Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

Deadwood Innovations, of Fort St. James, in a joint venture with the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation, has a unique, pilot-scale mill based in the former Tl’Oh Forest Products mill in the northern B.C. community.  The B.C. government is working with the group to fund the development of a commercial-scale plant that, proponents say, could turn waste wood into commercial lumber.  A key source for the wood is the thousands of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, which caused the closure of the Tl’Oh mill in 2014.  Deadwood Innovations, the company claims, has developed a patent-pending process that crushes and presses pieces of dried conifers in a way that maintains fibre orientation and length as close to how it naturally occurs as mechanically possible. This intentional fibre arrangement retains the best qualities of natural wood and engineered wood products.

To keep it plane and simple, it’s been a long time coming for the KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence. The state-of-the-art, 60,000 sq. ft. mass timber building first broke ground back in March 2021, but it was three years prior that the original idea came to KF Aerospace Founder and Chairman, Barry Lapointe. Designed to reflect the fuselage and wings of an aircraft, the KF Centre for Excellence is a legacy project for Lapointe that tells the story of aviation in the BC Interior. …The Centre features “made-in BC” wood products and expertise, from an innovative structural design to locally sourced and prefabricated mass timber components. The massive facility connects two dedicated hangars to guide guests through a historical exhibit of vintage aircraft and memorabilia, which connects to an airfield viewing gallery.

New Research by Forest Innovation Investment Concludes that Pacific HemFir has Superior Noise Reduction Properties. As more and more housing developments start to fill in the gaps between rural and urban areas, greater solutions for sound shielding are needed. …This puts the residents of those homes at risk of sleeping issues and a whole host of health issues related to noise pollution. There’s also the very real and very pressing issue of sustainability. …Ergo, erecting miles and miles of sound barriers with anything but natural building materials would be a giant step backwards in the fight against climate change. …Pacific HemFir is an especially beautiful wood with straight, consistent grain and a light honey hue. Long revered for its architectural appeal and versatility, Pacific HemFir’s appearance makes for a visually pleasing sound barrier with the warm appeal of a neighbourhood fence. And really, isn’t that what residential development is all about -building better communities?

The pandemic that forced educators to scramble to devise new methods of teaching is having a lasting effect that will enhance how students at the College of New Caledonia learn. …“COVID was difficult for everyone but we’ve adapted some alternate delivery methods that we’ve incorporated into our learning today,” said Frank Rossi, CNC’s dean of trades. …The B.C. government is reinstating a requirement that workers in 10 compulsory trades will soon have to be certified tradespeople or registered apprentices. …The legislation, which will be phased in by 2025, is designed to make workplaces safer and increase the number of registered apprentices. “That’s going to really put a lot of pressure on the school system because there’s going to be a higher demand for individuals to get their certifications,” said Rossi. ”You will have to a registered apprentice or leaning to a Red Seal certification.

Two Twelve will be the first mass timber construction multi-family residential building in the province. Two Twelve is set to become one of the most exclusive addresses in Saskatoon. Recently announced by Arete Developments, Two Twelve sits at 212/214 Saskatchewan Crescent East. The five-storey complex will be home to seven luxurious condos. In a first of its kind in the province for a multi-family residential building, the project will use mass timber construction. …Touted as the building standard of the future, mass timber construction is fast becoming the new standard in sustainability. …Using this type of construction for Two Twelve will save over 550 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. …Amid very positive initial feedback, the top floor penthouse suite has already been sold. …Founded by Hunter and Tim Hollman, Arete Developments works with architect Kent Sutherland of KSA Group Architecture. The company is excited to create projects that will shape the city’s future.

David Gagnon

The Greater Sudbury Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) outlines a plan for an increase in regreening efforts as part of its goals to increase carbon sequestration. …the desired outcome for 2050 is to quadruple carbon sequestration rates. I am wondering if there might be a way to incorporate a circular economy within this system. Canada already has a robust, sustainable forestry sector; surely there is some overlap between this existing sector, local  carbon sequestration goals, and housing? …My proposal is this: use enhanced sustainable forestry methods already in place in Canada as a way to sequester carbon and as a way to provide materials for sustainable and affordable  housing developments in the city. …Cross-laminated timber panels … are an excellent solution that sequesters large amounts of carbon… A local CLT manufacturer would suit Northern Ontarian building practices and sustainably promote job and industry growth in the region. 

Please join us for our Wood Products Processing (WPP)/ Bioeconomy Sciences & Technology (BEST) Co-op Presentation Night on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. Intermediate and senior students in the B.Sc. Wood Products Processing and Bioeconomy Sciences & Technology degree programs at the University of British Columbia will be delivering presentations on their most recent co-op work terms. Posters from our junior co-op students will also be on display. The intermission will provide a valuable networking opportunity to meet our industry partners, UBC faculty members and students. Please note that the program for the evening, as well as the presenter list, will be distributed in September.  
When: Wednesday, September 28th, 2018, 6:00pm to 9:30pm
Where: UBC Forest Sciences Centre
Please RSVP by 11:55pm, September 25th, 2022.

A new building on the UBC campus is part housing and part research project. Evolve is a new Passive House-certified 110-unit faculty and staff rental building in Wesbrook Place, the first of its kind on the Vancouver campus. The project has been in the works since 2018 and there is major excitement in multiple departments across the university as the first tenants moved in this week. A project team consisting of UBC Properties Trust, UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), and UBC Campus and Community Planning secured a $3.5-million grant from Natural Resources Canada to support the development of the six-storey, 103,000-square foot project which broke ground in 2020. …Dr. Adam Rysanek, assistant professor of environmental systems at SALA, will be leading a research group that uses Evolve as a model to evaluate the lifecycle performance of Passive Homes.

With advancements in wood-based products and building systems comes the need to develop the skills, ability and confidence to choose wood-based products over alternative materials. Training for current and future skill sets is vital if B.C. is to improve the capacity and effectiveness of its wood-related design and built infrastructure. In 2021/22, FII’s Wood First program funded the Construction Foundation of BC (CFBC) to expand its K-12 Indigenous Skills Initiative which encourages Indigenous youth to pursue careers in the wood sector. Starting with woodworking traditions drawn from coastal B.C., the program has created a pool of resources that allow educators to connect woodworking techniques with community practices rooted in history, language and culture. In 2021/22, fifteen unique wood discovery projects were added… using traditional skills shared by community Elders, including the book, Indigenous Skills: An Exploration of Northwest Coast Carving and Tradition, the IndigenousSkills.ca website and a series of instructional videos.

During heated debate over the Broadway Plan, Vancouver city council responded with a concerted effort to pave the way for more mass-timber highrises.  But despite years of talk about such structures, only two have been built in B.C. .  …Brock Commons, a student residence, was the world’s highest contemporary wood highrise when it was completed in 2017 to many awards.  …But that was five years ago. Such towers remain rare, despite so-called “cross-laminated timber” technology being around for a couple of decades. …Given the radically lower carbon advantages of wood, why are so few highrises made of this sustainable material?  Wood is a fifth the weight of concrete, which reduces the energy used for its transportation and cuts the need for massive foundations.   …Some are psychological. Some are technical. The mass-timber industry says both concerns can be overcome.

With advancements in wood-based products and building systems comes the need to develop the skills, ability and confidence to choose wood-based products over alternative materials. Training for current and future skill sets is vital if B.C. is to improve the capacity and effectiveness of its wood-related design and built infrastructure. In 2021/22, FII’s Wood First program funded the Construction Foundation of BC to expand its K-12 Indigenous Skills Initiative which encourages Indigenous youth to pursue careers in the wood sector. Starting with woodworking traditions drawn from coastal B.C., the program has created a pool of resources that allow educators to connect woodworking techniques with community practices rooted in history, language and culture. In 2021/22, fifteen unique wood discovery projects were added, each featuring a different regional woodworking application using traditional skills shared by community Elders.

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is doubling down on building up mass timber training. BCIT held an Applied Mass Timber Build Open House to highlight student work using mass timber materials and introduce its new Construction of Mass Timber Structures associate certificate program. BCIT School of Construction and the Environment dean Wayne Hand said the new program grew from extensive industry consultation and a previous mass-timber “micro-certificate” pilot program. …“The second component we identified was the shortage of tradespeople… who have experience or knowledge in terms of how to actually assemble mass timber buildings,” Hand said. “We put together this associate certificate in the construction of mass timber structures and it was targeted around hiring and training a combination of an ironworker and a carpenter.” The skill sets are similar to those needed for mass timber work but require some additional training.

The rising cost of mass timber was a key obstacle to using the climate-friendly construction material during a panel discussion the B.C. chapter of the Urban Land Institute hosted this past spring. Now, one Vancouver developer is setting aside plans to use mass timber in two rental projects in favour of concrete after upwards of three years of planning. “We were just at the point where it was becoming very challenging to move forward where costs were fluctuating the way they were,” said Zack Ross, president of the Cape Group in Vancouver. …Prices for mass timber have shifted by as much as $1,000 a foot over the past two years, he said. This compares to pricing of about $500 a foot over the course of the previous decade.  Now, it will be built using concrete when construction begins in early 2023.

In 1974 B.C. sawmill pioneer Conrad Miller saw a damaged two-by-four piece of lumber that had been run over by a log loader. Be remarked to his son Jerry that there just had to be a way to piece it back together and sell it. Decades later, his grandson, Owen Miller, never forgot this dream and is working on making it a reality. “That’s really where this whole thing started,” said Miller. His father and grandfather worked on the concept but it wasn’t until 2019 that Miller decided to go all-in to try to make it happen. Miller’s company, Deadwood Innovations, utilizes mechanical and chemical technology to essentially deconstruct wood and put it back together. This is especially useful for less desirable wood. …Target feedstocks include underutilized species like aspen and northern hardwoods that normally don’t have uses that make economic sense. …Miller hopes their new approach can shake up the forestry sector.

More students will get the education and skills they need to build using one of the province’s greatest natural advantages: mass timber. A new program is helping experienced carpenters, ironworkers and builders gain the in-demand skills needed to succeed in the growing field of mass timber innovation.  …“We are investing in new post-secondary training for students to become leaders in mass timber construction,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “We’re also investing in student housing and projects that involve mass timber at post-secondary institutions, including providing $108.8 million toward BCIT’s new Tall Timber Student Housing, which is currently under construction.” At a BCIT Applied Mass Timber Build open house, Kang announced $250,000 to support BCIT to develop additional programming, building on the success of the new construction of mass timber structures associate certificate.