Building with Purpose
As we approach our 25-year anniversary, our Performance Starts with People series continues with Franco Dema, President of Innotech Services.
In Episode 5, Franco takes us on site at Vienna House, a 6-storey, 123-home Passive House affordable housing development in Vancouver, British Columbia that demonstrates how better buildings can support affordability, climate resilience and healthier, more comfortable places to live.
Designed for People
Vienna House was conceived as more than a housing project. It is being used as a Learning Lab where researchers, policymakers, designers and construction professionals explore new approaches to affordability, inclusion and climate change to share those lessons with future projects.
That purpose is reflected in the building itself. Homes are arranged around a central courtyard with strategies that support daylight, cross-ventilation and connection to the outdoors. A mixed-mode approach gives residents the flexibility to open their windows when conditions are favourable, while allowing the building’s ventilation system to provide fresh air when outdoor heat, smoke or noise make opening windows less desirable.
“Vienna House is an important project because it shows where the building industry is going.”
– Franco dema, president of innotech services
Where Performance Becomes Real
For Franco, Vienna House represents the point where ambitious design intent has to become built performance. As President of Innotech Services, he works at the intersection of product, installation and site coordination, helping ensure that high-performance windows and doors are integrated into the building envelope as intended.
At Vienna House, that means more than installing PHI-certified windows and doors. It means paying close attention to the details that ultimately support airtightness, durability, comfort and Passive House performance. Franco’s role is a reminder that even the best-performing products depend on careful execution in the field—and that the end goal is not simply a better building, but a better place for people to live.
Building Beyond the Building
Vienna House is intended to have an impact well beyond its 123 homes. The project combines Passive House design with prefabrication, mass timber and extensive use of BIM with lessons being documented so that successful approaches can be replicated in future affordable housing.
Watch Building with Purpose to join Franco on site and see why building better is ultimately about more than the building itself.
Watch the Interview Series
High-performance doesn’t start with products. It starts with people. Click here to watch the interview series.
