What’s special about my “Vancouver Special” Christmas ornament?

Well… everything!

• The second storey of my miniature Vancouver Special is painted in the typical warm white stucco colour, while the first story is a 1970s burnt sienna.

• Windows and the sliding glass doors are outlined in silver paint, nodding to the aluminum window frames.

• The fine detail — variegated bricks on the front facade and on the resin chimney and the windows on the two garage doors at the back of the house — are achieved with a decal I designed. The garage diverges slightly from the classic Vancouver Special to make it easier to create in blown glass and so that it will hang properly on the tree.

• Finally, to give the ornament a little Christmas flair, the roof is sprinkled with “snow” and there’s a tiny green wreath painted on the front door.

Most of all, it’s just sooooooo Vancouver!

Learn more about Larry Cudney’s motivation for designing the once-maligned-and-now-beloved Vancouver Special in this article, “His ‘Revenge’ on Architects Was the Vancouver Special,” in the Tyee.

In the CBC video, A ‘Special’ Solution to the Housing Crisis, you’ll get a glimpse of the scope and variety of Vancouver Specials built and learn how this design responded to the housing crisis of its day. CBC also explores whether the same principles could be applied to address today’s housing crisis.