Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) awarded the 2022 Catherine Lalonde Memorial Scholarships to Mahboobeh Fakhrzarei (University of Alberta), Tyler Hull (University of Waterloo) and the Team of Ryan Gillespie & George Wang (University of Toronto). The winners demonstrated academic excellence through research projects that will have positive impacts in the structural wood products industry. Established seventeen years ago, the memorial scholarship is awarded yearly to graduate students whose wood research exemplifies the same level of passion for wood and the wood products industry that Catherine Lalonde championed relentlessly as a professional engineer and president of the CWC. “Catherine’s legacy lives on through initiatives such as the memorial scholarship, and we are elated to celebrate and recognize future practitioners that share her passion for wood construction,” said Martin Richard, VP of Market Development and Communications at the CWC.
JAPAN — As the world careens toward greater climate instability, driven partly by the depletion of the world’s forests, there has never been a greater urgency to reform the building and construction sector. …Architects have been refurbishing legacy buildings and salvaging expensive materials like stone or marble for millennia, but the urgency of the climate crisis is transforming what were once ad hoc and opportunistic efforts into a movement that’s seeking to embed the principle of reuse into every stage of the cycle — and to scale it up. …In Europe, evolving regulations are beginning to do just that. …Its the Netherlands that’s emerging as a trailblazer when it comes to more sustainable building. It’s committed to achieving a zero-waste economy by 2050 and aims to halve the use of raw materials by the end of the decade.
The Canadian Wood Council’s annual wood design conference and trade show, hosted by Wood WORKS! Alberta, is back in person!We have a diverse schedule of 9 educational sessions planned that you can personalize your program. We are excited to host our international guest architect, Anthony Thistleton; Director at Waugh Thistleton architects. Anthony will discuss many of their outstanding projects, the benefits of mass timber and its potential to transform construction and the use of timber in construction across the globe as a significant contributor to carbon sequestration and a counter to climate change. We are also thrilled to welcome Ray Wolfe; Partner at thinkspace architecture. Wood is an amazingly useful and resilient material. Thanks in part to advances in the industry, wood can now be used in applications that were traditionally reserved for concrete and steel – and it should be a regular part of our architectural, engineering and construction vernacular.
More than two years after the pandemic, supply chain challenges persist in B.C., particularly in the construction industry. …The population of B.C. continues to grow, and continue to ensure that demand for housing outweighs supply… The opportunity in our province is creating a sustainable solution to the housing crisis, and one which younger people could gravitate toward. …Adera Development Corporation recently constructed a townhome development using regionally harvested Western hemlock. Hemlock is not as commonly used in construction as other tree species for a number of reasons related to its characteristics. …Duet CityHomes, a 60-home hybrid mass timber project in West Coquitlam, is an example of the successful use of regionally sourced hemlock. Adera worked with its partners at Kalesnikoff to utilize their advanced processes and attention to lumber for this housing project. …As interest rates soar and international supply chain pressures persist, now is the time to invest back into our province.
More than 100 Indigenous people in Northwestern Ontario are being trained for careers in the skilled trades in an effort for the province to alleviate the labour shortages in forestry and mining. A $1.5-million investment in three Thunder Bay training initiatives involves a partnership between the Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) with the Carpenters Union Local 1669. Participants are introduced to general carpentry as well as the basics of welding and electrical trades. This pre-apprenticeship training program includes classroom training and a 12-week paid work placement to gain valuable hands-on experience. The funding is part of an overall $77-million funding commitment by the province to entice more young people to enter in-demand skilled trades careers.
Deck building is a hugely popular DIY project that can be accomplished with relatively modest skills, knowledge of local building codes, and tools that many homeowners already possess. Aside from overall deck size and other design considerations, the big question for many is whether to use composite decking or real wood decking. With so many types of composite and wood available, choosing the best decking material can seem complicated. Key considerations of the composite vs. wood deck debate include materials, price, maintenance, and sustainability—all of which should provide homeowners with the information they need to choose the best decking option for their needs. …The jury is still out on which decking option is more sustainable. Wood is a natural, sustainable product, so it’s understandable to assume that wooden decking is the more environmentally-friendly choice. Most of the time that may be true, but not always.
WASHINGTON
Americans bought loads of furniture during the pandemic, with sales …rising by more than $4 billion from 2019 to 2021… And a lot of it won’t survive the decade. …Many of the Ikea beds and Wayfair desks purchased during the COVID-19 lockdown were designed to last about five years, said Deana McDonagh, a professor of industrial design at the University of Illinois. …Increasingly, renters and homeowners are turning to quick and cheap… And they don’t keep it for long. Each year, Americans throw away more than 12 million tons of furniture, creating mountains of solid waste that have grown 450% since 1960, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. …Over the past decade, several sustainability-focused companies have entered the market in hopes of presenting a solution. …Kaiyo, an online marketplace for used furniture, was founded in 2014 and says it has since saved more than 3.5 million pounds of furniture from ending up in landfills.
Development plans are moving forward for two new apartment buildings with affordable housing units in Des Moines, and the City Council on Monday will consider financial incentives for both. A 33-story high-rise apartment tower [and] …a three-story, mixed-use building with 20 multifamily units and 6,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor. The $7.2 million Star Apartments would be the first in Des Moines to get a federal grant to use an eco-friendly building material called mass timber. …The $7.2 million building would be financed by construction loans and developer equity. It also would use a $250,000 grant from the US Forest Service for its use of mass timber, a sustainable product similar to wood beams found in some historic structures. …Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and be finished in 2024.
NEW ZEALAND — A 2022 survey of design, construction and building professionals into the perceptions and barriers to mass timber use in construction highlights a growing awareness and adoption of mass timber however also that more can be done. The survey was… commissioned by the Mid-Rise Wood Construction Programme. …
LONDON — London is the leading city for investment in green construction tech designed to decarbonise the built world according to new research. …Cities have the potential to become carbon sinks if developers and owners adopt bio-based materials and circular economy principles in building structures. …Embodied carbon is expected to account for half of total emissions from the built world by 2035, the other half coming from operational emissions generated from the day-to-day running of existing buildings. …Investment in low carbon building materials has grown rapidly over the past five years as the need to swap traditional materials for low carbon, bio-based or recycled alternatives has become more urgent. …Timber has seen the greatest market adoption, with regulations increasingly permitting its use in mid to high-rise structures, although the ability to trace timber to source and obtain sustainability accreditations needs enhancing. 
Globally around 2 billion tonnes of waste is generated every year and the construction industry is a large contributor. What’s more, demand for construction materials is growing alongside population and economic development, but the production of new materials to support this growth consumes both energy and resources. An infographic from Northstar Clean Technologies highlights the final destinations of construction and demolition (C&D) debris. The sad truth is that only a small amount of C&D debris that could be repurposed actually is. So where do these materials end up? 143.8 million tons of C&D waste was sent to landfill in 2018, consisting of a mix of materials ranging from wood, concrete, and asphalt. Concrete was the highest repurposed C&D material while other materials like asphalt shingles were primarily sent to landfill.
