This heritage home and workshop of a jewelry studio is located in the thriving neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant in Vancouver, BC. The 13,000 sq. ft. Pyrrha Headquarters project involved the restoration of a 3-level heritage house and the construction of a new 6-storey mass timber infill tower to house jewelry manufacturing.

Project Essentials

  • LocationVancouver, BC
  • ClientPyrrha
  • ArchitectBirmingham & Wood
  • Size13,000 ft² (1207 m²)
  • Budget$8.7m
  • Sustainable FeaturesPursuing CaGBC's Zero Carbon Building Certification

The 6-storey mass timber building was constructed with five-ply cross-laminated timber, complementing the existing heritage building with a contemporary and efficient design. The CLT structure is a platform-frame construction of panel-on-panel design, incorporating large panel spline connectors, CLT floors, and an elevator-stair core.

 

 

The heritage house was a previous home of the jewelry studio/workshop which the client wanted to keep while adding additional space. The house was moved off-site to allow for the construction of two basement levels. A new raised foundation was constructed for the house, and then it was transported back to the site and repositioned into place over the new foundation. Because the house is a Class C Heritage House, all efforts were made to retain or match the original features.

The tower was designed to meet Zero Carbon Building (v2) certification and includes sustainability features like geothermal heat exchange, View Dynamic Glass, and material reuse.