D’Ambrosio Architecture and Urbanism is proposing a 12-storey multi-family mass timber residential project called Speed Frances, located on Speed Avenue in the heart of Victoria.
The project is being built for Mike Geric Construction and the team also includes Aryze Developments.
The Speed Avenue development will make use of all-wood mass timber construction; it will also be one of the tallest mass timber multi-family residential projects in Canada.
“There are a number of projects proposed around BC, and the Speed Avenue development is much further ahead than any I know of,” said Peter Moonen, National Sustainability Manager with the Canadian Wood Council. “Speed Avenue is the tallest building of its kind in Canada and will be fully constructed out of mass timber. Other proposals may include an element of mass timber, but not to the extent of Speed Avenue.”
The development includes two distinct buildings: a 12-storey mass timber market mid-rise with 179 homes and a 6-storey wood-framed building containing 66 homes.
The Speed Avenue project addresses two issues that are critical to the future of Victoria: future-proof sustainable building technology and housing affordability.
A portion of the 6-storey building will provide affordable homes to those who qualify based on household income. This approach will introduce diverse and inclusive housing options to a market that many Victorians have been priced out of.
On mid-rise projects, mass timber offers all the engineering benefits of traditional reinforced concrete construction while at the same time reducing the carbon emissions on production.
Mass timber building materials do not conduct sound as well as concrete or steel, and the speed of construction is much quicker than concrete, steel or wood frame.
Furthermore, mass timber building materials have higher insulative R-values than concrete and steel.
The project will benefit from the recent change in B.C.’s building code to raise the height limit for wood buildings to 12 from six storeys.