In a market where many are priced out of quality living spaces, the Vuvale project, managed by Urban Revolutions, emerges as a sustainable and beautiful solution. This initiative aims to provide affordable co-living options that don't compromise on quality. Located in Castle Hill, a prestigious suburb of Sydney known for its excellent amenities, the development on Kathleen Ave is situated on a large plot in this prime location.

The vision to create more affordable co-living options while enhancing the urban environment and providing an aspirational lifestyle in the form of high-quality, cost-effective rental and hybrid hotel accommodation was born by the Vuvale project. In fact, the entire Vuvale brand was born from the idea of hope, prosperity, and a commitment to make independent living more accessible, empowering people to thrive through connection and belonging. Dive into the story of how they are transforming lives and redefining urban living with a sustainable. prefabricated kit of parts.

The development uses the latest technology in automated efficiencies to achieve the lowest possible carbon footprint. The was accomplished with the application of 116 cubic meters of prefabricated Sylva™ CLT Walls, Floors and Roofs delivered directly to the site by Stora Enso by rail and sea. 

The parts of the tree that were not used for the project on Kathleen Avenue will be used to make other renewable products. The components were manufactured to precise specifications in a controlled factory environment, ensuring high quality and reducing the need for on-site adjustments.

Sustainable sourcing

The Sylva™ elements were made with wood sourced from PEFC-certified, central European forests, ensuring that the timber used comes from sustainably managed forests. PEFC is one of the most trusted and widely recognised certifications for sustainable forest management.

The Sylva kit generated 6 tonnes of greenhouse gases (CO₂e) to manufacture and 11 tonnes to transport using optimised logistics for the lowest possible carbon emissions and utilising mainly rail and sea containers.  Compared to the 88 tonnes of carbon dioxide that the trees removed while growing and will store in the building, this is a small fraction. Choosing Sylva CLT elements instead of non-renewables avoided 133 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Source Stora Enso Carbon Calculator, (try it out and see how small your carbon footprint would be too with Sylva). 

Energy-efficient services

This project is took advantage of Stora Enso's Sylva Service and preapplied protective hydrophobic coating in the factory's fully automated coating line so when the elements arrived on-site they were ready to install immediately.

The prefabricated elements also had preinstalled lifting slings and blind hole power clamps, inserted in the mill to streamline the construction process. 

Did you know the first Passivhaus in Australia was also made with a Sylva kit of parts? 

You can view more projects in Australia here

Learn more about the advantages with mass timber Download whitepaper