GBTN Spotlight Series: Featuring T5M Connect

The Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA) is here to present its Green Building Technologies Network (GBTN) Spotlight Series. This series will be featuring a project team once every month until March 2023. The aim is to get to know the projects and teams working in the GBTN and support further collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing among our members.

Our first guest is T5M Connect, welcome!

Project Type: Residential New Construction

Project Aim: Scalable Passive House Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs)

Project Summary: Click here for the complete project summary

T5M Connect is working on the first multi-family Passive House in Alberta. The project (in addition to Passive House Certification) has aligned it’s strategy with the Edmonton Declaration, the SSRIA Green Buildings Technology Network innovation standards and climate goals of the City of Edmonton to develop a replicable design for multi-family infill housing.

Innovation: T5M Connect has been working tirelessly to determine the most energy efficient and economic approach to reach passive house requirements at this scale. Their presentation “Using Passive House Standards to Rebuild the Missing Middle” provides an in-depth view of what the decision making process looked like for this project. Also, under Resources, SSRIA members have access to the detailed cost and energy analysis which team members Alterna and Renu Engineering developed, associated to 10 different wall systems and 6 different mechanical systems.

We followed up with T5M Connect to get a little more insight into this project and their motivations.

What has been the greatest challenge thus far in the integrated design process?

There has been a lot of exploration of local companies to find the right product or skillset for the project. We have been very pleased with the options available in Alberta and the commitment that many companies have to creating greener products. We have had some challenges finding a local and reasonably priced window option but there are now a number of companies now experimenting in this sphere. Overall, we have discovered that there are local options for nearly every aspect of our project. SSRIA’s membership has been extremely valuable for us in finding these experts.

What considerations have been made to promote the replicability of future Passive MURBs, specifically in regards to design and the community consultation process?

We wanted to create a project that could be replicated in nearly any standard residential lot within the city. To do this, we had hoped to fit our design within one of Edmonton’s standard zoning categories (specifically RF3 or RF5) but ultimately ended up pursuing a Direct Control zone because we wanted to have a courtyard-style design. While this makes our project not as easily replicable, we have designed it to fit the current drafts of Edmonton’s proposed zoning categories. If they are passed, our design should meet the standards for most residential lots throughout the city.

What advice do you have for others endeavouring to follow T5M’s footsteps?

There is no simple formula to follow when pursuing passive house standards. A lot of small decisions need to be made along the way that will shape the overall project. For example, some wall systems are more familiar (and possibly cheaper) but their thickness may mean much small units. What was helpful for us was that we had established priorities and values before starting and let these guide our decision-making.

How did the concept come to life ?

We actually don’t know where the initial idea came from. We posted a sign on the property asking the neighborhood for their thoughts on what they would like to see at the site. One person suggested an environmentally-focused multi-family building and a number of others said that they liked the idea. Using this concept, we explored missing middle designs and used our own values to shape the current concept.

Is there meaning behind T5M Connect?

The name of our company is T5M Connect. All of us involved are from the neighbourhood of North Glenora…and we all share the same prefix on our postal code: T5M. We thought that this name may send a signal that we are local developers who are connected to the immediate area of the project.

How did T5M find out about the Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA) and the Green Building Technologies Network Grant?

One of our members discovered it in passing while working on another project. We had never heard of SSRIA but after reading the website, we realized that there was a lot of shared goals. We reached out to SSRIA by email and had a short conversation with them. After meeting with the SSRIA team, we became members and have greatly benefited from being involved.

In your view, what will be the greatest reward or take-away from this project?

We are so excited to have the opportunity to work on such a project that is hitting a new environmental benchmark for multi-family developments in Alberta. A big reward is the high level of interest that people have in the project…from all different areas (construction, engineering, planners, and community members). This encourages us as our goal is that our work inspires others to pursue similar goals.