Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver, celebrated the official occupancy of oN5, which is constructed using high-performance, insulated, prefabricated cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. It also has an advanced adhesive system that joins the CLT panels together without the need for beams, making the material comparable to concrete in terms of interior clear heights, flexible layout and efficient construction. oN5 supports the offices of local design and construction firms.
Over $1.2 million in funding for the oN5 project was provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Construction Through Wood (GCWood) Program, which encourages low-carbon construction through innovative uses of wood in non-traditional construction projects, such as low-rise non-residential buildings, tall wood buildings and bridges.
Named for its location near the intersection of Ontario Street and East Fifth Avenue in the Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood of downtown Vancouver, the top three storeys of this four-storey mass timber office building are constructed entirely out of cross-laminated timber. Its construction required sophisticated building information modelling and virtual construction work due to the challenging zero-lot-line site. The installation of the CLT building structure was completed in 15 days due to the use of prefabricated panels over conventional methods and therefore limited the impacts of construction on local residents and businesses while delivering the same benefits. The building includes instruments that monitor its performance, creating a living case study on the possibilities for urban infill projects built with innovative mass timber.
oN5 incorporates several sustainable building technologies — including its mass timber construction — enabling it to be comfortable, affordable and ecological at the same time. The building meets Passive House standards for energy efficiency and also employs state-of-the-art seismic devices for resisting earthquakes. Its design and use are examples of climate resiliency in action.
The building uses an innovative, resilient slip friction joint system, developed in New Zealand, that will dissipate seismic energy and restore the structure to centre after an earthquake. While the unique system works the same in terms of energy dissipation regardless of structure type, it works particularly well with mass timber since wood is one-sixth the weight of concrete, reducing forces during a seismic event.
