Structural assembly of York Region’s new 18-unit supportive housing project in the Town of East Gwillimbury was quickly completed in the middle of winter. The 2-storey CLT building called “Passage House” is the second project realized by Element5 in less than six months that employs the optimized and repeatable mass timber structural solution developed with Edge Architects. Element5 worked closely with the architect to develop an optimized CLT grid based on our St. Thomas manufacturing plant’s production specs.
The decision to use prefabricated mass timber components for both the structure and building envelope significantly reduced the construction schedule. This modular delivery method, where building components are factory-built and then rapidly assembled on site, offers cost savings over a strictly site-built project. Off-site construction provides other benefits, too, including enhanced sustainability, predictable timelines, controlled expenses, reduced construction noise and other neighbourhood disruptions, more efficient use of material and labour resources, and improved worker health and safety.
