Element5 Co.

15/01/2026

📢 Case Study for Element5 project 📢 This 4-storey, 41-unit, 23,000 sq. ft., supportive housing building for the YWCA was our very first mass timber affordable housing project.

It was such a success that the Schulich School of Business - York University has just released an in-depth case study on it.

👉 To quote the study: "41 homes. 12 months. A model for Canada. This case study explores how the model works—and why it’s worth replicating across Canada."

❤️ Within one year from the date of receiving funding, 41 women experiencing homelessness within the Waterloo, Ontario region moved into their brand-new homes, despite pandemic-era constraints.

🏆 A multi-award-winning and occupied for over two years, the project demonstrates how strong partnerships, policy enablement, design-build delivery and mass timber construction can deliver affordable housing quickly and effectively.

🌟Project Details 🌟
- The structure is made entirely out of mass timber (primarily with some ), including floors, demising walls, roof, elevator shafts, stairwells and exterior walls.
- The structure was fully assembled in only 20 days.
- Each unit has exposed mass timber, imparting a sense of warmth and well-being.

🏗 This modular delivery method, where building components are factory-built and then rapidly assembled on site, offered cost savings over a strictly site-built project.

Since this first project was completed in 2022, Element5 has become a leader in the mass timber affordable housing space, having completed 13 projects to-date, with 10 more either in construction or development.

🔗 Read the study -> "Accelerated Supportive Housing Through Innovative and Strategic Partnerships": https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5930934

cc McCallum Sather, YWCA KW

09/01/2026

📢 Element5 Project Spotlight – TRCA featured in BlogTO's "5 Most Gorgeous Buildings Completed in Toronto in 2025" 📢 We're proud that our Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) project was featured in this round-up of favorite new buildings completed in Toronto.

👉🏼 This 85,000 sq. ft., 4-storey mass timber post-and-beam office building is a model of sustainability in action, and it’s already a multi award-winner!

🏗 Element5 was proud to have supplied the cross-laminated mass timber ( ) floors and walls, beams, columns and braces.

Congratulations to the project team - ZAS Architects, Bucholz McEvoy Architects and RJC Engineers!

🔗 We can't share the article, because of Facebook, but you can read the full case study of the TRCA here: https://elementfive.co/projects/toronto-and-region-conservation-authority-trca/

09/01/2026

📢 Element5 Project Spotlight – TRCA featured in BlogTO's "5 Most Gorgeous Buildings Completed in Toronto in 2025" 📢 We're proud that our Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) project was featured in this round-up of favorite new buildings completed in Toronto.

👉🏼 This 85,000 sq. ft., 4-storey mass timber post-and-beam office building is a model of sustainability in action, and it’s already a multi award-winner!

🏗 Element5 was proud to have supplied the cross-laminated mass timber ( ) floors and walls, hashtag beams, columns and braces.

Congratulations to the project team - ZAS Architects, Bucholz McEvoy Architects and RJC Engineers!

🔗 Read the BlogTO article here: https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2025/12/best-new-toronto-buildings-2025/

06/01/2026

📢 Element5 Project - Packer Collegiate Featured in Azure magazine 📢 We’re excited to see the Packer Collegiate Garden House Expansion recognized by Azure Magazine for its thoughtful use of mass timber in an educational setting—demonstrating how and can deliver high-performance, low-carbon design in dense urban contexts.

🏗️ Designed by WXY Architecture + Urban Design, this 3-storey, 17,250 sq. ft. expansion uses CLT floor systems with Glulam columns and beams in place of conventional concrete and steel, significantly reducing embodied carbon while creating warm, light-filled learning environments.

👉🏼 The mass timber addition sensitively expands a historic 19th-century brownstone campus, housing flexible classrooms, breakout spaces, offices, and support areas for Grades 1–4, proving that modern timber construction can integrate seamlessly with heritage architecture.

🌲 The result is a resilient, efficient, and biophilic school building that supports student well-being while setting a new benchmark for sustainable educational design in New York City.

❤️ Element5 is proud to have provided design-assist services and supplied the CLT and Glulam for this forward-thinking project.

At Brooklyn's Packer Collegiate Institute, WXY stretches out a 1869 brownstone with a mass timber addition.

05/01/2026

Our 1120 Ossington project keeps getting well-deserved recognition including being featured as one of Toronto's 7 beautiful new buildings in the Toronto Star!

👉🏼 This 3-storey building was assembled in just 17 days, significantly reducing waste, neighbourhood disruption, and overall cost, thanks to the CLT superstructure.

👉🏼 In less than a year after breaking ground, residents were able to move in to the 25 new units.

🌟The project went up so quickly thanks to using:
- Prefabricated 3-play cross-laminated timber ( )
- Pre-assembled kitchen and bathroom pods
- Slab-on grade foundation with no basement, which minimized concrete.

🌲 This L-shaped building was put up in a tight infill site that was formerly a parking lot. Efficiency, cost and speed to assemble using our CLT are just some of the benefits of using mass timber as building material.

👏🏼 Congratulations to forward-thinking client St.Clare's Multifaith Housing Society and the whole project team!

👷🏽 PROJECT TEAM
Architecture & Planning: Smart Density
Project Delivery: Assembly Corp.
Architect of Record: mcCallumSather
General Contractor: Loftin Management
Structural Engineer: ASPECT Structural Engineers
Mass Timber Supplier: Element5
Mass Timber Installer: The Contract Framing Group Inc.

This project was funding in part by the CMHC Rapid Housing Initiative.

You can real our full case study on 1120 Ossington here: https://elementfive.co/projects/1120-ossington-affordable-housing/

02/01/2026

📢 Project Update - the new Cambridge Recreation Complex & Library is taking shape! 📢 This 112,000 sq. ft. multi-purpose community facility brings recreation, learning, and public gathering spaces together under one roof.

🌲 Element5 is proud to supply the and for this steel and mass timber hybrid building. The mass timber allows large spans, rapid installation, and reduced disruption during construction while also providing warmth and enhancing architectural expression.

👉🏼 The complex includes a wide range of community amenities including:
-10-lane, 25m competition pool
- Warm-water leisure and therapy pool
- 3 FIBA-certified gymnasiums
- Running/walking track and fitness rooms
- Multi-purpose and community program rooms
- Concession area and administrative spaces
- A new 12,600 sq. ft. Cambridge Public Library branch with study rooms, program areas, a reading garden, and views to the landscaped courtyard.

♻️ This landmark project is designed to meet ambitious sustainability and performance goals, including LEED Gold and Net-Zero Carbon aspirations.

Set to open in Fall 2026, this project demonstrates how mass timber can deliver high-performance, resilient civic infrastructure at scale.

👷🏼 PROJECT TEAM:
Architects: MJMA Architecture & Design
General Contractor: Melloul-Blamey Construction
Civil Engineering: WalterFedy
Mass Timber Supplier: Element5
Mass Timber Installer: The Contract Framing Group Inc.

23/12/2025

🎄 Happy Holidays from Element5! 🎄Thank you to our partners, colleagues and friends for your continued trust and collaboration.

✨Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and every success in the year to come.

11/12/2025

📢 Element5 Project - Packer Collegiate Featured in The Architect's Newspaper 📢 Exciting to see NYC’s 1st school building, featured for its innovative use of and in the heart of Brooklyn Heights!

🏗 In lieu of traditional carbon and steel construction, the 3-storey Packer Collegiate Garden House Expansion is framed with CLT floors and Glulam columns and beams for the addition to the historic building.

👉🏼 The project expands an existing landmark brownstone with a 17,250 sq. ft. addition including a basement, cellar and bulkhead. The additional space houses flexible classrooms, breakout spaces, offices and educational support areas tailored to Grades 1-4.

🌲 The result is a high-performance, low-carbon addition that blends seamlessly with the 19th-century campus while setting a new standard for sustainable school architecture.

It’s a beautiful example of how mass timber can expand historic campuses while reducing embodied carbon and enhancing student well-being.

❤️ Element5 is proud to have provided design assist services as well as supplying the CLT and Glulam on this forward-thinking project!

🔗 Read the full article: https://www.archpaper.com/2025/12/wxy-packer-collegiate-garden-house-mass-timber/

👷🏼 PROJECT TEAM:
General Contractor: Archstone Builders LLC
Architects: WXY Architecture + Urban Design
Structural Engineer: TYlin
Mass Timber Engineer: Britt, Peters and Associates
Mass Timber Supplier: Element5

09/12/2025

Element5 is proud to have been the mass timber supplier for this project in Brooklyn, NYC.

WXY completes a fully electric, mass-timber addition for The Packer Collegiate Institute, NYC’s first mass-timber school building, bringing wood-lined classrooms, green roofs, and a brick facade of 100% recycled clay to the historic Brooklyn Heights campus.
https://ow.ly/mYhS50XFSHW

05/12/2025

📢 New Project Win – Globeville Affordable Housing & Library 📢 Element5 is proud to be part of a transformational community project in Denver. Globeville is a first-of-its-kind development that brings housing, learning, and community together under one roof.

Once completed, this will be the largest mass-timber affordable housing development in the United States!

👉 This landmark 250,000 sq. ft. project combines 170 new affordable homes, a new Denver Public Library branch, and vibrant community space on a 2.7-acre site long shaped by Denver’s industrial history.

♥️Once home to smelting and heavy industry, Globeville has faced decades of under-investment. This development directly responds to community-led calls for anti-displacement, multi-generational housing, and local stewardship.

🌟 Project Highlights
🌲 Mass timber structure: Four levels of CLT-framed residential units sit above a concrete podium housing the new library, lobby, town home entries, and community café.

🏡 170 affordable units: 1–4 bedroom layouts, with half reserved for families at 50% AMI or below.

🌿 50,000 sq. ft. of onsite green space including landscaped courtyards planted with cedar or Douglas fir — the same species used in the mass timber structure.

📚 New Denver Public Library branch: Anchoring the ground floor with study rooms, gathering areas, and community programming.

🏗️ A first for Colorado: The state’s first mass timber affordable housing project, delivering sustainable design, reduced embodied carbon, and precision-fabricated CLT floor assemblies.

🔥 Performance: 5-ply CLT floor chosen as the most economical 2-hour fire-rated assembly meeting acoustic and vibration requirements.

🌎 Community impact: Designed with input from GES Coalition, addressing displacement risks and creating long-term neighborhood stability.

👷🏽 Project Team
Owners / Co-Developer: Evergreen Real Estate Group
Owners / Co-Developer: Rocky Mountain Communities
Owners / Co-Developer: GES Coalition
Design Architect: John Ronan Architects
Architect of Record: ej architecture, pllc.
General Contractor Partner: Milender White
General Contractor Partner: Gilmore Construction Corporation Construction Corporation
Mass Timber Supplier: Element5

!