The city of North Vancouver has amended their bylaws to allow for retractable glass balcony systems: Lumon continues its growth in North America

12/07/2021

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Recently, an important milestone was reached when the city of North Vancouver amended city bylaws to allow for retractable glass balcony systems with no impact on the floor space ratios (FSR).

Outdoor space usability in city developments has risen to be a revolutionizing discussion. A recent news article by Peter Caulfield in Construct Connect’s Journal of Commerce underlines the value of the bylaw decision. The article also highlights the role of Michael Geller, a Vancouver developer, retired architect and consultant for Lumon Canada Inc. in leading the change. He states that the changes are indeed significant, and the fact that the implementation of retractable balcony glazing is now made an easier choice for architects and developers alike.

Lumon North America Inc.’s CEO Olli Vänskä speaks on the subject: “it’s great to see that more and more municipalities see the benefit of maximizing outdoor living in city apartments by allowing Lumon-type modern balcony glass solutions to protect balcony spaces from the elements. Modern lifestyle and building science both support full utilization of outdoor spaces in cities, while transforming buildings to have ‘lively’ facades. You can see people enjoying their outdoor spaces much more. Especially during the pandemic, outdoor living has been highlighted, which is now also being realized by cities, developers and architects alike.” Among the many benefits are significant noise mitigation, energy savings, and less pollutants on the balconies.

Lumon Canada’s Multi-Residential Project Sales Manager Mark de Graaf also agrees that the concept has gained significant traction in Canada in today’s market, specifically considering people’s changed thought patterns on the importance of outdoor spaces over the course of the pandemic. Mark de Graaf continues that many other cities have already approved the retractable glazing concept.

In GVA specifically, the City and Township of Langley, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Victoria, Mission, Chilliwack, and West Vancouver also allow the installation of the retractable balcony glazing concept without implications to FSR calculations. In the City of Vancouver, ‘Coco’ by Keltic Developments is the first multi-residential building to get approval of the Lumon concept. This modern and elegant development is pictured in the attached files.

In Burnaby, Concord Pacific has included retractable balcony glazing on Three Towers (Phase One of Three), with more than 1,400 units. Many other developers have noticed the marketing efforts by Concord Pacific that have been centered around “retractable solariums” and “convertible balconies” and have also decided to include the concept for upcoming projects within the city of Burnaby as well as other municipalities.

The City of Burnaby has allowed installations on a ‘ case by case’ basis with no impact on the FSR/FAR calculations and the City of Surrey has also suggested they will consider allowing the concept for new upcoming multi-residential buildings that are in rezoning. This is a huge opportunity for developers that would like to add more ‘ livable space’ and build better homes for their customers.

This is just the beginning of transforming city spaces and skylines, turning ‘stagnant’ building facades into lively communities. Lumon has already completed over one million balcony installations in over 20 countries and employs more than 1,400 employees globally – in fact, just in 2021, Lumon has hired over 350 new employees to keep up with increasing demand. This all stands for Lumon’s mission: better homes, better lives, and a better world.

If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact:

Mariellen Vänskä, Marketing + Communications Coordinator

+358 45 149 7398

[email protected]