Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

VANCOUVER—Further consultations with construction, building materials sectors are urgently needed and no permits should be issued until the National Building Code of Canada has approved recommendations on 12 storey wood buildings located in seismic areas. The Cement Association of Canada expresses surprise at the announcement by the BC government that they would bypass the ongoing 2020 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) processes and allow municipalities to issue building permits for encapsulated mass timber construction up to 12 storeys. The Building Code review process is not yet complete. Of greatest concern, especially in the context of high seismic zones in BC, is that there are, as of yet, no approved seismic design specifications for 12 storey cross-laminated timber buildings in the 2020 NBCC. …There is a significant amount of evidence available that refutes wood industry claims about tall wood building safety, earthquake resistance, resilient construction and environmental performance that needs to be closely examined in a transparent way.

We hear a lot about different prefabricated homes these days …all designed to make the building process easier, faster and more efficient. It makes sense then that we’re hearing more about prefabricated building materials that are designed to do the same, such as cross-laminated timber or CLT — mass-produced sheets made from a mix of wood (like spruce, pine and fir) and mixed with polyurethane. “Because our process is very digitized, we can do a lot of prefabrication with our robotic equipment in our factory,”  says Hardy Wentzel, CEO of Penticton-based Structurlam Mass Timber Corporation. “So when it gets delivered to a construction site, you’re actually assembling things; you’re not actually having to build things.” …At this stage, CLT is seen as more of a substitute for concrete and steel than wood stick framing, says Bryn Davidson, designer and co-owner of Vancouver’s Lanefab Design/Build.

For many B.C. residents, their experience with engineered wood construction began in the high school gym. …Since then it has been a steady evolution into cross-laminated panels and other “mass timber” elements, with the latest beam technology featured world-wide in the roof of the vast Richmond speed-skating oval built for the 2010 Winter Olympics. That evolution took another step forward this week, as Premier John Horgan… announce the B.C. building code is being changed from a limit of six storeys for wood construction to 12. …And the U.S. is considering an International Code Council recommendation to allow buildings up to 18 storeys high by 2021. …By 2016, the 18-storey Brock Commons residence at UBC was the talk of Asia. …FPInnovations, a federally-led wood research network with facilities at UBC, assisted with the design of Brock Commons, and the Canadian Wood Council, a national industry group, has funded demonstration projects in Asia. 

There could soon be a rise – literally – in wooden residential buildings across the province, after the B.C. government announced changes to the provincial Building Code… “Mass timber technology allows faster construction,”… said housing minister Selina Robinson in the March 13 announcement. “The faster we can deliver the homes that people need, the better for communities right across B.C.” The benefits have already started to be embraced by multi-family residential developers such as Adera Development Corporation. …Its latest such project is Virtuoso, a sold-out six-storey condo and townhome development at UBC’s Westbrook Village that won a Georgie Award on March 9 for Best Multi-Family Mid/High-Rise Residential Building. … Other construction companies are also embracing mass timber, including laneway home builders such as Rockridge Fine Homes. Rockridge is supplied by B.C.’s leading CLT manufacturer Structurlam.

Tess van Straaten

WATCH: Vancouver Island’s first 12-storey mass timber building touted as faster, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly. But what about safety concerns? Tess van Straaten takes a look. Construction crews are hard at work on two new condo towers in Esquimalt —part of a major building boom in the township. “It’s quite exciting actually, with the number of projects that have come through and been approved,” says Esquimalt mayor Barb Desjardins. One of those projects is Vancouver Island’s first 12-storey mass-timber condo tower. The 83-unit Corvette Landing will be built along Admirals by the entrance to CFB Esquimalt. “Where you had two single family homes, we will have a 12-stories of units so there’s a significant boost to the municipal taxes,” Desjardins says. Projects like this, and the record-breaking 18-storey Brock Commons Tallwood House at UBC, are pushing wood buildings to new heights.

Hardy Wentzel

There could soon be a rise – literally – in wooden residential buildings across the province, after the B.C. government announced changes to the provincial Building Code to allow for mass timber structures of up to 12 storeys, up from the previous limit of six storeys. …Hardy Wentzel, CEO of Structurlam, told Glacier Media in a recent interview, “CLT and other forms of mass timber have been used widely for more than two decades in Europe. Although mass timber is a nascent material here in B.C., we’re at a point where we’re seeing a groundswell of product acceptance in the marketplace – and B.C. is at the North American forefront of understanding and proliferation of the product.” …It is theoretically possible to build any height of building out of mass timber, even a skyscraper, said Wentzel – but he believes eight- to 10-storey buildings are the “sweet spot” in terms of what’s needed.

Forest communities will see more jobs and opportunity from B.C.’s proactive adoption of building code changes that allow the safe construction of taller wood buildings. “Companies like Structurlam are leading the way with innovative engineered wood products that create jobs in the forest sector and opportunity for people in communities throughout B.C.,” said Premier John Horgan. “Changes to the national building code that allow for taller wood buildings take effect next year, but we’re not waiting to get started. Our government is ready to work with communities to build safe, secure and green tall wood buildings that will create jobs, grow B.C.’s value-added sector and realize our low-carbon future.” Eligible local governments throughout B.C. are invited to become early adopters of mass-timber technology for construction of buildings up to 12 storeys, up from the current allowance of six storeys. 

The provincial government announced today new changes to the BC building code that will allow the construction of taller wood buildings of 12 storeys — up from the current allowance of six. This landmark change in how taller buildings can be designed comes after years of industry and government-supported research and pilot projects, namely the 174-ft-tall, 18-storey UBC Brock Commons wooden student residence building, which was completed in 2017 and was the world’s tallest wooden building at the time. Such mass timber buildings entail a primary load-bearing structure made of either solid or engineered wood, and encapsulated mass timber is where the mass timber components are surrounded by fire-resident materials like drywall. To meet seismic and fire safety requirements, the bases of such taller wooden buildings are built on a concrete base, and the fire exit stairwell and elevator shafts are also made out of concrete.

The height limit for wooden buildings in B.C. is rising to 12 from six storeys in a move that Premier John Horgan expects to spur development using timber and give the province a head start on other parts of the country. B.C. is changing its building code to allow the construction of taller wood buildings as a safe, economic and environmental alternative to concrete apartments and office buildings, Horgan said Wednesday. B.C.’s building code changes come a year ahead of expected changes in the national building code, which are also expected to increase height limits for wood buildings to 12 storeys… Hardy Wentzel, chief executive officer of Structurlam, said the height change allows the company to continue being an innovator on mass timber products and building designs. …Eric Andreasen, vice-president of sales and marketing at Vancouver building company Adera, welcomed the change, which he said will likely convince more developers to consider wood buildings.

A building code update allowing up to 12 storey buildings to be made of mass timber will mean less red tape for developers, Penticton’s building manager says. Ken Kunka, building and permitting manager, said the city has an alternative solution process when it comes to those wanting to build outside the building code. “We as a municipality work with engineers and professionals in the alternative solution process, but it’s can be a cumbersome process,” he said. Kunka said the largest mass timber project in the city so far was the new wing at the Lakeside Resort. The “West Wing,” features wood-primary construction in the six-storey, 70-unit expansion. The glulam beams, columns and cross-laminated panels were built and supplied by Structurlam.

VANCOUVER — The UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing has released its Online Management Skills Training schedule for Spring 2019. Two modules, Quality Management and Control, as well as Sales and Marketing, will be offered starting April 1, 2019. Two additional modules, Business Finance and Investment Evaluation, along with Supply Chain Management, will begin on May 13, 2019. Each module has email and phone support from a tutor. The management training program is in the form of a set of nine short, affordable online training courses for wood products manufacturers. Program development was undertaken by the Wood Manufacturing Council.

VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver has approved a 10-storey global headquarters project for Nature’s Path Foods. The mass timber building with a cellular design will be built in East Vancouver on Clark Drive …the building will be 10 storeys with a total floor area of 167,492-square-feet. …Martin Nielson, the architect on the project, designed it with the company’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2020 in mind. …The project will also be entirely made of wood above the second floor, as the company stated it is important to support the B.C. economy as well as renewable, carbon sequestering material. Plans suggest using a perimeter timber brace frame to free up the core and provide transparency. It will have glazed exit stairs and thermally isolated balconies that are pinned to the building but self supported.

Concrete is the foundation of modern society—from roads, buildings, and bridges to the economy, political power, and crime. We use more of it than anything except water. …But it’s one of many innovations we adopted wholesale without fully understanding the consequences. Producing and transporting it emits enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. It also destroys natural ecosystems—including carbon sinks like forests and wetlands—and consumes huge amounts of water and other resources. Even global sand supplies are dwindling, thanks to its use in concrete. …One problem is that we’re basing economic decisions and government policy on economic systems that were designed when natural resources were abundant and built infrastructure was lacking. The opposite is now true… The Carbon Disclosure Project estimates that cement production produces six percent of global emissions, slightly behind steel production. …We also have to find alternatives to massive concrete-based infrastructure projects and the economic systems that drive them.

The developer of the proposed wooden Malahat Skywalk at the southern end of Bamberton estimates the 40-metre-tall structure would attract about 200,000 visitors a year to gaze out at Finlayson Arm and beyond. The basket-shaped walk was inspired by elevated forest walks in Europe. …Visitors would first travel along a… wide wooden deck would run among second-growth Douglas firs, stands of Arbutus trees and other trees. …Tall logs in a tripod shape would support the rigid walkway. …The tower would be built of wood, other than metal structural struts for the spire, Greenfield said.