The Straw-Paneled Adjustable Modular dwelling SPAMhouse examines next-generation urban infill typologies for downtown Toronto’s many underutilized laneways.

Minutes (walking) from major economic cooridors such as Queen and Dundas streets lie seas of potential to bring density to Canada’s largest urban core without damaging its singular profile and charm.

Street-facing houses in these areas utilize laneway garages to park cars or, more often, store life's excesses. While small in size and sardined in proximity, these rear lots could be home to modern, personalized living units bearing the lightest physical impact.

Eight-foot-square modules incorporating processed straw Structurally Insulated Panels can be planted on microfoundations that need not surpass the frost line. Footing jacks adjust for settling or upswell. Special “step” components (in purple) carry services and add variability to the living spaces.

A Simple Unit exhibits what can be possible on 32 square feet.

A Simple Unit exhibits what can be possible on 32 square feet.

In 2008 the Institute without Boudaries developed twelve systems to analyze the function and effectiveness of housing today and through time. A “World House” aims to provide for each of these systems itself, or leverage reliable external infrastructure to supply missing services.

Young professionals would especially enjoy the privacy and proximity of SPAMhouses to the social and economic aspects of the City. They may even begin to see manufactured meat and obnoxious emails in a new light: to them, modular prefab aren't necessarily so bad after all.