Work is continuing on the City of Vancouver’s new seven-storey mass timber building, with Sapphire Balconies – balcony prefabricator – set to install 123 balconies (via crane) to the outside of the cross-laminated timber building.
“We’re pleased to collaborate with Kindred Construction and Public Architecture to create housing that not only enhances community living, but also leads the way in sustainable residential design,” said Luke Haughton, president and managing director at Sapphire Balconies. “Vienna House is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our commitment to forward-thinking, eco-friendly solutions.”
Breaking ground last year, Vienna House “embodies a commitment to innovative, sustainable solutions in tackling the Vancouver housing crisis,” according to Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, and comes at a time when officials and researchers are working with counterparts in Vienna to develop mass timber designs to drive affordable housing: “Through strong Ministery of Housing partnerships and a focus on energy efficiency designs, we’re not just building homes, but shaping a future where affordable living is a reality for all Vancouverites,” Mayor Sim said.
The project will see 123 units created for “seniors, families and people living with disabilities,” according to a release from BC Housing and comes as a result of a partnership between BC Housing, the City of Vancouver and More than a Roof Housing Society, with British Columbia Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon adding that “this affordable housing project is providing individuals and families with 123 safe and environmentally responsive homes so that people can stay in the community they know.”
Among sustainability measures, using cross-laminated timber panels and prefabricated wall, floor and ceiling components will reduce emissions during construction, store carbon and contribute to diverting 75 per cent of construction waste from landfills.
The project comes after Canada’s third-largest province changed its construction code to allow British Columbia developers to build all-timber buildings up to 18 storeys – a 50% increase permitted under the old code. It is the latest step in a push that has accelerated mass timber across British Columbia and Canada, with the Trudeau and now Carney government look to spearhead a push to include the new code changes in the National Building Code.
The British Columbia Building and Fire Codes (BC Codes 2024), which came into effect on March 10, 2024, is part of a sweep of programs aimed at reducing embodied carbon and decarbonising construction – and comes as Canada last year became a signatory of the coalition of countries that will incentivise wooden construction to meet net-zero targets.
“These changes will help Canada reduce carbon pollution, support the forestry sector, create jobs, build more homes” and lead to more vibrant, healthier communities,” said Minister Kahlon.
Last year, Wood Central reported that a report billed a “significant milestone in the advancement of mass timber construction”, identifying exposed mass timber can withstand severe, “unsprinkled” fire conditions. The findings, compiled in an extensive 121-page report, “Large-Scale Fire Tests of a Mass Timber Building Structure for the Mass Timber Demonstration Fire Test Program,” confirmed that mass timber remained stable and solid after enduring five different fire tests of varying severity and duration – improving understanding of exposed mass timber elements after exposure.
“We are very pleased by the report findings, which solidify the position of mass timber as a safe construction material,” according to Robert Jonkman, Vice President of Codes and Engineering at Canada Wood Council – the country’s peak body for forest products.
“This scientific proof of mass timber’s exceptional structural fire performance helps address concerns about its suitability for larger and taller building applications.”
- To learn more about Vancouver House – Vienna House’s twin – which will rise in Vienna, Austria, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from May 2024.
