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Ontario’s first six-storey mass timber residential rental build could be a trendsetter



A project by Moses Structural Engineers is featured in the Daily Commercial News. Don Proctor writes:

The company behind Ontario’s first six-storey mass timber residential rental building in Toronto sees it as a viable new model for midrise housing.

R-Hauz Solutions Inc.’s co-founder and principal Leith Moore says the 13,500 square foot pilot in the Beaches neighbourhood is “a repeatable product” that speeds design, development and construction.

Conventional wisdom suggests concrete and steel are the choice for six-storey residences but R-Hauz’s “unique” solution is comprised primarily of cross-laminated timber (CLT), says Moore, adding the pilot conforms to the city’s midrise guidelines…

Gage Metal Cladding Limited, CMV Architects and Timber Systems designed the details for the wall system. Moses Structural Engineers is the structural engineer for the project…

“If you narrow it down to mass timber on a tight urban site, I don’t think you have a lot of other precedents right now.”

Moses points out the concrete construction industry has had several decades to refine designs and building methodologies.

“This industry is still in its infancy.”

He hopes building officials across Canada take notice that mass timber can be a viable design alternative for residential midrise construction.

“They (city officials) have to help the developers provide the (residential) solutions that the community needs and try to streamline that process,” he says.

The six-storey building is slated for completion in November.

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