VanPlex Plexperts · BC Multiplex Architect
Cornerstone Architecture
Featured on VanPlex Plexperts — the curated directory of BC multiplex architects.
AIBC architecture studio, Passive House multi-family, Cornerstone Architecture Ltd.
The firm that built Canada’s largest Passive House.
Cornerstone Architecture has designed multi-family Passive House projects in Vancouver since the standard arrived here. The Heights, an 85-unit mixed-use building on Skeena Street, was the largest Passive House in Canada when it was built.
1983
founded
85
units at The Heights
2018
Wood Design Award
Meet Cornerstone Architecture
Cornerstone Architecture is a Vancouver firm founded in 1983, based at 307-611 Alexander Street in the Railtown area. It works on residential and mixed-use, institutional and cultural, hotel and resort, and commercial projects for both public and private clients.
Scott Kennedy has been a principal since 1988. He is a professional engineer (P.Eng) and a graduate of the UBC School of Architecture, and he sits on the board of Passive House Canada. Partner Simon Richards is an architect registered with the AIBC and a member of the RAIC, and has provided planning and architectural services since 1974.
The firm made an early commitment to the Passive House standard, which calls for a heavily insulated, airtight building envelope, triple-glazed windows, and heat-recovery ventilation, cutting energy use far below code. Cornerstone’s best-known project is The Heights at 388 Skeena Street: an 85-unit, six-storey mixed-use rental in Hastings-Sunrise that was the largest Passive House building in Canada when it was constructed. It won the Environmental Performance Award at the 2018 Wood Design Awards.
Other Passive House work includes Spire Landing, a six-storey rental at Fraser and 57th in Vancouver; Skagen, 52 townhomes in West Coquitlam; Little Mountain Cohousing, a 25-home cohousing building in Vancouver; and Dik Tiy affordable housing in Smithers.
Credentials
Recognition
Environmental Performance Award (The Heights)
Why work with Cornerstone
01
Real Passive House delivery, not just claims
Many firms say they can design to Passive House. Cornerstone designed The Heights, an 85-unit building that was the largest Passive House in Canada when it went up. A small multiplex is a smaller version of work they have already finished.
02
Energy spec that fits MLI Select
A Passive House envelope uses roughly 80 percent less energy than code minimum. That level of performance lines up with the energy-efficiency tier of CMHC’s MLI Select rental financing, which can mean more favourable loan terms on a purpose-built rental multiplex.
03
Four decades of Vancouver permitting
Founded in 1983, the firm has worked through Vancouver’s code changes for over forty years. That history helps on the kind of zoning and envelope questions that come up on multiplex lots.
Built work
The Heights
388 Skeena Street, Vancouver
Six-storey mixed-use rental in Hastings-Sunrise, built to the Passive House standard. The largest Passive House building in Canada at the time of construction.
Spire Landing
Fraser Street & 57th Avenue, Vancouver
Six-storey Passive House rental building, completed around spring 2018.
Skagen
West Coquitlam
52 three- and four-bedroom townhomes designed to the Passive House standard.
Little Mountain Cohousing
Vancouver
Six-storey cohousing building with 25 homes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cornerstone a good fit for a small multiplex?
Why does Passive House matter for a rental multiplex?
Who would I work with at the firm?
Other architects
Bryn Davidson
Built Vancouver's first laneway house in 2010 and its first net-zero laneway in 2012. Lanefab now designs and builds ~10 small-multi-unit projects a year.
Daniel Clarke
Vancouver architect who works only on Passive House and net-zero homes and multiplexes, with about 24 years of residential experience in Western Canada.
David Long
Vancouver architect, AIBC and OAA registered, who took 6162 Granville from a 1920s single-family lot to a six-unit SSMUH approval.
You'll probably also need
Are you Cornerstone Architecture? Submit corrections