Glotman Simpson conducted this embodied carbon study at the request of the City of Vancouver to provide technical insight and performance commentary on how the Sen̓áḵw development would fare under the embodied carbon requirements in the 2025 Vancouver Building By-law (VBBL) – with a reduction ‘f’ factor of 0.9.

A landmark Indigenous-led development by the Squamish Nation, Sen̓áḵw is located at the south end of Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge. Delivering 6,000 rental units over 11 towers across four phases, it is one of Canada’s largest urban Indigenous housing projects. Designed to be car-light and carbon-conscious, Sen̓áḵw emphasizes high-density housing, extensive cycling infrastructure, and a transit hub — making it a model for sustainable, self-determined development on Indigenous land. Phase 1 of the project delivers 1,400 homes across three towers.

As expected for a development of this size, the Intensity limit pathway was not achieved. However, this project shows considerable cost (↓30%) and carbon (↓22%) savings when compared to a baseline building. This is the key result of driving carbon savings through early structural efficiency savings as opposed to late-stage material optimizations, which come at a premium.