Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

The design team behind Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s administration and health centre has been recognized by their industry peers for innovation in structural and architectural wood use in completing the almost 30,000-square-foot project.  Vancouver-based Lubor Trubka Associates Architects took home the Institutional Wood Design award for a large building as part of the Canadian Wood Council’s Wood WORKS! BC program, held virtually on July 14.  The building, completed in 2019 at 3178 Alder Court in North Vancouver, uses mass timber and traditional materials such as Douglas firs and red cedars to showcase the nation’s cultural heritage.  The building itself is a hub for the nation’s administration and governance, as well as its health and social services.

…The idea of creating a building that will have an expiration date is not a common one. …There are certain construction methods and materials that make this process easier. …The so-called Design for Deconstruction considers how all decisions made in the design phase can increase the chances of reusing the building parts at the end of their useful life. As defined in the United States Environmental Protection Agency manual, “the ultimate goal of the Design for Deconstruction movement is to responsibly manage end-of-life building materials to minimize the consumption of raw materials. …According to the Circular Economy & the Built Environment Sector in Canada, using wood products—specifically mass timber —can reduce the building’s carbon footprint in several ways … because wood is versatile and durable, it can be disassembled and then reassembled into other buildings or other wood fiber products, sequestering the carbon even longer as long as it stays out of landfills.

The University of Victoria’s engineering and computer science building is being expanded and a new research and structures laboratory equipped with a gantry crane will be built as part of the $89.6-million project. Mina Hoorfar, dean of UVic’s faculty of engineering and computer science, said the new structures… will provide a dynamic environment for the training of future engineers and computer scientists. …The buildings will incorporate the latest developments in sustainable building design and construction, she said. Each building has been designed for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, a key feature of Canada’s climate plan. They will feature mass timber structure and passive house design, so they require less energy.

Would so-called hurricane strapping have prevented some of the roofs from blowing off houses during last Thursday’s tornado in south-Barrie? …Hurricane strapping connects and strengthens wood-framed roofs and houses. Paul Meredith, first vice-president of the Simcoe County Home Builders’ Association and a construction manager by profession, says there are two arguments. …“However, would it cause the house to further collapse more? If the hurricane straps were on there, it could have caused a potential collapse, in which case people would be trapped or injured inside the home, so there’s an argument both ways,” Meredith said. …Coun. Natalie Harris says she will bring this issue to city council Aug. 9. “Tentatively, I will be requesting that the Ontario government change the Ontario Building Code to include mandatory hurricane straps in areas where tornadoes are evident, and that the City of Barrie add a clause that all new building projects must include hurricane straps.”

The largest mass timber developer in B.C. has no problem with the controversial ‘net-zero’ building code brought in this month by two North Shore municipalities. On June 1, the City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver became the first B.C. municipalities to legislate Step 5 of the B.C. Energy Code, which mandates that residential buildings must produce more energy than they use, resulting in buildings with net-zero energy requirements. …Eric Andreasen, vice-president of marketing and sales for Adera Development Corp., …said new homes that are highly energy efficient are the way of the future. …Studies of mass timber projects have shown a reduction of carbon pollution by 25% to 45% or more during construction compared with concrete projects. The buildings are also more energy efficient, with wood being a natural insulator. The downside is that the cost of lumber is now double the price it was a year ago…

VANCOUVER – Building on the success of the first intake of the Mass Timber Demonstration Program, the B.C. government is investing an additional $2 million to open a second intake. The funding will support the advancement of mass timber projects that will help drive economic recovery and change the face of construction in the province. …The $2-million investment will support eligible applicants with incremental or one-time costs associated with design development, permitting and construction activities in mass timber building construction. Individual projects can receive up to $500,000. The second intake follows a successful first intake that contributed $4.2 million to support eight mass timber demonstration projects and four research projects in B.C. …The Mass Timber Demonstration Program is delivered by Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) on behalf of the Province.

VANCOUVER — With extensive use of cross-laminated timber, Vancouver’s MGA | Michael Green Architecture has designed a four-storey boutique development for 550 East Broadway. Currently under construction, the mid-block infill building consists of three levels of residential with 25 rental units over one storey of commercial space — intended for a restaurant. The massing of the building is simple, a rectangular block clad in corrugated metal panels. At night, the building has lantern-like appearance with glimpses of wood through perforated panels in off-white aluminium. The podium is concrete and the upper floors are framed with CLT — ensuring the thickness of the floor plates was kept to a minimum — a necessity due to strict zoning limitations on building height.

Winners and nominees of the Wood WORKS! BC 2020 Wood Design Awards were honoured and recognized virtually for their leadership and innovation in structural and architectural wood use. There were more than 50 nominations in nine categories for the 2020 awards. All projects illustrate distinctive and unique qualities of wood such as strength, beauty, versatility, and cost-effectiveness while showcasing a variety of wood uses. “With wood now recognized for its ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas impacts in our built environment and increase construction efficiency, it now plays a leading role in the current design and building revolution. The continued exploration of new frontiers with wood is the foundation of our awards program and the projects presented here provide a view into the future,” said Lynn Embury-Williams, executive director of Wood WORKS! BC. See original media release. Watch the video.

Fast + Epp Office

VANCOUVER, BC – Fast + Epp celebrates completion of their new four-storey home office building in Vancouver. The one of a kind building uses hybrid mass timber and steel as the structure’s fundamental building block to demonstrate material efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainable construction. Resilient in its design, the building incorporates Tectonus devices, a shock absorbent technology that not only dissipates and dampens energy but also enables the building to snap back to its original position after an earthquake… The new office is the first to use this technology in North America. The well-being and productivity of staff are at the forefront of the building’s design – generous glazing allows for ample daylighting of the mass timber interiors, and smart glass technology automatically adjusts the tint level eliminating the need for any window blinds. With this technology, the building has a reduced energy consumption level, and an improved ambiance for employees.  

A Vancouver photographer who specializes in finding ghost signs around the city came across an interesting piece of history right beneath his feet.  Gareth Farfan posted the high-quality images to his Instagram page ghostsigns_etcetera adding they were taken on Railway St. The pavers pop up every few years or so usually when construction lifts up a layer of asphalt or when traffic wears enough of the road away to expose them.  It might be hard to imagine nowadays with B.C.’s wood prices being so high, but 100 years ago cedar and fir were seen as economical, quieter than stone pavers and also easier on horses’ feet.  Patrick Gunn of the Heritage Vancouver Society, who came across some of the old wooden pavers in 2018, believes the blocks were soaked in creosote to expand their lifespan but went out of popularity around 1910.