Vienna House

When completed, Vienna House will be a near zero-emissions rental apartment community located in East Vancouver, offering 123 units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments. This groundbreaking pilot project was conceived as a response to both the climate change and housing affordability crises in BC and will showcase innovative materials and processes designed to deliver high energy, multi-family living performance with low greenhouse gas emissions.  Developed as a collaborative project between the city of Vancouver and the city of Vienna, Austria, which inspired the naming of the building, this project will also serve as a knowledge-sharing partnership to create a blueprint for the anticipated growth of sustainable construction in Vancouver.

Location of Vienna House(source: Public Architecture)

Locally, the development of Vienna House is led by BC Housing, More Than a Roof Housing Society (MTAR), and Vancouver Affordable Housing Fund (VAHEF), along with multiple partners who are boldly bringing this project to life. Each contributor is guided by a robust project charter founded on 4 principles: Low-Carbon & Affordable Housing, Resilient Design, Procurement Innovation, Knowledge Transformation, and throughout the construction phase of this project, we will report on how each one of these principles is being addressed. In this first article, we focus on Low-Carbon & Affordable Housing.

Innovative Strategies for Low Carbon Multi-Family Construction

Creating a blueprint for sustainable and affordable housing meant finding innovative strategies for sustainable, multi-family construction. From the beginning, there was a clear mandate by BC Housing, VAHEF, and MTAR to leverage Passive House principals in the design of the building. “We were delighted to be part of this project because the client came to the table with a very interesting brief. They wanted the project to be Passive House,” said John Wall, principal architect at Public Architecture, in our recent interview with him. “They wanted the project to use mass timber construction and prefabricated construction, which really set the table for what the project would be,” continued Wall. These are some of the strategies that are being employed to achieve the low carbon objectives:

1. Designing for Low Carbon:

The use of wood as the primary construction material was a core part of the project charter, Vienna House will use a mass timber, light wood frame hybrid structure to lower embodied carbon emissions by reducing the use of steel and concrete. To address noise transfer issues between floors, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) floors are used with acoustical isolation mats and concrete layers. Additionally, the project will incorporate biophilic elements, promoting a connection with nature with the use of wood in architectural and interior design.

Illustration of the beautifully designed landscaping at Vienna House, showcasing lush greenery and thoughtfully arranged outdoor spaces (source: Matthew Thomson Design).

2. Passive Design Strategies:

The project leverages the unique shape of its site to implement a courtyard design, allowing for passive cross ventilation and acoustic challenges mitigation. Passive cooling methods, such as external solar shades, reduce reliance on mechanical cooling systems, enhancing energy efficiency and resilience, especially during power outages. The mixed-mode ventilation and cooling system combines mechanical and natural ventilation strategies to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption.

Illustration of passive house cross ventilation at Vienna House (source: Public Architecture)

3. Materials and Construction Techniques:

Vienna House prioritizes renewable construction materials and offsite prefabrication to minimize environmental impact and construction costs. The use of mass timber construction and double-insulated prefabricated panel systems aligns with Near Zero Emission Building standards as part of the City of Vancouver strategy to lower embodied carbon emissions. The project also aims to increase industry capacity for off-site fabrication, improving construction efficiency, reducing waste and energy consumption during construction.

Detail of interior prefabricated wall with discontinuous CLT between units (source: Public Architecture).

Commitment to Energy Efficiency

The goal for Vienna House is to meet all Passive House certification requirements, which would make it 80% more energy efficient than conventional buildings that are built to meet BC’s current Build Code standards. Compared to conventional housing, Vienna House aims to significantly reduce its environmental impact by producing up to 90% less heating and cooling energy consumption, leading to lower carbon emissions and operational costs. To meet performance limits defined by the Vancouver Building By-law, City of Vancouver Zero Emissions plans, and Path A of the City of Vancouver Green Buildings Policy for Rezoning, Vienna House is required to meet the following criteria to be certified as Passive House Classic:

Designed to significantly reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions, and minimize ecological footprint, this building will also offer its dwellers meaningful savings in energy bills, contributing to the affordability quotient of this project.

Rendering of Vienna House as seen from inside a SkyTrain car, highlighting its proximity to public transit (source: Public Architecture)

Scaling up projects like Vienna House holds profound implications for addressing climate change on a broader scale. Today, buildings account for up to 40 percent of global energy related carbon emissions and are a large contributor to annual greenhouse gas emissions. By meeting rigorous requirements and embracing bold performance standards, Vienna House has positioned itself as a pilot for the new era of sustainable urban development in BC, offering innovative solutions to tackle the carbon emission and energy consumption challenges present in our province. In our next article on Vienna House, we will explore how the project integrates climate resilience measures to address the impacts of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and forest fires, bringing a holistic approach to sustainable development that prioritizes both environmental and human well-being.

For in-depth information on this project, please visit ViennaHouse.ca