The resiliency of wood construction was put to the test on Aug. 22, 2023. On that morning in downtown Prince George, UNBC’s Wood Innovation Research Laboratory was in the wrong place at the wrong time when an adjacent building formerly known as the Achillion Restaurant exploded. The ensuing fireball shot burning debris into the side of the wood innovation building with enough force to pierce the wall of the research lab, causing it to burst into flames. Despite the violence of the explosion and heat from the fire, the state-of-the-art mass timber structure – built to airtight Passive House energy efficiency standards – bent but did not break, proving the flexibility and strength of the wood mechanics that went into its construction, the university reported. The building, which is beside the Wood Innovation and Design Centre, is used by UNBC students to test cutting-edge design advancements in wood construction technology.

Additional coverage in My Prince George Now, by Darin Bain: UNBC touts resiliency of Wood Innovation Research Laboratory nearly a year after explosion

University of Northern British Columbia: From disaster to discovery: Wood Innovation Research Laboratory’s structural resilience