Halsa 230 Royal York: Ontario’s Tallest Mass Timber Residential Building
Course Overview Halsa 230 Royal York is setting new standards as Toronto’s pioneering 9-storey prefabricated mass timber rental building, demonstrating the viability of carbon-neutral communities within Toronto’s Right of Way zoning. Through a case study of the building, this session will present the advantages of integrated design and prefabricated mass timber building systems components. Learning Objectives Explain the integrated design and prefabrication strategies used in mass timber residential construction: Learners will be able to describe how collaborative design, advanced manufacturing, and prefabricated building systems contribute to project efficiency, quality, and scalability. Analyze the technical features and performance benefits of mass timber floor cassettes and curtain wall systems: Learners will understand the structural, acoustic, fire resistance, and thermal properties of the building’s mass timber components, and how these features address common challenges in high-rise construction. Evaluate the sustainability, regulatory, and operational considerations in developing carbon-neutral mass timber buildings: Learners will assess how material sourcing, certification, lifecycle carbon analysis, and code compliance shape the viability and impact of mass timber projects in urban environments. Course Video Speakers Bio Oliver Lang Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer, Intelligent City Co-Founder, Principal, LWPAC Oliver Lang is a German-Canadian architect and urban entrepreneur with 25+ years of experience and a recognized leader in design innovation and integration of complex urban projects, mixed-use housing, advanced prefabrication, and green building strategies. He is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation, with a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design, and he holds a professional degree (Diplom-Ingenieur Architektur) from the University of Technology Berlin with two-year studies at the ETSA Barcelona UPC. Prior to founding LWPAC in 1998, Oliver researched and practiced in digitally assisted design and fabrication with Smith-Miller & Hawkinson in New York, while teaching digital design at Princeton University, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently has taught advanced design and digital technology at SCI_ARC, the Berlage Institute, TU Berlin, UTF Santa Maria, and University of British Columbia (UBC). Shawn Keyes VP – Strategic Growth and Business Development Intelligent City Shawn is a structural engineer and commercial executive with more than a decade of experience leading innovation in mass timber and industrialized construction. As Vice President of Strategic Growth at Intelligent City, he leads commercialization, market strategy, and partnerships to scale the company’s prefabricated housing systems. Previously, Shawn served as Executive Director of WoodWorks BC, where he led a strategic transformation that strengthened partnerships, technical leadership, and influence across the development, AEC, and policy sectors. Before that, he spent over six years at Fast + Epp as a Senior Structural Engineer, developing deep technical expertise. Over his career, Shawn has supported more than 150 mass timber and hybrid projects across Canada, and has served on advisory councils for BC Housing, BCIT, the BC Office of Mass Timber Implementation, Forestry Innovation Investment, and Natural Resources Canada. He holds an MBA from UBC Sauder, a Master of Engineering from Carleton University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in BC and Ontario.
Mass Timber Economics: Why One Line Item Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
Course Overview Mass timber buildings are often perceived as premium projects, but assumptions based on a single cost line can be misleading. This session explores the complexities of costing mass timber construction and highlights why a holistic, team-based approach is essential from the earliest stages of design. Attendees will gain insights into common pitfalls for cost consultants and learn how early architectural decisions such as grid spacing and aesthetic goals can significantly influence both cost and structural efficiency. The speakers will emphasize the importance of clear project objectives when setting the initial budget and outline best practices for cost predictability, including robust scope management, design reviews, and obtaining competitive bids from multiple timber suppliers. The session will also examine the role of architects in informing cost decisions, strategies for improved procurement and scheduling, and how to leverage mass timber’s expedited on-site phase. Learning Objectives Understand the complexities of mass timber costing: Participants will be able to explain why relying on a single cost line item is misleading and identify key factors—such as grid spacing and aesthetic goals—that influence overall project cost and structural efficiency. Apply best practices for cost predictability in mass timber projects: Learners will be able to outline strategies for achieving accurate budgets, including robust scope management, design reviews, and obtaining competitive bids from multiple timber suppliers. Recognize the role of collaboration in successful mass timber delivery: Attendees will be able to describe how architects, developers, and contractors can work together from early design stages to improve procurement, scheduling, and leverage mass timber’s expedited on-site phase. Course Video Speakers Bio Marlon Bray Executive Vice President Clark Construction Management Inc. Mass timber buildings are often perceived as premium projects, but assumptions based on a single cost line can be misleading. This session explores the complexities of costing mass timber construction and highlights why a holistic, team-based approach is essential from the earliest stages of design. Attendees will gain insights into common pitfalls for cost consultants and learn how early architectural decisions such as grid spacing and aesthetic goals can significantly influence both cost and structural efficiency. The speakers will emphasize the importance of clear project objectives when setting the initial budget and outline best practices for cost predictability, including robust scope management, design reviews, and obtaining competitive bids from multiple timber suppliers. The session will also examine the role of architects in informing cost decisions, strategies for improved procurement and scheduling, and how to leverage mass timber’s expedited on-site phase. Mathieu Fleury Partner Leader Lane Developments Mathieu combines a merchant developer mentality with institutional discipline to drive Leader Lane Developments’ ambitious urban projects. He holds a Masters in Real Estate Finance from The University of Cambridge and has over 15 years of experience with industry leaders, including Loblaw Properties Limited, Great Gulf, and Dream Unlimited. Over the course of his career, Mathieu has shaped over 15,000 residential units and 7 million square feet of development across Canada. With his entrepreneurial spirit and analytical mindset, he steers Leader Lane’s growth in Toronto’s dynamic mid-rise sector. Mathieu’s strategic leadership ensures each project balances innovation with strong financial performance, delivering communities that enhance the urban experience while maximizing investor value. Jonathan King Principal BNKC Architects Inc. An architect and design leader with nearly 30 years of experience, Jonathan has worked across the full spectrum of residential, institutional, and cultural projects across Canada—from university buildings and theatres to large-scale multi-residential developments. He’s led teams at firms such as Diamond and Schmitt, HOK, and Core Architects, and is now a Principal at BNKC, where he helps steer complex projects from early concept through to completion. Jonathan’s recent work has included multiple mid- and high-rise residential and commercial buildings that integrate new construction technologies—including hybrid and mass timber structures—within tight urban contexts. His background brings a deep understanding of how codes, construction logistics, and market realities shape design decisions. He’s particularly interested in how architects can help unlock the potential of mass timber by working more collaboratively with clients, engineers, and municipalities to address the barriers standing.
Architectural Assemblies Simplified: Understanding Structural Grids: Acoustics and Envelopes in Wood Buildings
Course Overview This session will help you to formulate effective floor and wall assemblies when designing wood structures, both light wood frame and mass timber. Discussion will cover typical fire ratings and strategies, acoustic performance of different assemblies and effective strategies for weather-tight exterior envelopes. Background on typical structural assemblies for different grid sizes will help you understand how to effectively develop complete assemblies when designing timber buildings. Learning Objectives Participants will understand how to formulate effective floor and wall assemblies for wood structures, including both light wood frame and mass timber, to optimize performance and design efficiency. Participants will understand typical fire ratings and the acoustic performance of various assemblies and gain strategies to enhance the safety and comfort of wood buildings. Participants will learn how to design weather-tight, high-performance exterior envelopes for wood buildings. Participants will discover typical structural assemblies for different grid sizes and learn how to effectively develop complete assemblies when designing timber buildings. Course Video Speaker Bio Michael Wilkinson Principal and Senior Building Science Engineer RDH Michael Wilkinson is a Principal and Senior Building Science Engineer at RDH. He has provided consulting services across a range of building typologies with a focus on high performance and innovative building projects including those that are Passive House, mass timber, and volumetric modular. Michael has also been involved in numerous research projects including product development and performance monitoring and is the lead author of several guideline documents for government agencies and building enclosure product manufacturers. Additionally, Michael is a part-time instructor at the BC Institute of Technology where he teaches building science and construction technology classes. Derek Ratzlaff, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., PE Technical Director, WoodWorks BC Canadian Wood Council Derek began his career in the wood industry in high school working on single and multi-family light wood construction, after university and almost 20 years of structural consulting experience, Derek has worked in all types of wood construction and played key roles in the delivery of iconic BC wood structures, the Richmond Olympic Oval and Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. He brings his experience in design and construction to support the industry as the Woodworks BC Technical Director.
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.
A Zero Carbon Hybrid Wood Supertall Future
Course Overview With buildings generating 40% of global carbon emissions, we need to achieve net-zero by 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement target and limit global warming to 2°C. Timber sequesters an average of 1.9 metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions per cubic meter (Sathre & O’Connor, 2010). While a purely mass timber tall building may not be the most cost-efficient solution, a hybrid structure can maximize the overall use of wood by volume in the most cost-efficient manner. Floor systems in buildings contribute as much as 73% of the environmental impact of a high-rise building’s structure (Lankhorst et al., 2019), making them an excellent target for reducing embodied carbon. DIALOG’s patent- pending Hybrid Timber Floor System (HTFS) takes advantage of the benefits of cross-laminated timber (CLT) combined with pre-stressed concrete to achieve a 12-metre column-free span. The HTFS is proposed as part of our Hybrid Timber Tower, a 105-storey mixed-use prototype that is being evaluated and tested by DIALOG and EllisDon. The prototype structure consists of the hybrid timber floor, combined with a concrete core and an external steel frame. Fire safety is achieved in the floor panels as the exposed wood chars to form a protective layer, while the non-combustible concrete and steel band continues to support the panel. The exposed CLT panels also provide a biophilic appeal, which has shown to support cognitive function as well as physical and psychological well-being (Vidovich, 2020). DIALOG, EllisDon, FPInnovations and other partners have completed the first phase of small-scale testing on over 40 panels. We are scheduled for fire testing of the panels in Ottawa with NRCan this fall with full scale testing of the 12-meter panels starting in late 2022. Learning Objectives Describe how hybrid mass timber systems—such as the Hybrid Timber Floor System (HTFS)—reduce embodied carbon and support zero‑carbon goals in high-rise, mixed-use developments. Explain the structural, fire safety, and performance characteristics of hybrid CLT–concrete floor assemblies, including how charring, concrete bands, and steel elements contribute to long-span capability and code compliance. Evaluate the role of multidisciplinary research, prototyping, and large-scale testing in validating hybrid timber technologies for supertall applications, including their impacts on sustainability, biophilia, and cost efficiency. Course Video Speaker Bio Craig Applegath, BSc, BArch, MArchUD, PPOAA, AIBC, NSAA, AIA, FRAIC, LEED® APBD+C Founding Partner & Architect DIALOG Craig Applegath is the founding principal of DIALOG’s Toronto Studio, and a passionate designer who believes in the power of built form to meaningfully improve the wellbeing of communities and the environment they are part of. Since graduating from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University with a Master of Architecture in Urban Design Craig has focused his energies on leading innovative planning and design projects that address the complex challenges facing our communities, as well as on his advocacy of sustainable building design and urban regeneration and symbiosis. Craig’s area of practice includes the master planning and design of institutional projects, including post secondary education, healthcare facilities, as well as the design of innovative mixed-use- facilities. Craig was a founding Board Member of Sustainable Buildings Canada, a Past President of the Ontario Association of Architects, and the current moderator of SymbioticCities.net. Craig has lectured or taught at Harvard, the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, as well as at many professional and sector related conferences around the world. In 2001 Craig was made a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada for his contributions to the profession of architecture. In 2017 he was presented with the OALA Honourary Membership Award for his contributions to the cause of landscape architecture in Ontario. Neel Bavishi, PEng, CEM Building Performance Analysis, Associate DIALOG Neel is passionate about applying the art and science of building performance simulation and data-driven design to produce positive outcomes for the built environment. He embraces holistic solutions that minimize the environmental impact of building assets while providing enhanced value to building owners, developers, policymakers, and designers through improved well-being and reduced total cost of ownership. Neel believes that an integrated and collaborative approach that incorporates diverse perspectives is essential for delivering high-performance buildings. A mechanical engineer by training, Neel is well-versed in whole-building energy modelling for both new and existing buildings and lifecycle cost analysis, design optimization, and data visualization. His experience includes developing energy models for green building certification programs, carbon-neutral retrofit studies and district energy strategies, and the development of net-zero energy and emissions policies and standards for municipal, provincial, and federal government bodies. His projects span various asset classes, including recreational facilities, commercial high-rise towers, multi-unit residential buildings, hospitals, data centres, and transit facilities. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario and is a Certified Energy Manager. Cameron Ritchie, PEng, PE, PhD, BSE Structural Engineer, Associate DIALOG Cameron is an Associate on the Structural Engineering team in DIALOG’s Toronto studio. Since graduating with a PhD from the University of Toronto, Cameron has acted as a structural design engineer and project manager across a variety of sectors and project types, including healthcare, institutional, government, and retail. He has experience in all stages of a project delivery, from feasibility studies through construction administration and management. Cameron is DIALOG’s project manager for the hybrid timber floor system (HTFS) research program, working closely with industry partners EllisDon. He is passionate about exploring mass timber wherever possible as a sustainable solution to our building needs.
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.
A Business Case for Tall Wood
Course Overview This session will present a vision and business case for innovation, sustainability, and affordability for the tallest residential wood tower in the world (proposed in Nova Scotia). Addressing rapid delivery to meet urgent residential needs supported by Bird Construction costing and scheduling. Learning Objectives Understand the business case for developing tall residential mass timber buildings, including how sustainability, affordability, and rapid delivery needs are addressed through advanced structural design and innovative project phasing strategies. Identify the key costing, scheduling, and manufacturing considerations that influence the feasibility of tall wood construction, including lessons learned from previous mass timber projects and the role of integrated project teams in mitigating bottlenecks. Evaluate how mass timber products such as glulam and CLT can support high‑rise residential development, including insights into supply‑chain innovation, local manufacturing capacity, and the broader economic and environmental impacts of tall wood construction in Atlantic Canada. Course Video Speaker Bio Patrick Crabbe Director of Mass Timber Bird Construction Patrick Crabbe is the Director of Mass Timber at Bird Construction – Bird is a publicly traded, commercial and industrial conglomerate, recognized as a top 5 General Contractor (GC) in Canada. Patrick is also the leader of a Mass Timber Manufacturing start-up, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. MTC is a sawmill integrated, glulam focused entity, that is currently executing a $2.3M feasibility effort to code approve proprietary high performing mass timber products (made from undervalued-commodity maritime spruce, pine and fir) that will expand the needed capacity of North American mass timber products and positively impact sustainable forestry practises. Patrick’s professional career has been dedicated to developing markets for high-value structural wood products and working with industry to facilitate the. Through this experience, Patrick has a comprehensive understanding of construction contract methods supply chain solutions to set-up large, complex, mass timber build programs for success. Patrick is an active member of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (led by the World Bank) and a trusted advisor to Infrastructure British Columbia and the Canadian Wood Council. Joe Nickerson Vice President & Partner Sidewalk Real Estate Development Joe Nickerson is a leader with a proven history of success managing a variety of real estate portfolios for high-net-worth families in Toronto, Alberta, and British Columbia. Joe has worked at RBC Capital Markets and for both private and public real estate holding companies ranging from $100M to $11B in AUM. Joe holds an MBA with a specialization in Real Estate & Infrastructure from Schulich School of Business and studied Private Equity & Finance at SDA Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.
