Vienna House

Mass Timber Affordable Housing in Vancouver

Vienna House is a seven-storey affordable rental housing building in Vancouver’s Kensington – Cedar Cottage neighbourhood. Vienna House is a partnership between BC Housing, the City of Vancouver through its Vancouver Affordable Housing Endowment Fund, and the More Than a Roof Housing Society.  Once completed, the 13,039 square metre residential building, will offer 123 affordable rental units, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units. The exposed mass timber on display offers residents a warm and inviting place to live and grow.

Sustainable by Design

The project also uses prefabricated walls (TAG Panels), and is designed to achieve Passive House designation. This certification aims to make the building approximately 80% more energy-efficient than conventional structures built to B.C. Building Code standards. The building incorporates several features to meet this stringent criteria, including a high-performance building envelope with prefabricated light wood frame walls, and heat recovery ventilation systems to maintain indoor air quality and energy efficiency.

Kalesnikoff supplied the cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor structure, which is partially exposed in the units. As a fully prefabricated material, the CLT floor plate works seamlessly with the wider prefabricated structure to achieve an accelerated installation timeline and a high standard of construction. As a locally sourced wood product, the CLT provides a sustainable structural solution to achieve the low-waste, high-performance, and low-environmental impact goals of the structure. This project highlights the versatility of mass timber, and the diverse ways people utilize engineered wood to build affordable housing.

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Photos courtesy of Kindred Construction Ltd.