Metric Modular was tasked with providing desperately needed housing for Yale First Nation in Yale, British Columbia, Canada. The project needed to be able to combat the cold, wet climate, increase energy savings, and accommodate smaller families.
Metric Modular provided six high-quality prefabricated housing units for the community after they previously had bad experiences with traditional builders cutting corners and building poor quality homes. The project consisted of 12 modules measuring approximately 32 feet long and 14 feet wide. The 5376 sq. ft. project took only 166 days to complete. In order to reduce on-site work, the siding was preinstalled, the porch elements were prefabricated, and the roof was mostly constructed offsite. Each module was built offsite at Metric Modular’s Agassiz facility.
The buildings were designed to maintain the feeling of community while also allowing each tenant to have a private outdoor space. The project was the first certified Passive House developed in a Canadian Indigenous community. Rigid Passive House standards denote the project is 80 percent more energy-efficient and emits 80 percent less greenhouse gas. On top of the energy efficiency and savings, occupancy comfort drastically increases.
Each module specification included efficient building shape to reduce heat loss, superinsulation to ensure airtightness, advanced windows with triple glazed units, two low-e coatings, argon gas fill and insulated frames and spaces, a focus on airtightness to prevent air infiltration and to protect against moisture damage, and thermal bridge-free construction which prevented an area of the building from having significantly higher heat transfer than the surrounding material.
The building was strategically placed on the property to take advantage of solar gains and area views. Because of the strict Passive House standards, monthly energy bills for the Yale First Nation went from $250 to less than $20. The continued savings will have a lasting impact to the economy of this community.
Metric Modular was also able to save their customer money on the project by employing three Certified Passive House Consultants and using expertise they gained from building a previous Passive House project.
Modular Building Institute
944 Glenwood Station Lane, Suite 204
Charlottesville, VA
(434) 296-3288
modular.org
