YW Kitchener-Waterloo Supportive Housing
Services
Key Personnel
Project Overview
YW Kitchener-Waterloo recently embarked on a mission to provide affordable and supportive housing to vulnerable women in the Region. With land donated by the City of Kitchener, the agency has constructed a four-storey, multi-unit residential building that will provide a safe and secure place for 41 women to call home. Moving onto the second phase of the project, an additional, three-storey residence is under construction to further the impact.
This initiative has been made possible with the assistance of the Region of Waterloo, CMHC, and the Federal Government’s Rapid Housing Initiative. As such, each phase of the project had to be completed within a very tight timeline to meet the funding requirements. By putting an emphasis on collaboration and utilizing modular construction, the project team was able to fast-track the timeline and complete the project within the required timeframe.
MTE’s Involvement
Working with the Architect and Design Build Contractor, our structural engineering professionals helped create a design that focused on energy-efficient modular construction. The 41-unit supportive housing features timber framing and cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor, roof, and wall panels. CLT substitutes typical building materials such as concrete, masonry, and steel one for one combined modular panel. This allows for a more cost-efficient and resilient system. The exterior of the building consists primarily of EIFS with punch-style residential windows and an exposed concrete style stucco façade.
Our civil engineering team developed solutions related to the servicing, grading and stormwater management solutions for the site that incorporated both phases of the development. To meet the City’s stormwater management requirements, a riverstone lined retention swale and a rain garden were proposed to promote infiltration.
With the first, 23,00-ft2 structure complete, our project team is now in Phase Two of this essential project.
Partners:
YW Kitchener-Waterloo (Owner)
Edge Architects (Architect)
Melloul Blamey Construction (Construction Manager)
Element5 (Timber Supplier)
DEI Consulting Engineers (Mechanical & Electrical Engineering)
ZON Engineering (Energy Efficiency Consultant)
MHBC (Urban Planning & Landscape Architecture)
Vortex Fire Protection (OBC & Fire Compliance)
