Dedicated to sustainable,
high performance building

Residential (Large) Award – Foxglove Supportive Housing and Shelter, Surrey, BC

Jury Comment: “This complex program of shelter, supportive housing and health services, so important to social sustainability, is appropriately contained in a simple form with a calming character. Material choice and detailing are thoughtful, with horizontal and vertical solar shading balancing the overall expression.”

Since 1982, RainCity Housing and Support Society has addressed the needs of individuals living with homelessness, mental illness, and addiction. To address these needs in the City of Surrey, RainCity has developed this facility in Green Timbers Park, in partnership with BC Housing, the City of Surrey and Fraser Health.

The project encompasses three major components:

• The Shelter, which offers emergency housing and care to those navigating homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse.

• Supportive Housing, which provides a caring residential environment for those who have attained stability and are transitioning to permanent housing.

• Enhanced Health Supported Housing, in which Fraser Health and RainCity work together to address both homelessness and complex health needs.

All three programs provide 24-hour/7-day staff with access to medication, overdose prevention services, and indigenous cultural and peer support. The design response reflects RainCity’s and BC Housing’s commitment to environmental sustainability, and implements strategies established through integrated workshops, extensive energy modelling, and costing exercises.

By using simple forms and optimizing the exterior envelope, the building easily meets BC Building Code Step Code 3. The envelope is highly insulated, has a low window-to-wall ratio, energy-efficient windows, and vertical and horizontal solar-shading systems. Detailing concentrated on eliminating thermal bridges and maintaining continuous high insulation values. These passive design strategies work together to optimize energy performance.

These  passive design strategies work together to optimize energy performance. Various conditions informed the linear design concept of the building: the long, narrow site, Surrey’s requirement to provide building access off Foxglove Drive, and the complex program. The simplicity of the building’s massing and character is intended to create a calm atmosphere for both its residents and the surrounding community.

To get the most from the budget, and to reduce its carbon footprint, the building was designed as a six- storey structure with five levels of wood frame construction over a concrete ground floor and a single level of underground parking.

Project Performance

  • Energy Intensity (Process Energy) 17.2 KWh/m2/year
  • Energy Intensity Lighting  24.3kWhr/m2/year
  • Reduction in energy intensity relative to
  • reference building under ASHRAE 90.1-2010  7.5%
  • Potable water consumption from municipal sources  1214L/occupant/year
  • Reduction in water consumption relative to reference building 44%
  • Regional materials content 14%
  • Construction waste diverted from landfill  63.91%

Project Credits

  • Owner/Developer  RainCity Housing and Support Society
  • Architect  NSDA Architects
  • Development Consultant  Terra Housing Consultants
  • General contractor  Yellowridge Construction Ltd.
  • Landscape Architect Durante Kreuk
  • Civil engineer  RF Binnie and Associates Ltd.
  • Electrical Engineer  AES Engineering
  • Mechanical engineer  TD Systems
  • Structural Engineer  Entuitive Corporation
  • Commissioning Agent  CES Engineering Ltd
  • Building Code  LMDG Building Code Consulting Ltd.
  • Building Envelope  exp Services Inc.
  • Sustainability/Environmental  Pinchin West
  • Energy Modelling  Edge Consultants Ltd
  • Interior Design  Aliki Gladwin and Associates
  • Photos  Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.

Detail of vertical and horizontal solar-shading which work together to optimize energy performance. EXP provided consulting services for the building envelope.

Aqua-Tech supplied the Lochinvar Indirect Domestic hot water heaters [model Squire]. 

The resilient flooring is Forbo Marmoleum and many of the plumbing fixtures are by Chicago Faucets.

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Residential (Large) Award

SFU Affordable Housing, Burnaby, BC

Jury Comment: “Providing much needed affordable accommodation for previously under-served sectors of the student population, this project is notable for its strong community focus, the multiple opportunities it creates for interaction between residents, and its strong connection with nature. Attention to detail and comprehensive data supported impressive energy performance.”

Simon Fraser University (SFU) Affordable Housing is a high-performance, community-oriented housing project that strives to promote connection—people to one another, students to university, residents to neighbourhood, and everyone to nature.

Located near a daycare and elementary school in the UniverCity neighbourhood at SFU’s Burnaby campus, the project provides 90 below-market student rental apartments that prioritize underserved communities with accessible, adaptable, and family-oriented housing—demographics with modest incomes and limited access to transportation, amenities, and community support.

Consisting of two wood-frame buildings of four and six storeys on top of a single-storey parkade, the residences are supported by a blend of amenities to cultivate community connections including a courtyard and playground, multipurpose pavilion, shared laundries and study rooms, and a bicycle workshop to support active transportation.

Utilizing simple massing with a high-performance envelope and rigorous attention to detailing along with PHPP and THERM modelling, the project surpassed Step 4 of the BC Energy Step Code and was recognized as a Clean Net-Zero Energy Ready award winner. Completed in 2022 on a conventional wood-frame construction budget, the project continues to be leveraged as a case study for local industry and academia in the design and construction of high-performance buildings.

The project started with a complex site and client challenge to deliver Passive House performance on a conventional construction budget while prioritizing community and occupant well-being. Certification was an initial goal, but was relatively new to the market when the project was initiated in 2014, leading to disproportionately large cost premiums and constraints.

Project Credits

  • Architect  Local Practice Architecture + Design
  • Project Manager  JLL
  • Owner/Developer  SFU Community Trust
  • General Contractor  Peak Construction Group
  • Landscape Architect  space2place
  • Civil Engineer  H.Y. Engineering
  • Electrical Engineer and Structural Engineer Associated Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineer  Rocky Point Engineering
  • Fire Protection  Mfpe Engineering
  • Building Envelope  RDH Buiding Science
  • Energy Model  Tandem Architecture Écologique
  • Building Code  Jensen Hughes
  • Cost & Constructability  Heatherbrae Builders
  • Photos  Latreille Photography

Project Performance

  • Energy Intensity  49.82 KWhr/m2/year
  • Reduction in Energy Intensity  62% (Based on BCBC – 2012 Energy Step Code Level 2*)
  • Water Consumption from municipal source  67,262 litres/occupant/year
  • Reduction in Water Consumption  11%
  • Construction materials diverted from landfill  66%

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