The Hive: North America’s Tallest Seismic-Resilient Timber Tower Takes Shape in Vancouver

Vancouver’s False Creek Flats will soon be home to a first-of-its kind innovation in mass timber construction.

Poised to be the tallest timber seismic force-resisting building in North America, The Hive at 2150 Keith Drive sets a new design precedent for future wood buildings in North America. DIALOG, a multidisciplinary design practice, is responsible for the project’s architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture.

Using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests in British Columbia and fabricated at a regional manufacturing facility, local and sustainably-minded choices for The Hive’s design are evident throughout the project’s full lifecycle. The amount of wood used in this building grows in just 42 minutes in Canadian forests. The Hive’s timber elements have been specially designed and engineered through extensive testing to withstand the flames and intense heat that would result from a fire, meeting two-hour fire code requirements.

A conscious choice on the part of the design team, the use of mass timber as an alternative to concrete will keep 1,703 metric tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere – a figure equivalent to taking 1,291 cars off the road for a year. The timber also captures and stores carbon, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere and from contributing to its warming effect; built with 5,000 m³ of wood, The Hive’s timber structure sequesters a total of 4,403 metric tons of CO².

Targeting LEED® Gold certification and compliance with the AIA 2030 Challenge for carbon-neutral buildings, The Hive will deliver greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption levels that are 80% below the median for this type, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) target of 87 kWh/m2/year. Additional measures incorporated into the design for energy efficiency include heat recovery ventilation, air source heat pump heating and cooling systems, triple-glazed high-performance windows, and photovoltaic readiness.

In addition to mass timber innovation at The Hive, the design team took the project’s geographical context into consideration, designing it to be seismically resilient. Structurally, The Hive uses Tectonus structural connectors, allowing the building to self-centre after an earthquake. The seismic bracing system is deliberately positioned on the building’s periphery, resulting in a unique, honeycomb-shaped exoskeleton. Once in operation, data modeling will be made publicly accessible to ensure that architects and engineers in seismic regions can employ these safety advances in their designs.

The Hive’s interior design takes inspiration from the principles of biophilia, featuring an open floor plan, large, uncluttered floor plates, and maximized access to daylight and views. The Hive’s mass timber structure is exposed throughout the building’s interior, adding to the aesthetic appeal and biophilic properties of the office space. South-facing balconies, and rooftop gardens provide a lush, accessible landscape for building occupants.

The Hive’s design reflects DIALOG’s commitment to enhancing community and environmental wellbeing by addressing modern challenges such as seismic resilience and sustainability.

The Hive – Project Credits:

Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Sustainability + Building Performance Consultant: DIALOG

Client Representative:  HKA

Development Manager:  BGO

Prime Contractor:  Ventana

Structural Engineer:  Fast + Ebb

Mechanical Engineer:  AME

Electrical Engineer:  AES

Civil Engineer:  Creus

Geotechnical Engineer:  GeoPacific
Envelope Consultant:  EXP

Curtainwall Consultant:  BVDA

Acoustic Consultant: RWDI

Code Consultant:  GHL

Commissioning Consultant:  CES

LEED Consultant:  Introba

Elevator Consultant:  Gunn