BC’s Vienna House Showcases Mass Timber as a Solution to Affordable Multi-Family Housing

Vienna House, a mass timber demonstration project in British Columbia, 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, according to naturally:wood.

Vienna House explores and highlights mass timber as a solution to help alleviate the current shortage of affordable multi-family housing. This seven-story, hybrid residential building will have 123 units ranging from studios to four bedrooms, accommodating a demographically diverse range of residents including low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

It is designed as a mass timber and light-frame wood hybrid structure, making it an efficient and replicable typology. The main structural building system includes CLT roof and floors, and light-frame wood closed envelope panels. It will be Passive House-certified and take advantage of mass timber’s thermal mass and natural insulating benefits.

As a Mass Timber Demonstration Program project, the design team is sharing their learnings about mass timber hybrid prefabricated construction best practices, focusing on not-for-profit housing owners/operators, and the consultants and builders who work with them.