Designing Together - Collaborating on Canadas Housing Design Catalogue

This session brings together Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the City of Vancouver, and leading architectural partners to demonstrate how cross-sector collaboration is transforming the future of low-rise housing in Canada through the Federal Housing Design Catalogue. The Housing Design Catalogue provides standardized housings designs tailored for Canada’s different regions to accelerate home building, encourage gentle density and infill development, and promote sustainable growth and land use to tackle the housing crisis. Blending strategic insights, real-world case studies, and interactive audience engagement, the session highlights how standardized design solutions can support community-oriented growth, accelerated delivery, and empower municipalities of all sizes. Attendees will gain an inside look at key design, accessibility, and energy decisions, as well as the collaborative approach taken with provinces, territories, municipalities, and the building industry. By sharing lessons learned, unveiling the national Housing Design Catalogue, and showcasing the Vancouver pilot, this session positions Canada as an emerging global leader in innovative, partnership-driven housing solutions. By the end of this session, participants will be able to: -> Understand the role of cross-sector partnerships—including federal agencies, provinces, territories and municipalities, architects, and industry—in accelerating housing innovation. -> Identify the core principles of Canada’s standardized low rise design catalogue, including approaches to land use and infrastructure, accessibility, energy performance, and regional adaptability. -> Analyze lessons learned from the development and early implementation of standardized designs, including policy, design, and delivery successes and challenges. -> Evaluate the Vancouver pilot case study as a model for how standardized designs can be applied in real-world municipal contexts and streamline approvals. -> Recognize how standardized design tools can support faster, community-oriented housing delivery across diverse regions and scales. -> Participate in 1-2 interactive exercises that demonstrate how the catalogue can be used to prioritize needs and match solutions to real-world scenarios.