Project Feature – Vienna House
@ Concept Lab – 300-397 West 7th Ave
Kicking off our Timber Tech Connect series for 2025, we continue our focus on projects supported through BC’s Mass Timber Demonstration Program. The Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) provides funding for incremental costs in the design and construction of buildings that demonstrate emerging or new mass timber or mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes.
Vienna House, a seven-story, 123-unit affordable housing project in East Vancouver, combines advanced design and construction techniques to address climate and housing challenges. The project integrates Passive House principles for near-zero emissions and exceptional energy efficiency by utilizing prefabricated, off-site manufacturing. Innovative mechanical systems ensure resident comfort by mitigating noise from nearby transit and regulating indoor climate extremes. Designed as a potential template for future developments, Vienna House highlights the use of engineered wood, collaborative problem-solving, and sustainable practices to set a new benchmark in affordable housing.
The project incorporates a hybrid structural system, combining cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels with cold-formed steel (CFS) elements alongside prefabricated exterior and interior wall systems. This approach minimizes construction waste, reduces build time, and ensures precision placement, resulting in a streamlined construction process. The project also showcases the ingenuity of BC-based manufacturers, utilizing locally sourced engineered wood products to achieve sustainability goals and reinforce the province’s push towards prefabricated construction and mass timber innovation. Together, these innovations position Vienna House as a replicable model for sustainable, high-performance urban housing.
Presenters
‣ Jamie Harte – Architect @ Public
‣ Sean Binns – Project Director @ Kindred Construction
‣ Kevin Weiler – General Manager @ TAG Panels
Food and Drinks will be provided as part of your ticket.
About Timber Tech Connect
Timber Tech Connect offers an up-close look at the latest innovations in timber design and the individuals driving progress in wood-based design, engineering, architecture, and construction. Through these events, we aim to provide a platform for networking, learning, and exploring the possibilities of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA), sustainability and low-carbon construction, building systems and the methodologies of mass timber construction and pre-fabrication.
The events we are planning are based around the following themes:
Our purpose with these events is to establish a consistent series that brings together experts from various fields and those eager to learn more about timber construction. Our events are created in collaboration with The Office of Mass Timber Implementation (OMTI), and we are focusing on highlighting projects supported by BC’s Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP)
While advancements in mass timber products and wood construction can help to build more resilient, climate-smart communities, there are still barriers, such as limited knowledge and experience about technical performance, constructibility and cost management best practices. Since 2020, the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) and Forestry Innovation Investment have invested over $9.1 million through B.C.’s Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) to help with the incremental costs associated with the design and construction of 19 building projects and 8 research projects that demonstrate emerging or new mass timber or mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes.
Connecting people to inspire innovation in wood since 2012.