob Smith
4 months ago
Single-stair gets the New York Times treatment.
@holz-bau.bsky.social
reminds us why they call the last line the kicker:
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/b...
(gift link)
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Stefan Novakovic
4 months ago
In the second issue of EXPO, I look at the history of the condominium in Canada. Why did condos become the primary mode of delivering multi-unit urban housing? Why did we build so many? And what happens now that nobody's buying?
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An Architectural History of the Condominium — EXPO the magazine
As pre-construction sales and project launches slow to a trickle, is the end of Canada’s condo era in sight? And what comes next?
https://www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/condominium-architectural-history
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Mike Eliason
4 months ago
'Fully embracing the single-stair model would improve life in Toronto & beyond by enabling the design of buildings w/ abundant natural light, cross-ventilation, & more generous layouts, and by also supporting the formation of stronger, intergenerational social bonds'
www.kpmb.com/insight/how-...
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Single-stair design for multigenerational living
KPMB’s entry to the National Single-Stair Architectural Design Competition establishes a model for multigenerational living on small urban lots.
https://www.kpmb.com/insight/how-single-stair-design-unlocks-small-lot-development-and-multigenerational-living/
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Shawn Micallef
5 months ago
Doug Ford said it had to close because the roof was unstable. Massive snow dump, roof just fine. Doug Ford lies.
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Stephen Jacob Smith
5 months ago
Interesting floor plan that shows what mitigations are possible that are not a second stair or sprinklers (neither of which are common in new apartment buildings in France). The lower floors have a short double-loaded corridor with five units of up to 4BR, which I...
divisare.com/projects/548...
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Updated to include changes in City of Vancouver, recent change from 16 to 20 storeys in Sweden, and permissions for existing buildings in Nova Scotia.
secondegress.ca/Jurisdictions
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Jurisdictions — The Second Egress: Building a Code Change
Jurisdictions Cite this image: Speckert, C. (2022). Jurisdictions: Maximum Permitted Height for Single Stair Buildings [Infographic]. McGill...
https://secondegress.ca/Jurisdictions
6 months ago
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Fascinating 2008 paper on "Redefining fire safety in Swedish high-rise buildings" speaks to risk-informed design of single exit stair high-rise buildings in Sweden, featuring the Turning Torso (54 storeys, residential/offices) and the Kista Science Tower (31 storeys, offices)
wuz.se/wp-content/p...
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https://wuz.se/wp-content/publications/SFPE2008.pdf
6 months ago
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Joe Cohen
6 months ago
A new bombshell modeling report by the State of Minnesota has found that small single-stair buildings with smoke-separated stairwells are likely to be SIGNIFICANTLY SAFER than typical double-loaded apartment buildings
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Today, the City of Vancouver approved the code change to the Vancouver Building By-Law (VBBL) to allow Single Exterior Exit Stair (SEES?!?) for up to 6 storeys in height, as well as accommodating scissor stair layouts for 6 storeys of limited area by reducing the minimum distance between exits.
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New Vancouver building rules aim to improve safety and housing supply
Vancouver approves new space-saving stair designs and Abandoned and Vacated Buildings By-law.
https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/new-vancouver-building-rules-dec-2025.aspx
6 months ago
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Uytae Lee
7 months ago
Excited to share a new video I produced with Urbanarium on their Decoding Timber Towers competition, which challenged teams to design 8–20+ storey buildings out of wood! Check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ42...
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Did these designs crack the code to wood towers?
YouTube video by About Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ42KhybIUk
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The Mid-rise Pattern Designs endorsed by the Government Architect of New South Wales (Australia) provides a catalogue of small lot and corner lot apartment building designs of 4 to 7 storeys in height. Take a look at the floor plans and renderings.
www.planning.nsw.gov.au/government-a...
7 months ago
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Stephen Jacob Smith
7 months ago
Somebody in the audience pointed out something that I didn’t know, which is that Queensbridge Houses, the largest NYCHA project in the city (and thereby largest public housing complex in North America), is single-stair.
platform-affordable-dwelling.bk.tudelft.nl/database/201...
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"Although corner stores may seem a trivial issue, allowing them near where people live can make a neighbourhood more pleasant and, well, convenient. But antiquated zoning laws make them illegal in most neighbourhoods of Canada..."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
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Globe editorial: Toronto shuts the door on the corner store
City council’s wrongheaded limits on convenience stores go against what makes cities great, not to mention the free market
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-toronto-shuts-the-door-on-the-corner-store/
7 months ago
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“The era of shoebox condos is over” in the Globe and Mail today - a feature on single stair: ”Yet with features such as sprinklers, smoke-sealed doors and more reliable fire alarm systems, mid-size apartment buildings can be just as safe...”
www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
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The era of the shoebox condo is over. Here’s how Canada can build livable apartments
Canada needs livable apartments to help fix the housing crisis. To do that, it must change the rulebook for both condos and rentals
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-livable-apartments-condos-rentals-rulebook-housing/
8 months ago
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Stephen Jacob Smith
8 months ago
Fascinating article. This really stood out to me: smaller cars are more popular in Canada than in the U.S., but due to Transport Canada tying its safety standards to the U.S., Canada gets stuck with our huge cars instead of smaller European models. I wonder if the same is true of U.S. cities 🤔
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Michael Andersen
8 months ago
I’m at the launch of Oregon’s design competition for sunlight suite buildings - neighborhood-scale mulifamily buildings designed around one central staircase. “This is one of those innovations whose time has come,” says Gil Kelley of
@1000oregon.bsky.social
.
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Julian Frost
8 months ago
Single-stair buildings up to 6 stories are legal in Baltimore City! Headed to Mayor Scott's desk for signature.
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This pilot project for SES building design is also featured here. Others of similar configuration have been accepted in Vancouver, Edmonton and Hamilton.
singlestair.ca/Office-Ou
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8 months ago
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Sean Jursnick
9 months ago
Winner of Billings Architectural Association's 2025 Single-Stair Housing Competition by Trae Schwenneker. The competition focused on urban infill in Downtown Billings, MT. The winning project honors the historic brick architect of Montana Avenue w/ ground-floor retail & four upper levels of condos.
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Our team placed 2nd in the Urbanarium "Decoding Timber Towers" architectural ideas competition (1st place to
@moriyamateshima.bsky.social
) with our 20-storey mass timber tower featuring a compact elevator and exit stair core, exposed ceilings, prefab balconies and a balanced mix of 1 to 4 bed homes!
9 months ago
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Stephen Jacob Smith
9 months ago
Pew finds something that everybody in codes and standards knows but few will say out loud: we apply far stricter fire safety standards to apartments than to houses.
www.pew.org/en/research-...
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab
9 months ago
“Modern apartments have a fire death rate … six times lower than older apartments… (or) single-family homes…” Aka why new single stair flats would be among the safest buildings in your city.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-bu...
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Why Building Modern Apartments Can Solve the Housing Shortage and Improve Fire Safety
State and local policymakers across the country are exploring ways to expand housing options as communities face a persistent shortage that has driven costs to record highs. One way to close the gap i...
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-building-modern-apartments-can-solve-housing-improve-horowitz-yptje?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via
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Sean Jursnick
9 months ago
Modular, mass timber, and single-stair This workforce housing project in Montana maxes out the current IBC code limitations on single housing with a 10,000 sf floor plate and 8-bed units that each feature shared living, kitchen, and laundry.
www.idcubedmodular.com/blank
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Bobby Fijan
9 months ago
This comparison shows the price of putting an internal garage on a rowhouse Both of these rowhomes are ~16' wide Left: 2BR+Den/3BA Right: 4BR/3.5BA So the cost is losing TWO bedroom.
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Visited two of my favourite Point Access Blocks (single stair apartment buildings) in Berlin… E3 on Esmarchstrasse in Prenzlauerberg (encapsulated mass timber, noncombustible exterior stair) and Walden 48 co-op housing project nearby in exposed mass timber and treated wood cladding.
9 months ago
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Joe Cohen
9 months ago
Why are single-stair buildings actually SAFER than two stair buildings in some circumstances? It seems counter intuitive… obviously, more redundancy is better, right?
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Joe Cohen
9 months ago
Important TOMORROW: The LA City Council is going to vote on whether to legalize single stair buildings. Opponents have launched a disinformation campaign, and we need people to give public comment in support. Will you be joining me tomorrow at 10am in City Hall?
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Sean Jursnick
9 months ago
Design study comparing single-stair vs multiple stair egress on a small 5,500 SF lot in Denver: (L) double-loaded corridor •71% efficiency •(4) units (R) single-stair •87% efficiency •(4) dual-aspect units
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More Neighbours Toronto
10 months ago
Week 2 On a tiny corner lot in Boston, Condor Street Housing shows how much a single stair can do. A small elevator makes every unit barrier-free, linked by a short corridor to meet code. Even on one of the tightest sites, the plan delivers safe and accessible homes.
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DC YIMBYs
10 months ago
Behold the power of single stair
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Jason Thorne
10 months ago
My first Starter Pack! The Canadian urbanism and planning community on here is growing. Give these folks a follow. Some well known faces … and some you should get to know! (please re-post!)
go.bsky.app/AEYL7FZ
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Stephen Jacob Smith
11 months ago
I had a good conversation with Joe Kelly on his Mass Construction Show podcast about single-stair. It’s for construction/code/fire folks, so it was more technical than most.
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The Case for Single Stair Buildings w/ Stephen Smith
Mass Construction Show · Episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fbSJCEYdY720FAzIx56Qd?si=o7B6erOKSc6gyUmMZKFWIw
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Stephen Jacob Smith
11 months ago
A new state has joined the single-stair club: New Hampshire now allows four stories of multifamily, four units per floor, with a single stair. And it’s the cleanest code section there is – same conditions as for three stories.
www.centerforbuilding.org/trackers?tra...
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Center for Building in North America
The Center for Building is a non-profit that conducts research on building codes and advocates for reform in North America.
https://www.centerforbuilding.org/trackers?tracker=new-hampshire§ion=single-stairs
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Joe Cohen
11 months ago
LA's City Planning department thinks single stairs would be great for Los Angeles:
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Phil
11 months ago
add a skeleton here at some point
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Oh The Urbanity!
11 months ago
Greater Toronto got its Greenbelt in 2005. It took 20 years for the City of Toronto to partially legalize sixplexes. I think, if you want a greenbelt, you need to legalize substantial density *first*. Not just sixplexes. Single-stair mid-rises everywhere (high-rises around all subway stations).
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Yesterday, Laurence Holland and Kevin Bridgman of KPMB Architects wrote an article on the principles of the Downsview Urban Design Guidelines... They note: "If Canadian building codes are reformed to permit single-stair egress up to six floors,..." (see thread)
www.kpmb.com/insight/the-...
11 months ago
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Polling Canada
11 months ago
"Canada must remove barriers with the European Union to more deeply integrate Canada's economy with the EU in order to reduce our dependence on the US" 🟢 Agree: 85% 🔴 Disagree: 12%
open.substack.com/pub/canadian...
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As U.S. Relations Sour, Canadians Seek EU Alignment
Vast majority of Canadians support deeper economic ties with the European Union
https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianpolling/p/as-us-relations-sour-canadians-seek?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=29wren
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Would someone like to guess what all these Spanish apartment buildings have in common that makes them illegal to build in most of North America?
11 months ago
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Connor Stein
12 months ago
Single stair Swiss high rise. 23 floors of apartments. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (!!!) bedroom homes. Large, functional balconies. Solar protection. This proposal didn't even win the competition. I don't love all of the concrete, but imagine this building made of timber.
afasiaarchzine.com/2025/07/rank...
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Reece Martin
12 months ago
Many North American cities spend more on transit expansion than cities in Europe and Asia, but get very little transit built because they are not efficient at building transit. Toronto, LA, Seattle, NY are probably the worst offenders.
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