Form Architects is seeking IRAP cost share for a six month research and development project to build One Stair, a web application that tells a builder or landowner, in seconds, whether a point access block can be built on a given lot in British Columbia. A point access block is a compact apartment building in which every home opens off one shared stair and lift. The pilot covers seven Fraser Valley municipalities. The product is designed to extend to every municipality in the province.
British Columbia changed two sets of rules within a year. In November 2023, Bills 44 and 47 required municipalities to allow more homes on ordinary lots and set minimum heights and densities around transit, where resident parking can no longer be required. In August 2024 the BC Building Code began allowing apartment buildings of up to six storeys with a single exit stair, where buildings of three storeys and more previously needed two. Every municipality then had to update its OCP and zoning by the end of 2025.
Together, these make the point access block both permitted and buildable on lots too small for a conventional two-stair building. Form Architects' own screening found 17,074 houses still standing on land the new Fraser Valley plans designate for apartments. Most developers, landowners and lenders have not yet put the pieces together, because the opportunity only shows up lot by lot.
Whether one stair works on a lot depends on seven layers of rules and conditions, each published by a different body in a different format. Today an architect works it out by hand, one lot at a time, over days. One Stair checks the seven layers in order, then places a predesigned point access block on the lot and recommends a scheme.
One Stair screens any lot in seconds and shows the answer as a drawing. A user taps a lot on a map and sees it drawn to scale with its setbacks and nearest station. Beside it is a verdict, with the reason and the source of every rule. The interface is designed the way Form Architects designs buildings: few elements, drawn to scale, and every number traceable to its source. The product has two tiers.
Free tier. An overview of what a point access block is and why it works. The verdict for any lot, with its seven checks. The best fitting predesigned building type placed on the lot, with its storeys, homes and density. The library of standard building types, published under an open licence.
Paid tier. A recommended scheme tailored to a specific site, with plans, unit mix and area data, prepared by Form Architects. Paid schemes lead to full design commissions.
Form Architects has already screened the seven pilot municipalities by hand. That study showed the questions can be answered, and why software is needed. The pilot resolves five technical problems:
| phase | months | form, person months | developer, person months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data foundation | 1 to 2 | 0.75 | 1.5 |
| Rules engine | 1 to 3 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Predesigned building types and overlay | 2 to 4 | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| Recommended scheme and interface | 3 to 5 | 0.75 | 2.0 |
| Validation with users | 5 to 6 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Total | 6 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
Success means the engine's verdict agrees with an independent architect review on at least 90% of 50 test lots, a lot screens in under a minute, four standard building types cover lots from 15 to 24 m wide, and at least five outside users test the product.
Form Architects is a boutique architecture and design studio in Fort Langley, founded in 2022. It works on residential, commercial and industrial projects across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, and has overseas experience. The firm leads the rules, code logic, predesigned building types, interface design and validation. A contract software developer builds the data pipeline and the application.
| who | background | role on the project |
|---|---|---|
| Jochem Moerman Co-founder and principal | [Professional registration]. [Years] years in practice. Author of The Future Fraser, a book on missing middle housing in the Fraser Valley. [Relevant projects]. | Project lead. Rules and code logic, interface design. |
| Brent Wiebe Co-founder and principal | [Professional registration]. [Years] years in practice. [Relevant projects]. | [Predesigned building types and code review]. |
| [Developer name or firm] Contract software developer | Based in Canada. [Experience with mapping and GIS data, web applications and parametric geometry]. [Relevant products]. | Data pipeline, rules engine and application, about six person months. |
Dollar figures will be completed once salary rates and the developer's quote are fixed, and reviewed with you before the formal proposal.
After the pilot, the engine extends to the rest of British Columbia, where qualifying lots are expected to number in the tens of thousands. The benefits are homes near transit on existing lots, more family homes, projects within reach of local builders, and skilled work in BC.
Rules are stored by version, so a change to the single stair provisions is an update rather than a rebuild. Every verdict carries a confidence level where data is thin. On large assembled sites a conventional corridor building can be the better answer, and the tool will say so. A verdict is guidance, not an approval; tailored plans are prepared and sealed by registered architects.
We would welcome a meeting to review the scope and budget before preparing the formal proposal.
Jochem Moerman
Principal, Form Architects
Sources: Form Architects lot screening, October 2026; Province of BC releases of 18 June 2024 and 29 August 2024; BC Building Code 2024, Subsection 3.2.10; PUBLIC Architecture for BC Housing, Single Stair Residential Buildings, 2023.