Vancouver Heritage Foundation has developed an online webtool that defines, details and illustrates local house styles and their architectural elements.
In our most recent changes to the layout you will find a more didactic approach to learning. You can find styles using step-by-step tools like our Era page, where we have clustered together styles based on time periods, and our Key Features page where you will find a visual glossary of features that links to the styles corresponding!
This webtool is a valuable resource for homeowners, professionals, students or anyone interested in the domestic architecture of Vancouver. Launched in 2010, this guide was updated in 2022 with new house styles, new images and additional resources.
In Vancouver there are few ‘pure’ examples of styles. Builders and architects have drawn from many sources of inspiration, and over the years houses have often been changed to fit the needs of the people living there. Updates may have mixed styles of windows, cladding and even shape of a home. In these cases, identification can be based on the building’s main characteristics, even if not all features match exactly.
Each house style is linked to the cultural context in which it was built, reflecting not only the materials and popular designs of the time but also glimpses of things like personal history and social status. We have grouped here all Vancouver House Styles by era, introducing you to the major contexts of development of these styles by time period.
This Glossary is divided in sections of a house, such as Roofs or Façades, and each presents a carrousel of images highlighting a key feature. These images can be clicked to enlarge and to browse through the key terms, definitions, and which styles commonly showcase the features portra
Click here for access to our complete list of Vancouver House Styles and their definitions.
The Vancouver House Styles webtool would not exist without the contributions of our valuable community members.
Learn More
Read our complete glossary here
A downloadable PDF package of a selection of Vancouver House Styles drawings (for educational purposes only).
We have compiled here a concise list of web resources on house styles, architecture and architects, archival house plans and books for reference and further study.