Amendments to the city's building bylaw approved by Council last week will allow mass timber construction up to 12 storeys for residential and commercial uses, doubling the current height limit of 6 storeys.
MASS EFFECT 3-BORDELLO A VANCOUVER!! Browse more videos. Video games live vancouver 2010: mass effect. R/masseffect: This subreddit is for people who love the Mass Effect universe - the games, books, comics, and DLC. Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Walls360 creates on-demand wall graphics for artists, brands, and digital content partners worldwide. Made in USA + Shipped Worldwide. Vancouver is home to some of the tallest mass timber building projects in the world, and mass timber construction is a promising strategy for significant and immediate climate protection action, with recent studies of tall mass timber buildings estimating 25-45% reductions in.
With changes taking effect on July 1, permitting taller mass timber construction within the Building By-law will make it easier to build with low carbon materials, support housing affordability, and remove barriers for the construction industry at a time of crisis and economic recovery.
Benefits of mass timber
This move also represents an important first step in reducing our carbon pollution from construction. Mass timber is a natural low carbon material with good insulating properties, and is pre-manufactured off-site in large, modular pieces. The approved changes are one of the first priority actions under the Climate Emergency Response, reducing carbon pollution from construction materials and designs.
Benefits of building with mass timber include:
- Reducing the carbon pollution of construction by 25-45% or more
- Improving energy efficiency and insulation effectiveness
- Reducing construction time, cost, and community impact by using pre-manufactured pieces
- When sourced from regional forests and manufacturing plants, using mass timber can create jobs and support the local and regional economy in forestry and manufacturing
- Mass timber is significantly more fire resistant than light timber construction
A resilient construction economy is a critical part of Vancouver’s recovery. By making it easier to use mass timber construction in Vancouver and supporting investment in local and regional design, manufacturing, and construction of mass timber buildings, we can enable a pathway towards lower carbon, more affordable, and more resilient construction in Vancouver.
This change is also part of a move nationally by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes. As part of the provincial process and update to the Vancouver Building By-law, a public comment period took place in October 2019. Those comments became part of the provincial changes that took effect in December 2019, and formed the basis for this increase.
The City’s Mass Timber Advisory Committee, a gender-balanced panel of eighteen local architects, contractors, engineers, developers, building science and code experts, shared strong support for Vancouver adopting this change.
They arrived planet-side in the early hours of the morning. Kaya was one of the last off the Normandy. Karin was forcing her to use a damn wheelchair. She would have been more annoyed, if it were not in fact absolutely necessary. With everything that had happened, her ability to walk more than ten steps had been severely compromised. Jeff was pushing her slowly, neither one of them too keen on facing Hackett. They were going to have to be debriefed, which was sure to be one step away from a panic attack for Kaya. And then, surely, Hackett was going to chew her out for lying to a damn admiral. He already found her annoying as it was.
So, Kaya had every motivation in the world to stick out her hand and grab the rail of the gangway, causing Jeff to slow. After spending all of that time in space, with literal windows to the stars – billions and billions of them, seeming close enough to touch – Kaya had forgotten how beautiful an atmosphere could be. Most of the sky was pale gold, fading to a green that reminded her of Jeff's eyes before settling on grey-blue above them. It was her favorite time of day, even if she usually slept in too late to see it, back when she had lived on Earth.
'What's wrong?'
'Nothing, love. It's just been a while since I've seen a sunrise.' She took in a deep breath of cold Canadian air, and her exhale hung in a little cloud. Kaya found herself thinking how silly it was that she was wearing a baseball cap, instead of a warm knit hat. Her head was freezing. 'Do we have to go to HQ?'
'I know you don't really work for the Alliance, but they still send me a nice paycheck every two weeks,' Jeff laughed. 'And I think we've reached the edge of how much we can piss them off without getting me discharged. Or thrown in the brig.'
'Meh. We'll just go live in Shepard's spare room. Potentially following a prison break.' Oh shit. Shepard.
Jeff must have seen her tense up, because he asked with a chuckle, 'You never messaged her back, did you?'
'Fu-uck,' she groaned, leaning her head back to look at him. He was smirking in a particularly annoying way. Yeah, laugh it up. She's pissed at you, too, pretty boy. 'How many times can I play the 'I almost died' card with Shepard?'
'I think you only get to use that once, seeing as Shepard can kind of trump it with actually dying and still having her shit together.' He laughed at her grimace before adding, 'Don't worry. I talked to her. I don't think she would be up for us unceremoniously crashing at her place just yet, but she also isn't considering murder anymore. So, we've got that going for us.'
'Wait, nobody told you?' Vega said, walking up behind them. Kaidan had insisted that Vega tail them throughout the ordeal, just in case there was some other psychopathic asshole waiting in the wings. His tone had been concerned, but now there was some amusement playing at the corner of his lips.
'Son of a–' Kaya groaned. She pulled the brim of her cap down to her nose before explaining to Jeff, 'She's in town.'
'You think it's too late to steal the Normandy? James, you wanna go pirate?'
'Keep the court-martial to yourself, thanks,' James said. 'Come on. The sooner you face the music, the sooner you can go home.'
Kaya frowned at that. If she really broke away from the Alliance today, she wouldn't have a home. Since arriving in this time, the Normandy had played that role. Now, where would she go? It was not something she had spent much time dwelling on. Kaya knew she could go crash with Kasumi or Liara. (Kaidan would love that.) Tali would be happy to take her in, too. But, none of those options gave her a place of her own. And Kaya was not anxious to jump right into working at the Academy, if that was where she was destined to end up.
The reality of the situation really seemed to set in now, and Kaya could feel her heart rate climbing. There had always been a plan. She had gone from St. Vincent's to Princeton to UCLA without skipping a beat. Then it was onto Mars, or at least that had been the intent. And, the whole time, the U.S. government had been at her back. She had never been without a mission before. Without a purpose.
Was she really going to throw away hers?
'Yes,' Kaya sighed, not meaning to say it out loud. This was never her life, her purpose. Not the one she wanted, anyway. 'Let's get this over with.'
She saw Vega consider taking the chair from Jeff out of the corner of her eye, but he must have realized in time what a bad idea that would be. Jeff started pushing her chair down the ramp, and Kaya returned her eyes to the sky. She was trying not to think about what Kaidan had said, about clean up crews in Vancouver. She wanted to remember this city the way it was now, not how it had been right after the Reaper invasion.
'Blue, you okay? I know we've been joking about it, but they're not going to throw you in the brig,' Vega tried to reassure her.
Oh, thanks. I hadn't even been actively worried about that possibility. Ass.
'I stowed away on an Alliance warship and lied to an admiral about it. To his face.'
'If they wanted to arrest you, they would have already done it,' James said. 'Also, can we just talk about how impressive it is that you managed to slip something by Hackett? I mean, damn, chica.'
Kaya was unconvinced. She remembered the admirals and the Council bickering over her six months ago, like she was some shiny new toy. A telepath that could control other people. The powerful biotics were just a bonus. The Alliance did not know she was about to make good on the honorable discharge she technically received that day. When they found out, would they start fighting again to keep her under their command? Putting her in prison for a while to cool down seemed an awfully good way to do it. They sure as hell had a case.
'Why don't we get some coffee,' Jeff suddenly said, as they hit the end of the docks. There was a small cafe up ahead. He must have seen the tension in her shoulders or the way she was picking at her cuticles, drawing blood. Kaya had not been able to eat anything before they disembarked. Actually, she had not eaten anything more than half a ration bar since being in the hospital, and she doubted her ability to choke down anything now.
But if it meant putting off whatever the hell awaited at H.Q., she would try.
When they arrived late at Hackett's office, he was not pleased. Shepard was already sitting at the conference table, her mouth in a hard line. Shit. Kaidan raised an eyebrow at both Jeff and Vega, as if to ask where the hell they had been.
'Vega. Moreau,' Hackett addressed them coldly. 'Wait outside.'
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Kaya willed herself not to look at Jeff as he backed slowly away from her chair, pulling off her SR-2 cap as an afterthought. Seeing whatever worry was surely on his face would only make this worse. The boys saluted behind her and left, leaving a very uncomfortable silence as the door closed behind them. Kaya considered speaking, but now was not the time to break rank. And she no idea what to say.
Finally, Hackett walked out from behind his desk and started, 'I hear you took down one of Blacklight's operatives.'
A flash of red. A gun in her hand. No. Not now. Kaya thought back to her days in medical school. In particular, she remembered her training in the E.R. Calm down. Take care of the patient. Freak out later.
Of course, her actual training had involved more going to the bar and self-medicating, instead of dealing with her emotions in a remotely constructive way. But, that was a concern for another time.
'Rogue Blacklight operative, Admiral,' Kaya corrected. Breathe. There you go. 'Nothing's ever simple. Do we have any idea how she got on board in the first place?'
'Blacklight had high-level Alliance intel,' Kaidan supplied. 'Rivers had full access to the Normandy's blueprints and access codes. Sometime after we left, she was able to fool our systems and dock a shuttle. Entered through an emergency maintenance hatch.'
Kaya could hear the undertone of frustration in his voice. Getting over how much of an inside job this was would take time. At Hackett's prompting, she launched into the details. His voice had a hard edge, but nobody had yelled at her or tried to put her in restraints. So far, so good. She started talking about Rivers walking in. She explained that she was blocking short-range communication. And she had very clearly indicated that her action against Kaya was some sick, twisted personal vendetta.
Kaya shivered as she tried to describe what it had felt like, having her mind taken over. 'I – I knew what was happening. I was aware. But, I was no longer in control. It was like looking through a virtual reality headset during a video game cut scene. Except I could still feel everything. She – she helped me up. And then we left the cargo–'
An image of two marines lying on the ground flashed into her mind, and Kaya froze. Jones and Nguyen. She had once brought them coffee, outside Shepard's apartment. They had talked about Princeton and playing violin. Kaya had meant to sneak down when April Jones was practicing in the cargo hold. Her parents had been so proud of her.
'Dr. Cole?'
Kaya looked up in shock. She had not processed this particular bit of horror, but now was not the appropriate time. Maybe it would make her more sympathetic, sure. However, if Kaya started dwelling on it now, she would break down. And they would be here longer. And she wanted so badly to bolt for the door.
'We know the rest,' Kaidan said tersely. She looked up to realize he had moved to stand right next to her. When had that happened? 'Admiral, with all due respect–'
'We can get the rest of the details from forensics and Flight Lieutenant Moreau. Most of the details,' Hackett said. Kaya was relieved to find that he understood, although he was hardly willing to let Kaya off the hook for everything that happened before her latest nightmare-fodder. 'I need to know how you regained control, Dr. Cole.'
'You make it sound like I did something,' she said morosely. Fuck, I was no hero. I know that much. 'The chip simply shorted out, sir. It was damaged the last time I attempted to use my biotics, and it appears to have been designed to turn off if there was risk of an overload. We just – if it had happened a moment later–'
No. Don't even go there.
'Okay,' Hackett said. The hard edge returned to his voice as he continued, 'There's still the matter of your stowing away on an Alliance Navy frigate.'
'Which I take full responsibility for,' Kaya said. She almost laughed at how Shepard straightened up in surprise, but it would hardly be appropriate. 'I put the whole crew at risk.' Of course, if somebody had just fucking told me earlier about the possible control chip in my skull–
'If you were still technically under Alliance jurisdiction, I would court-martial you.' I know. I'm surprised you haven't tried anyway. 'And there are a number of civilian charges that could be brought against you.' Shit. 'However, as Major Alenko has pointed out, your presence aboard the Normandy probably saved a number of Alliance soldiers.'
Kaya's head snapped up. What the hell was he talking about?
'It's possible she would have boarded the Normandy whether or not you were there,' Kaidan explained. 'But, if you weren't in that cargo hold, I never would have left a telepathic dampener on board. And, we believe it is unlikely Rivers would have slipped quietly back off the ship.'
Kaya closed her eyes and grabbed at the bridge of her nose as she let that sink in.
'Given this fortunate turn of events, and the fact that you could not have been aware of the real danger–' Bullshit. 'The Alliance will not press charges. However, your civilian contract has been terminated without severance pay. You are not to set foot aboard the Normandy or any Alliance vessel in the foreseeable future.'
That stung a bit. Hell, that stung a lot. It was also extremely unexpected.
'You – you're letting me go?' Kaya asked, looking over to Hackett for the first time since she had entered the room. 'I mean, you're actually firing me?'
'We would appreciate if you did not go running to the Council to take them up on their Spectre offer, of course,' Hackett said. 'And the Alliance would appreciate you putting distance between yourself and any Alliance enlisted.' What? No. Shit. That couldn't be an actual term. 'But, naturally, that is not something we can easily enforce. As it stands, the Alliance believes it best to create some distance from the unfortunate events that occurred. Dragging you into a trial and potentially giving you incentive to blackmail them seems counterproductive.'
Hand to God, Kaya felt a momentary paternal vibe off of Admiral Hackett. Hackett, who she had so royally pissed off every time they met. Who had really, really wanted her to just side with the Council and become a spectre. (Screw the fact that they were just doing it to get their hands on a telepath. It would have gotten Kaya out of his hair. And, even then, his own people's attitude toward Kaya had worried him from a purely ethical standpoint.) Hackett was being nice.
The paternal vibe was directed more at Shepard, Kaya realized. This was a favor to the Commander. But, still. She let her lips twitch into the tiniest of smiles as she exchanged a look with Kaidan. His face said everything. She did not have to hear him think, 'Do you know how fucking lucky you are, kid?'
Kaya finally found her tongue and looked back at Hackett. 'I – thank you, sir. I do have a question, though.' He raised his eyebrows expectantly, and she continued. 'I was hoping to work at Grissom Academy some time in the near future. I think – I think I can really help the other children with telepathic abilities there.'
Shepard and Kaidan were both surprised at that, although it was only Kaidan who let his face betray him. Hackett was caught between amusement at her boldness and pure distaste for the suggestion. Kaya did not exactly come across as the best role model.
'I believe someone arranged an unusually large amount of shore leave for your friend, Lieutenant Moreau,' Hackett finally said. His face was still, but Kaya detected a smirk hiding under the surface. 'I suggest you take some time off, and we can revisit your suggestion at a later date.'
Well, it wasn't a 'no.'
'Now, I believe Captain Shepard wanted to speak to you in private,' he said, gesturing to Kaidan and heading for the door.
Oh, you son of a bitch.
She turned to glare at Kaidan as he walked through the door. He was trying very hard not to flash her a haha I told you so smile. Part of that was legitimate joy at how easily Kaya had gotten off. Part of it was not-so-legitimate amusement regarding the verbal lashing Kaya was about to receive.
When Kaya finally, ever-so-reluctantly turned to Shepard, she was on the receiving end of a withering look. She considered making a joke about being nice to the cripple, but that was unlikely to fly. Jeff, you have to go just ruin everything for the rest of us.
She tried more extensively delving into Shepard's thoughts, hoping there would be a moment of reprieve. Maybe Shepard was just very convincingly fucking with her. Unfortunately, Shepard really was that pissed off. Kaya had snuck behind her back, recruiting Jeff to do it. It was just like Palaven – right down to her reckless endangerment of, well, everyone – and that was what stung. Shepard had been under the impression that Kaya was becoming less of a danger to herself and others, and the fear inspired by seeing the opposite turned to anger.
Maybe Kaya was simply delving too far in, letting her intimate understanding of Shepard's emotions cloud her own. But, she found herself growing angry and shouting into the minutes-long silence between them. 'For fuck's sake, Shepard! It's not like you've never skirted a regulation or two with regards to the Normandy before! We learned from the best!'
Shepard walked out from behind the conference table in a few quick strides and loomed over Kaya. She jabbed her in the chest with a pointed finger. Ow. 'I bend the rules sometimes when I fucking have to. When there are lives on the line. You shattered them, just to prove you could.'
'Bullshit! You're telling me you would have just happily sat planet-side while your crew went off to face Saren? The Collector Base? Earth? Shepard–'
'This doesn't even compare–'
'For me it does, okay?' Kaya shouted, feeling her entire body vibrate. It was a good thing she no longer had a functioning biotic implant. But she had to make Shepard understand. 'These were the people who fucking ordered me tortured. Maybe. Probably. Who the fuck knows, anymore? But they went after other kids like me, trying to turn them into weapons because I have these unspeakable powers that could turn the tide of a million wars. Who made my best friend shoot me in the back. If we were taking the fight to them, I was going. Maybe it wasn't the whole fucking galaxy on the line, but it was my world. My people. And I was scared shitless for them, heading down to that forgotten colony. If Rivers had gone after them instead– If those dampeners hadn't worked–'
For the first time in a very long time, one of Kaya's nightmares last night had been an original production. In which all of her friends turned on each other under Rivers' control. She had been attempting to shake the images from her mind all morning, but they now came flooding back. She had too much field experience, actual and borrowed from the minds of others. The images were vivid and gruesome, like her mind had turned the whole torrid affair into a game. The 'let's see how fucked up we are' game. Oh, yep, pretty fucking fucked up.
She was on the verge of hyperventilating, and Shepard had stood back a bit. Kaya tried to breathe, damn it, and remember her exercises. Focus on the room. Find a calmer mind. Ha. The only other people in range were Vega, Kaidan, and Jeff. Hackett's office must have been soundproofed, so they all stood tersely on the other side of the door wondering what the hell was taking so long. Kaya focused on Vega, the only one who still managed to be a little bit amused.
Fucking hilarious, asshole.
Kaya focused her attention back on the room, and Shepard had stepped away further. She was leaning back on the conference table, studying her former lieutenant. Kaya realized that something in that rant had stuck.
My world. My people. And I was scared shitless for them.
'I'd tell you to promise me never to do that again,' Shepard said quietly. 'But you've made and broken that promise once before.'
And there it was, just hanging out in the center of the room between them. Shepard had never actually said it out loud. Kaya supposed she still technically hadn't. But, it was there.
You lied to me. You took advantage of my trust, and you threw it out the window when it was convenient.
Kaya thought of a whole host of things to say, but she choked them all down. There was the fact that she had genuinely considered telling Shepard, before realizing what an awful position that put the Commander in. There was the quip that sprung to mind. So, you gonna tell me to break up with Jeff now? Because that's how this conversation ended last time. There was a lot more angry screaming and yelling.
None of it fit.
Instead she settled on a hollow, 'I know.'
And, much to Kaya's surprise, Shepard sighed. It was not a sigh of exasperation. Or of disappointment. It was a sigh of sorrow and pain. For all of the broken promises between them, Shepard understood. She understood the desire to do reckless things, to put your own life on the line – to maybe put everyone's life on the line – to protect people she cared about. She understood that the only thing that held her back, more often than not, were lessons learned at the villa. The consequences of reckless mistakes, measured in body counts.
Kaya's lessons had been of a far different sort. The Magellan. Marcus. Cerberus boarding the Normandy. What happened at Grissom Academy. The fight always came to her, no matter how badly she just wanted the normal life that was completely unattainable at this point. The life that had been out of reach since she was twelve years old. And, every time, it was only by risking everything that anyone made it out alive.
And Shepard understood.
'What you said,' she started quietly. 'In the hospital. I'm not entirely sure I believe it. But, the reason why you said it. You wanted me to stop blaming myself–'
'Well, yeah–'
'Let me finish, please, Kaya,' she gently chided. 'For all your reckless stunts, you're always looking out for my crew. Vega. Jeff. Kaidan. Even me. But, you never let us look out for you. You keep trying to barrel forward, all on your own. I know what that's like. I know what it feels like to be running full speed away from everyone, terrified of the monsters that will catch you if you slow.'
Kaya let that sink in. Her chest was starting to ache, in that way that could mean falling in love or a broken heart. Kaya was never sure which. She hated admitting Shepard might be right.
'So, if I can't secure a promise from you that this won't ever happen again, can I at least get a straightforward answer to a request?' Shepard asked. She crouched down, bringing her face level with Kaya's, and put a hand lightly on her shoulder. 'Will you let us in this time around?'
You have no idea how hard I've been trying. But, that's not going to cut it anymore, is it?
Kaya nodded, swallowing at the lump in her throat. Shepard looked her directly in the eyes, her piercing appraisal unflinching.
'Come on. You're not allowed aboard the Normandy anymore, and you need a ride home.'
'I don't have a home, Shepard.' The realization had solidified in Hackett's office, but it still stung.
Shepard rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in exasperation. 'Kaya. Don't be an idiot. Come on. Garrus and I need someone to watch the kids so we can go on an actual date. The kind that doesn't get interrupted by gunfire.'
She moved behind Kaya's wheelchair and started pushing. When the door opened, Kaidan and Vega jumped back. What? Had they been trying to listen through the door or something? Jeff raised a bemused eyebrow at the smile plastered across Kaya's face. Kaidan had already told them about how easily Kaya – and Jeff and Kasumi, too – had gotten off. But the trio certainly had not expected the two women to leave the room amicably.
Kaya almost laughed. Instead, she reached for Jeff's hand. 'Let's go home.'
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Mass Effect Vancouver
And that's a wrap! I have to say, this is the first piece of long-form fiction I've ever legitimately finished, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Let me know what you thought, as I'm quite open to constructive criticism. And thanks for reading!