Diversify Your Structural Portfolio: Wood in Low-Rise Commercial Construction

Course Overview This course will explore the use cases for incorporating more wood into a sector that is typically dominated by structural steel construction. We will look at Light Wood Framing (LWF), Structural Composite Lumber (SCL), Mass Timber (MT), and Hybrid Systems that may incorporate any or all of these materials, as well as structural steel. What is important is using the right material in the right application. Several examples from the CWC Publication “Low-Rise Commercial Construction in Wood: A guide for Architects and Engineers”, as well as real project examples from the presenter. Learning Objectives Identify strengths and weaknesses of various wood products. Learn to select the right wood material/system for the most efficient and cost effective structure. Highlight critical details and identify potential red flags to ensure a successful project. Provide useful examples, resources and tools for the practitioner to add to their “tool belt”. Course Video Speaker Bio Alex Nowakowksi Engineer, Senior Associate, and Barrie Team Lead Tacoma Engineers Alex is a Professional Engineer, Senior Associate, and Barrie Team Lead for Tacoma Engineers. Alex has been with Tacoma Engineers since 2012. As a Senior Structural Engineer and Project Manager, Alex has been the Primary Structural Engineer and Specialty Structural Engineer on a wide variety of wood projects in the Commercial, Institutional, Multi-Family, Agricultural and Residential Sectors.
Advancing North American Mass Timber Projects: Harnessing the Strength of Local Expertise
Course Overview As global adoption of mass timber construction accelerates, a growing number of solutions are available in the marketplace that can contribute to the success of your project. This session, presented by Simpson Strong-Tie, will explore some of the unique challenges faced by North American projects and some of the domestically developed solutions available to meet those challenges. Learning Objectives Understand the need for greater tolerance on concealed beam hangers, the importance of ensuring connectors are easy to install, and the specific requirements for large elements in North American buildings. Understand the advantages domestic suppliers can bring to your project, including the rapid delivery of hardware to job sites. Learn about the necessity for effective installation tools and processes tailored to the scale of large North American projects. Learn about the need for effective moisture mitigation and the systems and strategies that can prevent unnecessary exposure of mass timber to the elements during construction. Course Video Speaker Bio Adrian Mitchell Chair of Simpson’s internal Mass Timber Focus Market Committee Simpson Strong-Tie Adrian is a mass timber and off-site business specialist with a principal focus on the rapidly expanding mass timber segment, for which he serves as Chair of Simpson’s internal Mass Timber Focus Market Committee. Adrian has spent the bulk of his 20-year career in the off-site, mass timber, and modular spaces, primarily as a business development leader and private consultant. With professional experiences ranging from heavy civil, oil and gas, high-end custom homes to large-scale mass timber missed-use projects and artificial intelligence in BIM, he has a unique and well-rounded background in wood and steel applications in off-site construction. Adrian is a native of Vancouver, Canada, and a graduate of the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s School of Business, he enjoys all the typical Canadian pastimes like playing hockey, building things from wood, and mountain biking.
Connections Course – US
The Connections Course provides an introduction to the WoodWorks Connections Program, a tool designed to assist engineers and designers in the creation and evaluation of wood connections. This course covers the design of new connections using bolts, nails, rivets, or shear plates and explains how to assess their capacity.You will gain an understanding of the program’s functionality, its application in real-world scenarios, and best practices for optimizing wood connections. Course Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, you will be able to: Course Structure This course consists of two (2) lessons. Each lesson is comprised of a lesson overview, learning outcomes, instructional videos, assessment questions and an assignment. Through these elements, you will gain practical experience in using the Connections Woodworks Program for real-world applications. Once you have completed all assessment questions and assignment submissions, a certificate of completion will be digitally awarded. Time for Completion This course is comprised of 2 videos for a total run time of 8:12 minutes. To complete the assessments in this course you can expect to spend ~ 20 minutes. Program Download In order to complete this course you will need to download a trial version of the Connections Program. Complete these steps to download the program: *Note: the trial version of the program is only valid for 10 days upon installation.
Connections Course
Course Overview The Connections Course provides an introduction to the WoodWorks Connections Program, a tool designed to assist engineers and designers in the creation and evaluation of wood connections. This course covers the design of new connections using bolts, nails, rivets, or shear plates and explains how to assess their capacity. You will gain an understanding of the program’s functionality, its application in real-world scenarios, and best practices for optimizing wood connections. Course Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, you will be able to: Course Structure This course consists of ten (10) lessons. Each lesson is comprised of a lesson overview, learning outcomes, instructional videos, assessment questions and an assignment. Through these elements, you will gain practical experience in using the Connections WoodWorks Program for real-world applications. Once you have completed all assessment questions and assignment submissions, a certificate of completion will be digitally awarded. Time for Completion This course is comprised of 2 videos for a total run time of 8 minutes. To complete the assessments in this course you can expect to spend ~ 20 minutes. Program Download In order to complete this course you will need to download a trial version of the Connections Program. Complete these steps to download the program: *Note: the trial version of the program is only valid for 10 days upon installation.
Aspen Art Museum: Creating an Innovative Wood Structure
Course Overview The Aspen Art Museum, designed by architect Shigeru Ban, includes a long-span three-dimensional wood space-frame roof. Ban’s charge was to create a wood space frame with spans of more than 50 feet and cantilevers of 14 feet, in a structural depth of 3 feet. The space frame was to have two planes of intersecting diagonal webs of curved members that undulated up and down to touch the planes of the top and bottom chords with no visible connectors. This case study presentation will describe the design and construction of the wood structure, including paths explored but not chosen for the final design. Learning Objectives Articulate the particular demands associated with creating a 3-dimensional space frame entirely in wood. Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of several wood connection strategies in space-frame structures. Be aware of manufacturing capabilities and limitations that influenced the design of the Aspen Art Museum roof structure. Understand the importance of early engagement of manufacturing and engineering partners in the design process for innovative wood structures. Course Video Speaker Bio Gregory R. Kingsley, PhD, PE President and CEO KL&A Inc. Gregory is the president and CEO of KL&A Inc., Structural Engineers and Builders in Golden, Colorado, a firm of 65 that includes structural engineers, steel detailers, and construction managers. He enjoys working with design architects on innovative structures, especially wood and steel.