Felicity: a shared space for Vancouver’s independent creators

• By London Camaclang

Welcome to Felicity 

Felicity is a personal office studio and creative space located in the Dunbar-Southlands Neighbourhood in Vancouver. We design-built this Signature Shed with Novella Outdoors in 2020 and are now opening the space to Vancouver’s local creative community.

Felicity provides some much-needed flexible space for artists, writers, remote workers, students and independent creators. In exchange for free creative space, we will ask for your feedback on Felicity, on Google Reviews or Houzz Reviews and for your participation:

Visitors will be featured in an artist profile, writer’s spotlight, or visitor’s profile, and will have the opportunity to connect digitally with other visitors. We hope to provide a platform for visitors to share stories, connect with each other and support other local creators.

‍We look forward to hosting you!

Features and Amenities

• Private workstation in Felicity
• Access to the garden and green space
• Covered, outdoor table in the backyard
• Eight electrical outlets
• Dimmable ambient lighting
• Built-in floating table
• Storage bench with cushion
• Work chair and small seating poof
• Electric heater with thermostatic control
• Openable windows and skylight
• Lockable door from the interior
• Natural light and green surroundings
• Lush garden surroundings
• Outdoor table under cover
• Water station
• No wifi
• No washrooms on site

There is no cost to visiting Felicity. In exchange for a free shared space for creators, we ask visitors to:

1. Respect the space, and follow our general site rules
2. Provide feedback on Felicity via Google Reviews or Houzz Reviews
3. Participate by providing some information for your artist’s profile, writer’s spotlight or visitor’s profile. This profile allows visitors to connect with each other, share their work, their thoughts and stories. More guidelines for respectful content will be shared upon your visitor’s confirmation.

Availability

Felicity is available for single-day booking requests, with 1-2 people per booking. After receiving approval, visitors will be given the exact address of Felicity. Visitors are free to arrive and leave within that day, as long as they follow our general guidelines.

Women In Construction Week Proves Vibrant for Novell Design Build

• By London Camaclang

Since last Monday, we have been celebrating Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day 2021. The discussions we’ve started and contributed to will keep going all year long.

We are committed to being a positive force in this industry for equal gender opportunity. This effort includes engaging with our community, professional associations, encouraging more women into residential home building, and empowering women to excel when they join.

We are proud to have a female founding director, Laurel James, who leads our diverse team. We have over 45% of staff represented by women, and know that every member is here on their merits, not because of their preferred gender.

Women in construction include a variety of professions. We are proud to say this represents every department and level of our Novell Design Build.

Laurel James is our Director and the first chair of HAVAN’s Women’s Council. She has strong feelings about the idea of a gender-balanced team.

For all her volunteerism and leadership for equality in our industry, Laurel believes that the best person for the job should be employed and supported. Women will rise to challenges and can prove their skills if presented the opportunity. While Novell Design Build doesn’t hire based on gender, it isn’t a coincidence that we’ve achieved near-gender parity on our team. Laurel and the rest of our team invite women into construction conversations often and encourage them to apply when a job opportunity arises.

Complacency, when it comes to gender hiring practices, simply isn’t an option and definitely isn’t a pseudo-solution.

The result of Laurel’s work is that we find women in construction, in all trades and professions, who believe that they are alone in their work. Women in construction aren’t alone, but our numbers are not rising at the rate we need. We need to do better.

“Women in British Columbia represent only about 4.5% of the skilled trades and that number has barely moved in decades.” reports the BC Centre for Women in the Trades.

If we could attract just 5% more women in BC, the massive labour shortage would be filled.

This week, we celebrated each other’s achievements. Five of our female team members shared their experiences and challenges with the residential design build industry. They represent a future where it’s not strange to see a woman accomplishing skilled labour, managing an office, designing a home, managing a construction project, or running a company.

We #ChoosetoToChallenge by being really good at what we do. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.

See more on Instagram @NovellDB.

Trailblazing laneway design in Vancouver, before it was cool.

• By London Camaclang

Our Grandview Laneway Residence was an early trailblazer for laneways in Vancouver. We defied convention and problem-solved tiny living before it became the hottest topic in home design.

Here are a few behind the scenes features of this incredible laneway:

1. Balanced private and shared space

We flipped this home upside down and gave our clients an upstairs area for cooking, relaxing and entertaining. It provides a big open space (yes, even for a laneway) with spectacular views to the East and South.

The upstairs lounge and kitchen area are great for gathering with family. In exchange, the private bedroom, bathroom and storage areas offer a restful area. We made sure to install radiant floor heating to keep this space cozy! 

2. Master at saving space

There are too many hidden drawers to count! While a modern interior was important for the overall aesthetic of this home, it wouldn’t be liveable without some key storage solutions. In the kitchen, we balanced easy accessibility with beautiful facades. 

Many considerations were made in regards to ergonomics and visual sight lines. Storage that is difficult to access is storage that you won’t use in your daily life!

Where do you think we fit the mechanical room? Well, suspended horizontally in the upstairs deck of course!

3. Eco-friendly and sustainable design

People are happier in a green environment than in grey surroundings!

Between the pavers, we planted some creeping thyme, and put a little plum tree in their small yard! An herb garden and downspout garden was a must-have for these excellent chefs.  

By building a living roof, we climate-proofed this laneway.A green roof provides a rainwater buffer, purifies the air, reduces the ambient temperature, regulates the indoor temperature, saves energy and encourages biodiversity in the city.

Landscape design is required for new laneways, but it is often overlooked in laneway features. For our Grandview Laneway, we went further and ensured that those connections to the outdoors were meaningful and relevant for the owners. 

4. Vaulted ceilings and custom 360 degree space

In addition to the wide views from the upper balcony — which captures the rising sun in the East and the Southern sun rays — we created lofty views inside the home!

We’ve vaulted the ceiling height 12 feet in the air to create custom, 360 degree CD storage! It is an audiophile’s dream — for the storage and the acoustics.

In sum, laneways are delightful homes!

Living in a small home does not have to mean making huge sacrifices. By balancing thoughtful and discerning design, laneway houses can support exceptionally comfortable lifestyles. (Yes, even in Vancouver.)

This project has been featured in Montecristo Magazine for applause, the Vancouver Sun for tiny living, Apartment Therapy contests for small living, and in Vancouver Heritage Foundation Laneway House Tours! For these stories, visit our Blog archives for Laneway Homes.

This is a behind the scenes look at our Grandview Residence, in celebration of our 15th year anniversary. Follow our full celebrations with #15yearsNDB on Instagram and Twitter!