RC120 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 10
CityHousing Hamilton’s 1620 Main St. E. development is the first affordable housing project in North America to
combine Canadian-sourced mass timber construction with Passive House certification.
The $25 million 1620 Main Street East
project received $7.9 million in funding from
CityHousing Hamilton, $10.89 million in
Rapid Housing Initiative funding from the
federal government, and $6.3 million from the
City of Hamilton.
Located in the heart of Hamilton’s east
end, the building is one of the country’s most
innovative examples of sustainable and rapid
housing delivery o昀昀ering not only deeply
a昀昀ordable units, but also a blueprint for municipalities across the country facing urgent
housing pressures.
“This isn’t a pilot,” said Matt Bolen, director and architect at mcCallumSather. “It’s
proof that a昀昀ordable housing can be delivered
quickly, responsibly, and with a high standard
of livability. “We’ve been re昀椀ning this model
through years of work in Passive House and
prefabrication. 1620 Main is the result of that
process. It’s a practical solution, built with
care and designed to scale.”
CityHousing Hamilton’s vision for the
project was clear from the beginning: trans-
10—RENEW CANADA – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
form a neglected urban site into a healthy,
inclusive, and sustainable residential community. Their goal was not only to provide
much-needed a昀昀ordable housing, but to do so
in a way that demonstrated what is possible
when performance, design, and delivery
come together.
Working with mcCallumSather and builder
Melloul-Blamey, along with key collaborators
such as Element5, RDH, MTE, DEI Consulting Engineers, and OMC Landscape Architecture, the project team employed a modular,
prefabricated design strategy that allowed for
rapid assembly while maintaining exceptional
quality.
The building was constructed using
Cross-Laminated Timber panels fabricated
by Ontario-based Element5, signi昀椀cantly
reducing embodied carbon and supporting
Canada’s forestry and manufacturing sectors.
Passive House-certi昀椀ed windows, over-insulated and installed with Cascadia thermal
clips, were carefully integrated to reduce thermal bridging and achieve long-term energy
e昀케ciency. A central ERV system paired with
smart controls ensures excellent indoor air
quality, while a rooftop solar array contributes
to the building’s low operational energy use.
Morgan Wright, Associate and Architect at
mcCallumSather, noted that the project was
designed not only for performance, but for
people. “We think about energy performance,
of course. But we’re equally focused on how
people experience the building—light, air,
comfort, and the feel of the materials. That’s
what makes it successful.”
“We wanted to create a building where
residents feel comfort, dignity, and joy. We
believe high-performance design should enhance daily life, and this building shows that
even a昀昀ordable housing can be beautiful and
sustainable.”
In addition to its environmental and
technical achievements, 1620 Main St. E.
includes outdoor gathering spaces designed
with drought-tolerant native plants, creating
a welcoming and low-maintenance landscape
that encourages community engagement.
The airtightness test, a critical measure of
Passive House performance, came in at 0.12
ACH50—nearly three times tighter than the
required standard. The building’s annual
energy demand for heating and cooling
remains well below 30 kWh/m²/yr, proving
that ultra-low energy design is achievable
even within the constraints of public-sector
budgets.
Each unit in the building follows a
repeatable modular layout, which helped
streamline design, simplify detailing, and
support prefabrication. Despite the e昀케ciency
of this system, the building doesn’t feel rigid
or repetitive. Natural light reaches all suites,
with every unit located within seven metres
of an operable, triple-glazed window. Mechanical systems are fully electric and include
high-e昀케ciency VRF heat pumps for heating
and cooling, supported by a central energy
recovery ventilation (ERV) system with smart
dampers.
The project has already garnered national
attention, receiving a Third-Place award in the
Sustainable Project of the Year (Built) category
at the Rethinking the Future Awards. It stands
as a replicable model that aligns with government funding incentives, decarbonization
goals, and the need for fast, e昀昀ective housing
solutions.
“This project demonstrates that with the
right team, locally sourced materials, and a
collaborative delivery model, we can respond
to Canada’s housing crisis with speed, quality,
and care,” said Bolen. “We’re proud to share
this model with other municipalities, and
we’re ready to do it again.”
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