Mass Scape: Mass Timber Deployment from Emergency Shelter to Affordable Housing

MID-RISEUNITS 9THAVENUESE

PHASE 3 ENTAILS THE REPURPOSING OF THE EMERGENCY SHELTER COMPONENTS TO THE

MID-RISE SCALE AS A WORKING EXAMPLE OF A COLD-CLIMATE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

EMERGING FROM THE PROPOSED PROCESS OF DESIGN FOR REUSE.

20SHELTERUNITS

8TH STREET SE

Mid-Rise Site

The site is well connected to natural pathways and views to the city’s river network. With a future proposed Green Line LRT Station to be within walking distance, the site demands Transit-Oriented Development priciples to be applied for all future proposed developments.

A primary site condition is that the building is proposed on existing park space, the preservation of which to its ecologically native state is a key performance consideration moving forward.

INGLEWOOD, CALGARY

902 9TH AVENUE SE

STORIES: 6

GROSS FLOOR AREA: 6,000 M² FAR: 3.0

SITE AREA: 2,000 M²

LANDUSE: S-CS

REZONE FOR SPECIAL ZONING DISTRICT: C-COR-1

PROXIMAL PROGRAMS

FORT CALGARY RESTAURANTS BARS

GREEN LINE LRT

JACK LONG PARK REDESIGN

BOW RIVER VIEWS MID-RISE SITE BOW RIVER

CALGARY’S

TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT [TOD] IS ABOUT ENABLING SUSTAINABLE LONG-TERM URBAN GROWTH .

IT IS A WALKABLE, MIXED-USE FORM OF AREA DEVELOPMENT

TYPICALLY FOCUSED WITHIN A 600M RADIUS OF A LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT [LRT] STATION.

ENGAGING MIXED-USE PROGRAMMING ALLOWS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF WORK, LIVE, AND PLAY BALANCE. INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY TO A VARIETY OF EVERYDAY AFFAIRS

REDUCES THE NEED FOR A VEHICLE, AND FACILITATES A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE . (CITY OF CALGARY, 2014)

INGLEWOOD/RAMSAY GREEN LINE LRT

LRT

Living Building Challenge

Site-Specific Relevancy

The performance metric referenced for the design of the mid-rise typology is the Living Building Challenge (LBC). Living Buildings are regenerative buildings that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community. They are designed to be self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site. They are to generate a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them. These regenerative impacts are iterated through seven Petals that have been summarized into four key performance metrics that drive the programming and design of the building.

PLACE

The proposed site is well suited to meet the demands of Living Building standards for the following reasons:

OPERATING COST

SITE JACKPARKLONG

LRT HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE QUALITY OF LIFE

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FRAMEWORK PROVIDED FOR MID-RISE SCALE

NEIGHBOURING PARK AND TOD SUPPORT LBC SITE REQUIREMENTS

REGENERATIVE

POSITIVE IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT

HEALTH + HAPPINESS MATERIALS ENERGY EQUITY

BEAUTY WATER

APPROPRIATE SCALE FOR WASTE & WATER MANAGEMENT

LOOSER ENVELOPE RESTRICTIONS

ENABLE HIGHER DESIGN FREEDOM

Living Building Petals x Performance Metrics

RESTORING A HEALTHY INTERRELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE.

CREATING DEVELOPMENTS THAT OPERATE WITHIN THE WATER BALANCE OF A GIVEN PLACE AND CLIMATE.

RELYING ONLY ON CURRENT SOLAR INCOME.

CREATING ENVIRONMENTS THAT OPTIMIZE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.

ENDORSING PRODUCTS THAT ARE SAFE FOR ALL SPECIES THROUGH TIME.

SUPPORTING A JUST, EQUITABLE WORLD. CELEBRATING DESIGN THAT UPLIFTS THE HUMAN SPIRIT.

HEALTH

HOW IS MASS TIMBER ELEVATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPOSED BUILDING?

COMMUNAL RENEWABLE AESTHETIC BIOPHILIC

BIOPHILIA IS THE HUMANKIND’S INNATE BIOLOGICAL CONNECTION WITH NATURE.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN IS RESTORATIVE. IT CAN IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND CREATIVITY, REDUCE STRESS, IMPROVE WELL-BEING, AND EXPEDITE HEALING.

THOSE SAME BENEFITS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO WOOD VISIBLE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. (WILLIAM BROWNING ET AL., 2014)

Access to Nature

9THAVESE

9THAVESE

ACCESSTO RIVERWALK

RAMSAYACCESSFROM LRTSTATION

EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

BUILDING AS GATEWAY TO NATURE

BOW RIVER

ELBOW RIVER

JOHNLONG PARK

SITE ACCESS TO NATURE VIEWS

GREEN SPACE

SITE PLAYGROUND CONTEXT BUILDINGS PARKING LOTS

The project aims to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.

Contextualization

Site Analysis

0 M SETBACKS

The zoning of the site capitalizes on a full streetfront experience of pedestrians with no setback from the sidewalk. Both this and the site’s access to natural flows become primary design drivers for initial passive strategies.

21° S

SUN PATH

9TH AVENUE SOUTHEAST NORTHEAST STREETFRONT

SOLSTICES + EQUINOXES

PRIMARY WIND VECTORS

STREETFRONT INTEGRATION FUTURE BUILDING

Primary Massing Strategy

The primary passive strategies for the building seek to maintain universal access to nature and place through prioritizing solar and wind access through the building combined with pedestrian access from the LRT. This is consolidated through an exercise in the positioning on site exploring the impact of two massings on the park relative to the need to contextualize.

DOES THE PROJECT ADVOCATE FOR SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE EXTRACTION ?

DO THE MATERIALS USED CONTRIBUTE TO THE EXPANSION OF A REGIONAL ECONOMY ROOTED IN SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES?

DOES THE PROJECT ENDORSE PRODUCTS THAT ARE SAFE FOR ALL SPECIES THROUGH TIME?

DOES THE PROJECT INTEGRATE DESIGN FEATURES INTENDED TO CELEBRATE CULTURE, SPIRIT, AND PLACE APPROPRIATE TO ITS FUNCTION?

A sustainable resource supply chain and the expansion of its Albertan regional economy have been outlined in our Phase 1 research. However, one of the most compelling benefits of mass timber is unlocked through the possibility of carbon negative buildings not possible through other construction methods. Not only do the buildings sequester carbon, but further carbon offsets can be achieved through planting on-site.

Materials Red List

The Materials Red List summarizes over 500 chemicals harmful to human health. In the case of mass timber, The following key areas need to be taken into consideration:

PROBLEM KEY AREAS SOLUTION

WOOD TREATMENTS Wood treatments containing creosote, arsenic or pentacholorphenol.

Use natural based treatments or keep wood protected from sun and water.

CFC + HFCS CFC and HCFS as refrigerants in A/C, heating and refrigerations.

Use alternative mechanical solutions or carbon dioxide as an alternative refriegerant.

INSULATION Insulation using halogenated flame retardents and formaldehyde.

WOOD ADHESIVES

Formaldehyde used in glulam, CLT, and other engineered wood products.

Using foam insulation can avoid chemicals in fiberglass. Use of wood fiber insulation or other natral-based insulations as alternatives.

Use of non-formaldehyde-based adhesives such as polyurethane and phonol formaldehyde resin (PFR).

Land Reclamation

Two existing parking lots on the site are reclaimed to their ecologically native state in the form of an arboretum. Further to the carbon offsets afforded by the planting of trees through this landscape strategy, this programming also reclaims lost parkland to the building footprint.

2330 M 2 PARKING LOTS

5700 M 2

AN ARBORETUM IS PROPOSED AS THE LANDSCAPING STRATEGY OF THE GREEN SPACE.

A RECLAIMED ECOLOGICAL AREA DEVOTED TO THE PLANTING OF INDUSTRIAL TREES, THE LANDSCAPE ACTS AS AN OUTDOOR MUSEUM EXHIBITING THIS COMPELLING CARBON STORY OF MASS TIMBER.

Ecological Restoration

NATIVE GARDENING IS THE PROCESS OF PLANTING ONLY ECOLOGICALLY NATIVE TREES, BUSHES, AND FLOWERS IN A GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION BEFORE COLONIZATION. THE ARBORETUM CELEBRATES ALBERTA’S NATIVE AND INDUSTRIAL TREES. DECIDUOUS SPECIES THAT MINIMIZE WATER CONSUMPTION AND LAND APPROPRIATION , AND MAXIMIZE NATURAL SHADING AS A PASSIVE STRATEGY ARE PLANTED.

LODGEPOLE PINE ASPEN POPLAR

HOW IS THE PROJECT ENSURING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO NATURE AND PLACE ?

IS THERE PROVISION OF PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO GATHER INTERNALLY AND/OR NEIGHBOURHOOD?

Universal Access to Nature + Place

The pedestrian approach to the building from the future proposed LRT Station up to the Riverwalk is key to the design of the building. Both this transitory connection and visual connection through the building to the arboretum is emphasized through a central atrium space accessible to the pubic.

9THAVESE

Communal programming accessible to the public establishes itself naturally into the proposed access through the building. Formally optimized to take advantage of passive strategies, the supporting programs are defined relative to this central space.

Program Delineation

9THAVESE

The program was decided upon based on the principles of human-powered living. This incorporates on-site energy generation, food production, and waste and water management. The affordable housing units are centrally located to allow access to both ground and resource floor initiatives that aim to integrate the user group from temporary to more permanent living. ARBORETUM

Program Massing

A series of massing strategies were put to the test and an optimized form was decided upon that adhered best to the site context, access to daylight and natural ventilation, as well as other programmatic requirements explored further throughout the rest of the design.

URBAN GARDENS PV ROOF AREA

DAYLIGHT NATURAL VENTILATION

BALCONIES COMMUNAL SPACE

HOW WILL THE PROJECT BE TRANSFORMED TO DELIBERATELY INCORPORATE NATURE THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES, LIGHT AND SPACE

AND/OR NATURAL SHAPES AND FORMS ?

HOW DOES THE PROJECT INTEGRATE THE EMERGENCY SHELTER COMPONENTS ?

IS THE PROJECT DESIGNED TO CREATE HUMAN-SCALED PLACES?

Fractal Geometry

The project integrates natural shapes and forms through the integration of fractal geometry into the central communal space structure. A structural frame is developed that maintains the level of transparency desired but also allows it to be the location for on-site solar energy generation. The formal logic of the geometry is extended to the more private program, such as the residential units, in a less transparent manner.

Central Structure

EXPLORATIONS IN FRACTAL GEOMETRY

STRUCTURAL FRAME

GLULAM BEAMS + COLUMNS

TRANSPARENT ENVELOPE

Human-Scaled Approach

Complimentary to the massing strategy that breaks up the building incrementally to achieve more human-scaled spaces, the central atrium space does so through walkways that weave the upper floors together whilst maintaining the residents’ privacy. Just as external balconies act as semiprivate spaces in a unit, so do these walkways to allow for informal interaction to occur vertically through the space.

The pedestrian approach to the building portrays this occurring from day to night on the building’s south and north façades.

Structural Integration

The structural integration from the temporary shelter to this more permanent mixed-use building is a key driver for the building performance narrative. The project exemplifies the principles of design for reuse through mass timber construction in a manner that is not only environmentally beneficial, but one that sees a substantial economic benefit as well. In the case of this building, the following savings are observed from the conversion of 20 shelter units to 85% of the components required for the construction of the mid-rise typology.

387,000 KG OF CO2 SEQUESTERED

$425,000 SAVED

Carbon Footprint

Comparing the carbon footprint with that of a conventional concrete building with the same material volume and construction logic, the substantial benefits of mass timber construction are further exemplified.

SAME MATERIAL VOLUME

+ CONSTRUCTION LOGIC

625,800 KG OF CO2 SEQUESTERED

420,000 KG OF GHG EMISSIONS AVOIDED

$320,000 MATERIAL INVESTMENT

THE CARBON SEQUESTERED IS EQUIVALENT TO 118 CARS OFF THE ROAD FOR A YEAR.

CANADIAN FORESTS GROW THIS MUCH WOOD IN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES.

1,890,000 KG OF CO2 EMITTED

NO GHG EMISSIONS AVOIDED

$307,200 MATERIAL INVESTMENT

HOW DOES THE PROJECT ACHIEVE 105% OF THE PROJECT’S ENERGY NEEDS THROUGH ON-SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY ?

Operational Energy

PV Glass Assembly

Akin to embodied energy is operational energy. Building design can affect 82% of operational energy requirements for the duration of its lifespan. In our climate, heating accounts for over half of this energy. (Residential & Commercial Buildings Canada, 2006)

Given Calgary receives the most annual sun hours in Canada, it is well suited to reach LBC goals of net zero or net positive building through on-site electricity generation. The massing was optimized to not only maximize solar gain, but also in a manner that did not hinder solar access of neighbouring buildings.

CO2 CO2

The building proposes the use of a PV glass technology that maintains the desired transparency for the central communal space and its access to nature and place. Occupant comfort related to solar heat gain and visual effects such as glare are difficult to control through transparent envelopes, thus the premise of this building integrated photovoltaic design was to ensure that the module has low-emissivity properties, provides ultraviolet and infrared radiation filter, maintains the benefit of daylighting, all while generating power.

Envelope

The building achieves net positive energy by generating 150,000 kWh per year relative to the 144,000 kWh required.

Energy Generation

ENERGY AREA

RENEWABLE PRIMARY ENERGY DEMAND

THE TOTAL ENERGY TO BE USED FOR ALL DOMESTIC APPLICATIONS

(HEATING, HOT WATER AND DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY) OF TREATED FLOOR AREA FOR PASSIVE HOUSE CLASSIC.

< 60 KWH PER M 2 PER YEAR

= 144 000 KWH PER YEAR REQUIRED

(Passive House Institute, 2015)

= PRECOVERSION EFFICIENCY X SYSTEM EFFICIENCY X RELATIVE MODULE

EFFICIENCY X YEARLY SUM OF GLABAL IRRADIANCE

PV GENERATION = 230 KWH/M 2

X SURFACE AREA = 740 M 2

= 150 000 KWH PER YEAR GENERATED

HOW DOES THE PROJECT PROMOTE

HUMAN-POWERED LIVING ?

HOW DOES THE PROJECT INTEGRATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATE TO ITS SCALE AND DENSITY?

HOW DOES THE PROJECT AIM TO ACHIEVE NET POSITIVE WASTE ?

Human-Powered Living

A series of self-driven initiatives are incorporated through the programmatic logic of the building to ensure that the user group is well equipped to make the transition from temporary to permanent housing and back into society as a whole. This encompasses program at the ground level that engages the residents with the general public, but also more communal programming on the fifth floor that allows residents to cohabit in a more meaningful exchange of shared experiences. This extends to the urban garden where food generation becomes another program where such exchanges may occur.

HUMAN-POWERED LIVING AIMS TO ENCOURAGE COMPACT, CONNECTED COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPORT A PRODUCTIVE AND RICH LIFESTYLE THROUGH SELF-DRIVEN INITIATIVES AND EMPOWERMENT.

HUMAN-POWERED LIVING

URBAN GARDEN

Integration

For the particular user group transitioning, the provision of opportunities for integration is vital. For example, a cafe is located on the ground floor where there is public access to allow for the residents to gain valuable skills like management, customer service, and communication skills that they may practice to empower themselves. Alternatively, a learning space and a fitness centre are provided on the fifth floor to allow for both intellectual and physical development with other residents without any stigma associated. What this entails as a whole is a system that develops the economic, educational, social, and cultural knowledge of a group previously deprived.

ECONOMIC

EDUCATIONAL

Urban Agriculture

A key proponent of human-powered living on the site is on-site food generation through the urban gardens. These gardens, accessible to the residents, were optimized through the massing strategy for solar gain to ensure their productivity.

Waste + Water Management

Waste and water management on the site seek to minimize landfill waste generation and water consumption. Compost is processed and used directly into the urban garden. Water management strategies encompass both gray-and-blackwater systems that filter and distribute the water to its appropriate secondary use.

WASTE WATER

IS THERE A PROVISION OF SUFFICIENT AND FREQUENT HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTIONS IN THE PROJECT TO CONNECT THE MAJORITY OF OCCUPANTS WITH NATURE DIRECTLY?

DOES EACH REGULARLY OCCUPIED SPACE HAVE AN OPERABLE WINDOW THAT PROVIDES ACCESS TO FRESH AIR AND DAYLIGHT ?

HEALTH IS AN IMPORTANT PRIORITY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESIDENTS AS THEY ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES.

MATERIALS SELECTION, ACCESS TO NATURAL DAYLIGHT, AND NATURAL VENTILATION ARE VITAL TO PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLNESS. (LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE: FRAMEWORK FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSEING, 2019)

SUNLIGHT VIEWS UNITS BALCONIES NATURAL VENTILATION

Residential Units

To ensure each of the residential units, a mixture of studio, one-bedroom, and twobedroom units, have access to daylight, natural ventilation, and views, they are oriented north-south with a central circulation space for access to the urban garden and stairways.

URBAN GARDEN

Conclusion

Mass Scape is a carbon-negative building driven by biophilic design and human-powered living, that enables not only its residents to a more healthy lifestyle, but showcases the potential of mass timber to be holistically sustainable towards a more healthy world we live in.

This project seeks to exemplify the environmental, economic, social, and cultural benefits of mass timber construction. By mobilizing the strategic shift from temporary to permanent solutions, where a material bank is pre-established, novel opportunities present themselves as viable housing strategies. This is especially valuable with respect to our populations in need where financial accountability limits architectural possibilities. Such solutions are not possible through the conventional construction methods we use today.