‘No limitations’ were the words Delta Land Development used when they asked Perkins and Will to design a project that would ‘revolutionize the development industry’. With those words, Canada’s Earth Tower was born, designed to advance a comprehensive set of environmental goals in an unprecedented way. The project is a 340,000 square foot mixed-use development that will become the world’s tallest hybrid wood tower at 35-40 storeys tall. Beyond timber alone, this visionary project will advance a comprehensive set of environmental goals in an unprecedented way. In collaboration with Delta Group, a private developer, the project will demonstrate that leading a shift toward dramatically higher environmental standards is feasible.

The project is planned for a 1.3- acre (0.5-hectare) property along Eighth Avenue near Vancouver’s Burrard Slopes neighborhood. At the present moment, the site is occupied by an ordinary, four-storey building built in the late 1970s. Encompassing 31,587 square meters, the tower will comprise approximately 200 apartments, in addition to shops, restaurants and office space. The tower is not the only hybrid timber tower in Vancouver. Construction is currently underway on Terrace House by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, which claims to be the tallest hybrid structure in the world, topping out 71 meters at its upper tip.

The mixed-use development, which is aiming to become the world’s tallest hybrid wood tower, dramatically reduces the project’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through carbon sequestration. Beyond timber, the project will be a zero-emissions building; it will not consume fossil fuels, such as natural gas, in operation. Equally important, the project will support community and dramatically improve livability in tall, urban residential buildings. By creating meaningful connections to the natural environment, it will restore local biodiversity and provide public areas that are vibrant and accessible.

Canada’s Earth Tower will include elements that celebrate and encourage the love of nature and natural systems and leverage the inherent health and well- being benefits this brings to the inhabitants. The choice to use heavy timber as the primary building structure is a part of a comprehensive material strategy that will make Canada’s Earth Tower the healthiest place to live and work. The hybrid approach to the structure uses a concrete core and foundations in conjunction with timber floors, walls, and columns. This approach balances structural performance with dramatically reduced GHG emissions.

The project will be Passive House certified and will exceed the City of Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building Plan performance requirements, well ahead of the 2030 target. Aggressively reducing GHG emissions, in construction and operations, is a priority for the project. As a part of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) Zero Carbon Buildings Pilot program, Canada’s Earth Tower will be a zero emissions building. The building will not consume fossil fuels, such as natural gas, in operation. Beyond a low-carbon structure and highly efficient passive house enclosure, the building will generate emissions- free electricity, on site, using building integrated photovoltaic technology.

According to Perkins and Will, creating meaningful connections to our natural environment throughout the building will be a defining characteristic of the design. In collaboration with preeminent Canadian Landscape Architect Cornelia Hahnn Oberlander, the ‘wilding’ of the site will restore local biodiversity and will create a new, vibrant, and accessible public realm. Canada’s Earth Tower is also designed to support community and dramatically improve livability in tall urban residential buildings. Generous south facing winter gardens act as shared terraces – a place to connect with neighbors while enjoying sunlight, views, and a range of plant life.

By employing BC wood from sustainably managed forests as its primary structure, Canada’s Earth Tower will advance the industry by altering market perceptions, providing choice, and putting the performance and environmental implications of construction at the forefront. The tower will use locally manufactured mass timber and a hybrid technique that will use reinforced concrete elevator cores to provide lateral stability to the structure, while engineered wood columns and composite floors will comprise the structure of the occupied spaces. Together, this will set a new benchmark for sustainable building performance and wood construction.