NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Aragon Properties has launched Timber House, which it calls North America's largest residential CLT project in New Westminster, B.C. Kalesnikoff, a Canadian CLT company based in Thrums, B.C., will provide the material for the project.

While the Ascent building in Milwaukee -- a hybrid concrete and timber building -- was designated in 2022 by the Council on Tall Buildings as the tallest timber building at 284 feet, Aragon says its 87-unit Timber House residential project is the largest in North America when considering the issue in terms of "most amount of exposed CLT in the interior of any residential project in North America." 

Here is a short video of the Timber House project developed  by Kalesnikoff.

Aragon touts lower environmental impact using CLT as compared to traditional building materials, including steel and concrete, citing through life cycle assessments. The homes at Timber House, the Aragon company says, are environmentally friendly and feature exposed CLT walls and ceilings that emphasize the look of the materials.

Kalesnikoff was brought into this project as a building partner and CLT supplier and offers a mass timber kit-of-parts solution that could be fabricated off-site and installed on-site that the company says provides "complete efficiency."

The company said that it will provide mass timber floors, bearing walls, and shearwalls throughout an entire mid-rise residential development that is "structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing," according to the website. 

Kalesnikoff said its CLT materials are shipped and off-loaded on-site in sequence, which is critical for quick and efficient installation that minimizes time and labor costs, the company says. 

The company said it works with the projects' construction management partner throughout the planning and construction stages helping them understand how the product would arrive on time and in the right order to be assembled on-site. The process includes scheduling truck delivery,
material unloading and installation sequencing to minimize time and labor costs.

The CLT materials selected were spruce, pine and fir because they are lightweight, dimensionally stable, and can be fabricated to tight tolerances, while maintaining appealing aesthetic preferences.

Mass timber will not only be used as the primary structure throughout the 77-unit mid-rise housing project, but it also serves as an integral design feature of the interior finish, with many walls left exposed to showcase the natural and attractive aesthetic of the wood. As a true kit-of-parts solution, Timber House optimizes mass timber’s structural and aesthetic design qualities with constructability and cost efficiency.