During the 1970s Campeau released a series of houses called the "Renaissance Series" that are an affordable collection of detached houses. The designs are straightforward with rectangular footprints and no "frills" in terms of the exterior facades to help reduce the costs. The designs are also modest in size, most with only 1 bathroom.  Even today, these houses are still a relatively affordable option for detached houses not far from downtown. In Carson Grove the houses today typically sell for between $350,00-$400,000, although some highly renovated houses with additions sell for up to $470,000. In the small Timbermill neighbourhood (Sawmill Creek), few houses come up for sale, but when they do, they typically sell for under $400,000.  Below are two brochures for the series of designs, followed by a handful of plans from Carson Grove: This version of the Castille design has 3 bedrooms on the main level, but no dining room. You will notice t...

A few years ago I shared one of these designs on a blog post of favourite plans in south Ottawa. At first blush the houses do not seem to fit in with the mid-century modern and 1970s aesthetic that this blog celebrates. Yet, upon further inspection, they represent a turning point in housing design in Ottawa between the open-concept spaces of the modern era, and the return to more traditional (and more formal) layouts that had became more common in the 1980s. The houses are almost like one last "hurrah" before tastes changed in housing design.  On the outside the houses look like on large manor houses, but each building is made up of three attached units, each with an attached garage and separate entrance.  All of the plans have formal separate dining rooms, but the excitement in space unfolds upon entering the living rooms, with two-storey spaces and a second floor loft that overlooks the room below. Often the fireplace, and sometimes the staircase, becomes an integral p...