It’s called mass timber and it’s become a construction game-changer in the Okanagan and beyond. Structurlam in Penticton makes mass timber called cross-laminated by gluing together layers of dimensional lumber in perpendicular patterns to create a light structural panel that’s as strong as steel or concrete. Structurlam’s prowess was praised this week during the Kelowna stop of the 2017 Wood Design Lunch series at the Delta Grand hotel. Close to home, the recently completed six-story addition to Penticton Lakeside Resort was made with Structurlam cross-laminated panels. And the world’s tallest wood building – the 18-storey Brock Commons student residence at UBC Vancouver – is also constructed with Structurlam cross-laminated panels. It was finished this summer and 400 students have since moved in.