Modular housing
The multi-unit complex using elevated prefabricated modular structures with a communal courtyard addresses the shortage of affordable housing by integrating with commercial centers, enhancing community life and infrastructure access.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ANGLEHART JAMES
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-30
AI Technical Summary
Affordable housing is in short supply, and existing prefabricated housing solutions face challenges related to location, infrastructure, quality of life, and integration into the surrounding community.
A multi-unit complex is designed using prefabricated modular structures that can be elevated above ground, incorporating a communal courtyard and integrated with existing commercial centers to provide access to public transit, services, and a sense of community, while allowing space for parking or passage below.
The solution addresses the challenges of housing supply by providing efficient, affordable, and community-oriented housing solutions that integrate well with existing infrastructure and enhance the quality of life for residents.
Smart Images
Figure CA2026050100_30072026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
MODULAR HOUSINGCross-reference to related applications
[0001] The present patent application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 63 / 749,145 filed on January 24, 2025, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.Technical Field
[0002] This patent application relates to modular or prefabricated housing.Background
[0003] Affordable housing is currently in short supply. While prefabricated housing can be supplied with more efficient manufacturing techniques than on-site construction methods, problems related to location, infrastructure and quality of life of residents can remain.Summary
[0004] Applicant proposes a multi-unit complex that solves a number of the difficulties or problems associated with conventional housing.
[0005] In some embodiments, most units of a complex have a primary entrance facing a courtyard offering residents a space for communal activities and to provide a sense of belonging to a community.
[0006] In some embodiments, a multi-unit complex is elevated to leave space below the complex available for parking or passage so that the complex does not need to impede a former or secondary use of the real estate occupied by the complex.
[0007] In some embodiments, the multi-unit complex uses prefabricated mobile structures, preferably stackable, to be joined together to form the complex.Brief Description of the Drawings
[0008] The invention will be better understood by way of the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
[0009] Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a three-storey complex that is elevated by one level to provide parking spaces below the complex;
[0010] Figure 2 is a side sectional view of a three-storey complex that is elevated by two levels to provide a parking deck and ground level parking spaces below the complex;
[0011] Figure 3A is a floor plan of a modular building structure divided lengthwise into two half units;
[0012] Figure 3B is a floor plan of a modular building structure arranged to be complementary to one side of the modular building structure of Figure 3A;
[0013] Figure 4 is a plan sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 2 about a horizontal plane passing through the lower units;
[0014] Figure 5 is a plan sectional view of a variant embodiment of Figure 3 in which the building complex comprises a commercial building and the modular building structure installed within a parking lot adjacent to the commercial building and having units placed in the corners have a different floor plan from those on the sides of thecourtyard;
[0015] Figure 6 is a plan sectional view of an embodiment about a horizontal plane passing through the lower units having a different arrangement of the lower units from that of Figures 4 or 5.Detailed Description
[0016] Modular building structures are prefabricated buildings that are manufactured at a manufacturing facility, shipped to an installation site and joined together to form a modular building made up of two or more modular building structures. A modular building complex is an expression that means a complex comprising a number of modular building structures.
[0017] As is well-known in the art, modular building structures are typically much more efficient to build as they are manufactured in a factory, and they can be supplied with finished interiors (plumbing, electrical, doors, cabinetry, etc.) such that little labor is required at the installation site to provide working, useable building.
[0018] Published Canadian patent application 3,203,499 (Applicant 12832429 Canada Inc., publication date January 5, 2024, hereinafter the ‘499 reference) describes modular fabrication of building structures having a steel frame with floor, wall and roof panels attached to the frame to complete the building structures. Such steel structure buildings can be joined together to create any floor plan and they can be stacked to provide two or more levels or storeys.
[0019] In some embodiments, a multi-unit complex is built using such modularbuilding structures. It will be appreciated that conventional building structures and manufacturing techniques, such as wood frame construction, can be used instead of modular steel frame structures as described in the ‘499 reference.
[0020] As described above, multi-unit residential housing can face a number of obstacles. Some or these are: available real estate, access to public transit and roadway infrastructure, proximity to services, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, health care, and integration of the multi-unit residential housing into the surrounding community.
[0021] While some embodiments of the multi-unit residential complex may be built at ground level, in others, the complex can be built on posts or columns to be elevated above real estate, for example to provide parking space for users of the complex or to allow real estate previously used as a parking lot to be used for the complex. This can simplify the problem of providing suitable real estate for the complex. When the location of such an elevated complex is a commercial parking lot of an existing “big box” store or mall, there is a high probability that public transit already exists to serve such locations. This can resolve the problem of providing adequate public transit to residents of the complex. This can also resolve the problem of providing proximity to grocery stores, pharmacies and health care, since many of these services are already located at or near such commercial centers.
[0022] The problem of integration of the multi-unit residential housing into the surrounding community is partly resolved when locating such a complex at or nearsuch commercial centers, since there is likely no closely surrounding residential community. However, Applicant proposes to arrange the residential units to form a common space courtyard that can resolve the problem of providing the residents of the complex with a sense of community and / or residential living.
[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic side sectional view of an elevated, residential complex made from modular building structures, for example, structures 100 described in the ‘499 reference. Such a complex can be built over an existing parking lot, for example, and supported by posts or columns. The ‘499 structures may have a steel frame that can be supported by 6 or 8 posts and are stackable to form two or more levels or storeys. As shown in Figure 5, the building complex may comprise the interconnected modular building structures built within the parking lot of a commercial building such that the parking area under the interconnected modular building structures is part of the parking lot of the commercial building. As mentioned above, the commercial building can be a big-box grocery store, retail outlet, hardware store, mall or strip mall. As an example, the layout of the parking lot of the commercial building may simply extend under the interconnected modular building structures with the exception of the vehicle ramp (see Figure 2), and elevator or stairs (leading from the courtyard to the ground level) and the columns or posts occupying space of the parking lot.
[0024] In Figure 1, the complex has three levels, however, a complex can have between 1 and 5 levels using the modular building structures described in the ‘499reference. The lower unit apartment, town house main level and town house upper level can be provided using modular building structures as described in the ‘499 reference. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the lower units would be on a single floor, however, the town houses would be two floors and have an internal staircase. Residential units would have front doors either facing the courtyard directly or a hallway leading to the courtyard as better illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
[0025] Figure 1 also shows two different options for walkways for the second level. On the left side, the town house main level is shown as being recessed from the lower unit modular structure. This option allows for the roof of the lower level modular building structure to be used as a walkway for the front doors of the level, in this case the town house level. Were the third level not integrated with the second level, then the third level could be recessed once again with respect to the second level. This would result in the roof being larger. Alternatively, a separate walkway or deck structure can be provided, as illustrated on the right side of Figure 1. Were the third level not integrated with the second level, then a separate deck structure would be added for the third level, as shown in Figure 2.
[0026] It will be understood that staircases, including spiral staircases, can be used to connect front entrances of units to the courtyard instead of providing a walkway.
[0027] As illustrated in Figure 1, a deck or floor structure, preferably having a steel frame, can be provided to form a floor of a courtyard area for use as a garden, playground or any other suitable purpose for the residents or users of the complex.The park-like courtyard may provide amenities for people, such as benches, tables, chess boards, a rubber track for jogging, swings and play structures for children, etc. Shuffleboard, bocci ball, volleyball court and other designated play areas may be provided. The roof of the courtyard can likewise be made of a steel frame and can provide skylights for natural lighting. Artificial lighting can also be provided in the courtyard roof if desired.
[0028] As a further option, upper levels of the complex may have outdoor decks. On the left side of Figure 1, a deck is formed on the third level by way of the recessing of the second level. It will be understood that a deck can be provided by canterlevering a deck structure from a modular building structure or by providing on the given level a modular building structure that is shorter than the modular building structure of the level below as shown on the right side of Figure 1.
[0029] In the embodiment of Figure 2, a parking lot level is added to the complex. A ramp can be provided for vehicles to drive between the ground level and the parking deck level. The parking deck may be for public parking or it may be reserved for complex residents.
[0030] In Figure 2, the courtyard is shown to have containers below its deck level, namely as an example, a pool container and a planter container. It will be appreciated that use of part of the space of the parking deck can be for any suitable containers or terracing the courtyard. For example, a container may be used as a planter box for plants, shrubs or trees. For example, a container may be used for receiving a wadingpool, fountain or swimming pool.
[0031] The modular building structures can be manufactured in a factory ready to be interconnected at the installation site. This includes mechanical connections between the structures. In the case of ‘399 reference structures, this can be a steel frame to steel frame connection. Plumbing and electrical connections can also be prepared in the factory to be connected on site. Thus, when offsets between the modular building structures are planned by the design for the complex, the locations of drainpipes and conduit plenums may be adapted to facilitate connections on site.
[0032] While heating and air conditioning can be localized to each unit, energy efficiency can be improved by centralizing HVAC and providing conduits from a central HVAC system to the units. A centralized HVAC system feeding multiple units can simply be provided on a roof of the units, such as a heat pump system, or it may be provided in a modular building structure that will form a separate non-residential unit of the complex.
[0033] The modular building structures are typically less than 55 feet in length (but more than 40 feet) and less than 12 feet wide (but more than about 8 feet) to facilitate transportation from the factory to the installation site. Being essentially long and skinny, a residential unit made of such modular building structures may use more than two such modular building structures and may involve partitioning of one or more of the structures to form a residential unit.
[0034] Figure 3A shows an example of a modular building structure with factoryinstallation of two bathrooms and a kitchen. This structure can be divided lengthwise to form the bathrooms and kitchens of two residential units that are completed by other modular building structures as illustrated in Figure 3B that complements a half unit of Figure 3A, for example by completing bedroom 1 and the kitchen, and providing bedroom 2, a living and dining room area and entrance. It will be appreciated that many different designs and layouts are possible for each unit (residential or commercial) made of more than one modular building structure.
[0035] As suggested by Figures 3A and 3B, when one modular building structure as in Figure 3A contains all plumbing, while another complementary modular building structure of Figure 3B contains no plumbing, this can simplify factory building of the modular building structures by making use of different production and assembly lines for the different modular building structures.
[0036] It will also be understood that within a same complex, there may be units of different floor plans and of different sizes, for example to accommodate different sizes of families. A floor plan may occupy all of two modular building structures side by side. As illustrated in Figure 2, a townhouse unit may extend over two different floors to provide for a larger unit.
[0037] Figure 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of a complex having 25 modular building structures (on each level of the complex) of the type described in the ‘399 reference. In this configuration, there are two units in each corner having a front door on a hallway leading to the courtyard instead of being on the courtyard directly. It willbe understood that corner units can be eliminated if desired. While it would be possible to have the sides of the complex form an exact rectangle, the shifting of the modular building structures as illustrated may provide an improved exterior appearance to the complex. As also shown in Figure 4, the complex can have stairwell blocks and / or elevator blocks as desired.
[0038] Figure 5 shows a variant embodiment of Figure 4 in which one corner is utilised differently by making two units out of four modular building structures. Thus, each such corner unit would have twice the size of the other units in this embodiment. However, in this arrangement, the two larger corner units have front doors facing the courtyard. While the corner units shown have one rectangular block unit and one L-shaped unit, it will be understood that various divisions of the corner space are possible. If all four corners of the complex were to be so arranged such that hallways leading to stairwells and / or elevators were missing, then stairwells and elevators can be integrated into the courtyard area.
[0039] Figure 6 shows a different arrangement of the modular building structures that can provide a somewhat oval exterior appearance to the complex while providing the front door of each unit on the courtyard. The front entrances of the units of any levels above the courtyard level can be a walkway and / or individual unit staircases. An oval walkway is an option, for example, oval on the courtyard side and stepped on the unit side. Alternatively, the fronts of the units can be angled or curved to match the courtyard shape. The courtyard shape may be circular in addition to oval.
[0040] Figure 6 also shows two non-residential units. Non-residential units may be many more or less in number and may be on any level. They may comprise exercise rooms, nursing stations, food service, HVAC equipment rooms, etc. They can be located anywhere within the complex that is suitable for their function.
[0041] The insulated structures disclosed in the ‘399 reference can be useful in extreme cold or extremely hot environments. It is also known in the art to use containers for indoor farming. Non-residential units can be used for indoor farming to provide fresh food for residents of the complex in extreme environments.
[0042] While the above description refers to residential units, it will be appreciated that the complex is likewise suitable for hotels, since the courtyard can make guests feel “at home” during their stays. In other embodiments, the complex can be suitable as a nursing home, with residents using the courtyard for activities and exercise. Non-residential units can be used for commercial purposes, such as office space.
[0043] In other embodiments, the complex can be suitable for an educational complex with units serving as classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices, while the courtyard provides a sense of community and connectivity among students and faculty.
[0044] While the rectangles used in Figures 4, 5 and 6 may suggest that each unit would correspond to a single modular building structure, it will be appreciated that each unit, whether residential or commercial, can be arranged within more than one modular building structure as described above with reference to Figures 3A and 3B.
[0045] It is explicitly stated that all features disclosed in the description and / or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original disclosure as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed invention independent of the composition of the features in the embodiments and / or the claims. It is explicitly stated that all value ranges or indications of groups of entities disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original disclosure as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed invention, in particular as limits of value ranges.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A building complex comprising:a number of interconnected modular building structures arranged around a courtyard area to provide a number of units having primary entrances on the courtyard.
2. The building complex as defined in claim 1, further comprising foundation posts for elevating the number of interconnected modular building structures to provide ground level parking area below the number of interconnected modular building structures, a floor of the courtyard comprising a courtyard deck structure.
3. The building complex as defined in claim 2, further comprising a commercial building having a ground level parking lot adjacent to at least one side of the commercial building, wherein said foundation posts are positioned within said ground level parking lot and said ground level parking area below the number of interconnected modular building structures forms part of said ground level parking lot of the commercial building.
4. The building complex as defined in claim 3, further comprising a parking deck structure supported by said foundation posts for providing additional parking above said ground level parking space.
5. The building complex as defined in claim 4, wherein said courtyard deck structure comprises at least one container extending into said parking deck structure, the at least one container for one or more plants, shrubs, trees or pools.
6. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the courtyard is equipped to provide a park for occupants of said number of units.
7. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a roof structure covering said courtyard.
8. The building complex as defined in claim 7, further comprising photovoltaic panels on said roof structure.
9. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures are stacked to form at least two levels.
10. The building complex as defined in claim 9, wherein at least some of said number of units have two floors.
11. The building complex as defined in claim 9 or 10, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures are stacked to form between three to five levels.
12. The building complex as defined in claim 11, wherein at least some of said units comprise outside decks.
13. The building complex as defined in claim 12, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures that are stacked include recesses between modular building structures of a lower one of said three to five levels and an upper one of said three to five levels to provide said outside decks on a roof of said lower one of said three to five levels.
14. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 9 to 13, further comprisinga walkway deck structure connected to at least some of said primary entrances.
15. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures that are stacked include recesses between modular building structures of a lower one of said at least two levels and an upper one of said at least two levels to provide a walkway surface on a roof of said lower one of said at least two levels adjacent at least some of said primary entrances.
16. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein said courtyard has a generally rectangular shape, said number of interconnected modular building structures have an elongated rectangular shape having longer sides than ends with said front entrances at one of said ends, said number of interconnected modular building structures having a similar length on each level and are arranged to have contacting sides on each side of said courtyard with front entrance ends forming each side of said courtyard.
17. The building complex as defined in claim 16, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures further comprise modular building structures forming corner units having front entrances on a hallway communicating with said courtyard.
18. The building complex as defined in claim 17, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures further comprise modular building structures forming corner units having front entrances on said courtyard, said corner units extending between said sides of said modular building structures having frontentrance ends on adjacent sides of said courtyard.
19. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures have an elongated rectangular shape having longer sides than ends with said front entrances at one of said ends, said number of interconnected modular building structures having a similar length on each level and are arranged to have contacting sides with offsets between adjacent ends to form a courtyard that is oval-like or circular-like.
20. The building complex as defined in any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein said number of interconnected modular building structures comprise non-residential units.