Stay connected to the ideas, projects, and technical insights shaping wood design and construction across Canada and beyond. Wood Design & Building magazine is published six times per year and delivers award-winning projects, expert perspectives, and practical guidance on all forms of wood construction. Whether you’re an architect, engineer, builder, developer, or wood enthusiast, subscribing ensures each issue arrives directly in your inbox—keeping you informed, inspired, and ready to bring more wood into your work.

The Canadian Wood Council is pleased to introduce a new design tool: the Exposed Mass Timber Calculator.

Developed to support practitioners working with encapsulated mass timber construction (EMTC), this tool helps determine whether a compartment design aligns with the 2025 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC).

By entering key information about your compartment layout—including size, wall configuration, mass timber elements, and encapsulation details—the calculator evaluates whether the design meets code requirements for exposed mass timber elements.

The tool allows users to:

• Evaluate permissible percentages of exposed mass timber elements (beams, columns, walls, and ceilings)

• Confirm compliance within suites or fire compartments

• Identify potential code issues through automated warnings

• Visualize compartment configurations with a generated 3-D model

• Review encapsulation requirements and supporting notes

This practical calculator helps architects, engineers, and code professionals explore compliant design options more efficiently when working with mass timber construction.

Try the Exposed Mass Timber Calculator

Photo © Tom Arban

Call for Submissions: 2025 Catherine Lalonde Memorial Scholarships for Wood Related Research

Catherine Lalonde Memorial Scholarships are presented to graduate students, enrolled at Canadian Universities, who demonstrate excellence in their studies of structural wood products or wood design. The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) invites submissions from graduate students in engineering, architecture, and wood science. Submitted projects must demonstrate their value and impact on Canadian-made structural wood products and/or their role in advancing domestic wood construction.

The CWC will award two scholarships to graduate students whose outstanding wood research not only demonstrates academic excellence but also mirrors the unwavering passion for the wood industry exemplified by Catherine Lalonde, in whose honor the scholarships are named.

Catherine, a professional engineer, was a passionate representative of our industry who relentlessly championed the use of wood in residential and commercial construction during her 10 years with the CWC. She served as president of the CWC from 2000 until 2003 when she tragically lost her battle with cancer. This award was established to commemorate Catherine’s memory and perpetuate the legacy of excellence and advocacy she bestowed upon the Canadian wood products industry throughout her influential tenure at the CWC. 

Scholarship Details and Application Process

1. Scholarship Value
Two scholarships, valued at $3,000 each, will be awarded to outstanding graduate students.

2. Who can apply?
Students enrolled in graduate programs in engineering, architecture, or wood science whose work contributes to the advancement of domestic wood products and construction. 

3. Application Process 

4. Full Application Submission Checklist

For Step 2, applicants must upload the following documents to the submission portal: 

• One cover letter. 
• Official transcripts: 
  • Master’s applicants: undergraduate and graduate transcripts. 
  • Doctoral applicants: master’s transcript. 
• Two-page description of the project, plus up to two pages of drawings or photos (if applicable). 
• Two letters of reference, preferably from faculty members or supervisors familiar with the applicant’s work. 

For additional information, please contact Ioana Lazea at [email protected]  

The Canadian Wood Council partnered with federal and provincial governments and organizations, as well as key experts, to conduct a series of five fire research burns on a full-scale mass timber structure in Ottawa. The five tests occurred in June 2022. The project supports market acceptance of tall and large mass timber buildings in Canada and encourages the construction of buildings that include mass timber.

With the most certified sustainable forests in the world, Canada is a champion of sustainable forest management and in a position to solidify our global leadership in the bioeconomy and forest sector by advancing mass timber adoption. Mass timber is revolutionizing the building industry as a renewable, nature-based construction material. Recognizing mass timber’s vital role in achieving a low carbon, built environment, the Canadian Wood Council and its partners are dedicated to advancing its adoption.

Click here for the final report

Purpose
The project was designed to support market acceptance of tall and large mass timber buildings in Canada and encourage the construction of buildings that include mass timber. By designing and executing a series of demonstration fire research tests on a full-scale mass timber structure, and collecting data from tests, the project:

• Demonstrated mass timber fire performance to key stakeholders including building officials, fire service and insurance industry
• Encouraged building code advancements that will allow for taller and larger wood buildings Support the adoption of the 2020 National Building Code introducing new provisions to allow 12 storey mass timber buildings
• Supported future code change proposals and the development of alternative solutions
• Encouraged the development of / provide data and information to support the transition toward performance-based codes, long-term strategy
• Promoted the adoption of mass timber by developing educational materials for targeted audiences
• Supported the maximum use of exposed mass timber elements (visual aesthetic), leading to cost competitive projects and health and wellness benefits
• Demonstrated the ability of different mass timber assemblies to maintain structural integrity under, during and post-construction fire scenarios in a way that is comparable to (or superior to) conventional materials.
• Supported the transition to Performance-based codes

Summary of the Mass Timber Demonstration Fire Test #5

Objectives
While there is evidence, research, and case studies that demonstrate the comparable, safety and performance of mass timber construction compared to construction using conventional materials like steel and concrete, misconceptions still circulate. By designing and executing a series of demonstration fire research burns on a full-scale mass timber structure, and collecting data from these burns, our objective was to:

• Showcase, through fire demonstration tests, that mass timber construction is a safe and viable alternative to other more conventional construction systems (steel & concrete) for constructing large or tall buildings;
• Support the implementation and adoption of the 2020 edition of the National Building Code of Canada;
• Support future code change proposals to extend the use of mass timber to other building types, heights, and sizes;
• Support the transition to Performance-based codes;
• Use the results and finds from the demonstration tests to develop viable solutions to mitigate construction fire risk.

Targeted Audiences
Various key stakeholders within the construction sector need to be educated through science-based tests that mass timber building systems can be designed to provide a safe building environment when subjected to fire. The key groups targeted by the project include, but are not limited to:

• Building Code Officials & Regulators
• Fire Services Professionals
• Insurance Professionals
• Building & Construction Industry
• Sustainability Specialists
• Building Occupants & Owners

Funders & Stakeholders

• Natural Resources Canada
• BC Forestry Innovation Investment
• Government of British Columbia – Office of Mass Timber Implementation (OMTI)
• Ontario – Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry
• Alberta – Agriculture, Forestry & Rural Economic Development
• Québec – Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs
• Canadian Wood Council
• FPInnovations

Full Scale Fire Testing and Research
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) provided support for the technical work and science-based fire tests, as part of its research to inform the advancement of safe and innovative solutions across Canada’s construction industry.

Key Consultants & Contractors

• GHL Consultants Ltd.
• CHM Fire Consultants Ltd.
• ISL Engineering
• Timmerman Timberworks Inc.

Key Suppliers & Manufacturers
Five mass timber product manufacturers supplied the mass timber materials:

1. Western Archrib:
   ◦ Glulam beams and columns
   ◦ Westdek panels for the roof
2. Element5 Modern Timber Buildings
   ◦ Glulam beams and columns
   ◦ CLT floor
3. Structurlam Mass Timber Corporation
   ◦ Glulam beams and columns
   ◦ CLT floor and walls
4. StructureCraft: Timber engineering & Construction:
   ◦ DLT floor and roof
5. Nordic Structures
   ◦ Glulam beams and columns
   ◦ CLT roof and walls

Several key material suppliers also supported the program:

1. MTC
   ◦ Connectors and fasteners
2. Rockwool
   ◦ Fire Proof Insulation
3. Hilti
   ◦ Fireproof material

The structure for the Ottawa Fire Test was built by Timmerman Timberworks Inc.