Size2,760 square metres
OwnerAlliance Française de Vancouver
Structural EngineerEquilibrium Consulting Inc.
Mechanical EngineerRocky Point Engineering Ltd.
Electrical EngineerJarvis Engineering Consultants
General Contractor / Construction ManagementThe Haebler Group
Building Code ConsultantThorson Consulting Certified Professionals
Mass Timber SupplierKalesnikoff
Mass Timber InstallerSeagate Mass Timber Inc.
Structural systemsHybrid / OtherLow riseMass timberPrefabricated
Project materialsCross-laminated timber (CLT)Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)
As one of Vancouver’s oldest nonprofit organizations, the 120-year-old Alliance Française Vancouver (AFV) works to promote French language, art, music, theatre, literature and lifestyle. To meet growing demand, AFV has expanded its programming over the years from just providing French language instruction to more broadly serve as a centre for French culture.
By 2015, AFV realized it had outgrowing its existing building and began working with McFarland Marceau Architects to design a new facility that would not only accommodate their growth, but also take advantage of their location in the heart of Vancouver’s booming Oakridge development with a more iconic street presence.
AFV wanted the new facility to enhance their mission and provide a welcoming space for people to gather. They also wanted what they called an ”innovative, eco-aware and community-friendly building.”
Their new home, what AFV calls “a new and improved Francophone centre,” is a sleek four-storey mass timber and steel hybrid structure. The building features a 165-seat theatre, classrooms, an art gallery, artist studios, a demonstration kitchen, a large library with advanced digital media options, a public café and a rooftop terrace for community gatherings.
The City of Vancouver’s Cambie Corridor Plan called for larger, taller buildings which would have been beyond what Alliance Française Vancouver wanted to build. However, the environmental, efficiency and aesthetic benefits of mass timber, along with the creation of a cultural hub for the community, were sufficiently compelling that the project team was able to make a strong zoning case for a smaller building that satisfied both AFV’s vision and the City’s plans for the area.
The four-storey mass timber and steel hybrid structure features three levels of mass timber over a one-level concrete parking podium. The design team focused on using the best materials for the job based on aesthetics, fire safety and structural efficiency and exposed the timber wherever possible throughout the building. The complex structure was built on a tight, mid-block urban site with limited space for materials storage during construction. The project team saved time by specifying prefabricated CLT floor and roof panels, as well as pre-cut and prefinished glulam beams and columns (except in the theatre, where smaller steel profiles allowed for more efficient spans). Many arrived with structural steel elements already attached, designed so that the mass timber could be lifted into place directly from the truck.
Photo credit: Arkitek Creative
Outside, a large exterior terrace provides visitors with space to gather. The interior is organized around a dramatic central atrium which is flooded with daylight. The open space helps visitors orient themselves quickly when they arrive, allowing them to easily find the various activities and events. Architects combined the glazed roof over the atrium with timber slats on the walls; both work to give the relatively small space an airy, dynamic and striking yet warm expression.
In choosing to use exposed mass timber, AFV met several goals. The design fit AFV’s vision of a ‘theatrical’ building that would contribute to the French cultural experience. By leaving wood exposed to the interior, they created a natural and inviting space that is comfortable and welcoming to visitors. Furthermore, by using sustainable, locally-grown, renewable resources, they reduced the carbon footprint of their new construction and put the project in alignment with the StrongerBC Economic Plan’s climate and inclusive growth goals.
The project demonstrates how mass timber can be used to create a visually stunning, low carbon, community friendly building, creating a high-profile destination for anyone wanting to immerse themselves in French culture.
“The architecture presents itself to the street as a proscenium, putting cultural activity on display, beckoning passersby and immersing visitors in a French cultural experience—framed in natural timber and natural light.” CRAIG DUFFIELD, ARCHITECT AIBC, FRAIC, LEED AP, DESIGN DIRECTOR, MCFARLAND MARCEAU ARCHITECTS
“The architecture presents itself to the street as a proscenium, putting cultural activity on display, beckoning passersby and immersing visitors in a French cultural experience—framed in natural timber and natural light.”
CRAIG DUFFIELD, ARCHITECT AIBC, FRAIC, LEED AP, DESIGN DIRECTOR, MCFARLAND MARCEAU ARCHITECTS
Photo credit: Ed White Photographics
AFV needed to pack a lot of activities into a building with less than 1,000 square metres of ground floor space, which created challenging acoustical design requirements. McFarland Marceau Architects used space planning strategies to provide optimal degrees of acoustical separation within the multi-storey structure. They also used careful detailing to meet sound transmission class targets that would help separate noise from performance spaces like the auditorium from quieter areas like the art gallery and library. This means language classes can peacefully coexist with music and dance performances, giving AFV full utilization of their beautiful building.
Under the 2019 Vancouver Building By-Law (VBBL), which was in effect at the time of the building permit application, wood was not allowed for use in educational buildings designed for larger occupant gatherings and above two storeys in height (referred to in the codes as an assembly occupancy). But Alliance Française Vancouver was committed to their design vision.
AFV’s project team successfully developed and presented several Alternative Solutions proposals which demonstrated that the fire risk of the mass timber structure compared favourably to an equivalent code-compliant design. The alternate design specified enhanced fire detection systems and took advantage of mass timber’s ability to form a protective char layer when exposed to flame by oversizing the glulam and CLT structural panels, among other measures. Ultimately, with the Alternative Solutions and their mitigating measures, city officials approved use of the exposed wood columns, beams and decking for the four-storey assembly occupancy building.
The Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) provides funding for incremental costs in the design and construction of buildings that showcase emerging or new mass timber and mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes. The program supports jobs and employment recovery in the design, engineering, construction, and product manufacturing sector. B.C. industry will benefit from lessons learned, results, and research findings that can help support future mass timber projects in the province. Learn more about the MTDP.
