The Hive: Vancouver's Low-Carbon Timber Exoskeleton

DIALOG and structural engineers Fast + Epp have completed The Hive, a 10-storey mass timber office building in Vancouver overlooking False Creek Flats. The 15,500-square-metre structure features a honeycomb-like glulam brace frame exoskeleton that moves seismic resistance to the perimeter, eliminating concrete cores above the second level. Four CLT shear walls work with the exterior brace frames, significantly reducing embodied carbon. The design creates two-metre-deep balconies on east, south, and west elevations, accessible from every floor—a rare amenity in commercial buildings. Weather-treated wood soffits extend the timber outdoors. The Hive is the tallest braced-frame mass timber project in North America.