Cornerstone Timberframes and BuildingIN: Innovation in Wood Construction and Housing Development
Course Overview This session explores two distinct but complementary perspectives on advancing the built environment in Canada. Tanya Bachmeier, CEO of Cornerstone Timberframes, shares the evolution of her company from a traditional residential timber framing business to a multifaceted manufacturer delivering both custom timber frame structures and commercial mass timber projects. Drawing on decades of industry experience, she discusses the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned while adapting to changing markets and emerging wood construction technologies. The session also features Rosaline Hill, Principal Architect and Senior Planner at RHJ Architecture + Planning, who introduces BuildingIN, an initiative developed to address Canada’s housing supply challenges. Drawing on extensive experience in infill housing design and planning, Rosaline examines the barriers that limit housing development in existing communities and presents strategies to support sustainable, community-supported growth. Together, these presentations highlight the importance of innovation, collaboration, and practical solutions in shaping the future of wood construction and housing development across Canada. Learning Objectives Identify key business, workforce, and industry factors that support growth and innovation in the wood construction sector. Explain the benefits of heavy timber and mass timber construction and the importance of industry collaboration and knowledge sharing. Recognize common barriers to housing supply in Canadian communities and the role of infill development in addressing housing needs. Evaluate how planning, design, and housing policy tools can support sustainable, community-supported urban growth. Course Video Speakers Bio Tanya Bachmeier CEO Cornerstone Timberframes Tanya Bachmeier, CEO of Cornerstone Timberframes, will share her insights on the evolution of the timber industry, drawing from over three decades of experience with one of Canada’s leading heavy timber structure manufacturers. Growing up in a family deeply rooted in construction, Tanya has been immersed in the craft from a young age. Her journey from working alongside her father and uncle in the business to leading Cornerstone Timberframes as its CEO is a testament to her dedication, vision, and passion for the industry. In her speech, Tanya will explore how she and her partner have transformed Cornerstone into a multifaceted manufacturer, with a dual focus on traditional residential timber frames and cutting-edge commercial mass timber projects. She will discuss the challenges and opportunities of being a woman in a male dominated industry, finding a place in the emerging world of mass timber and emphasizing the importance of innovation while staying true to the craft’s roots. Through her unique perspective, Tanya will offer valuable lessons on leadership, adaptability, and the future of timber construction in Canada and beyond. Rosaline Hill Principal Architect, Senior Planner, Development Consultant RJH Architecture & BuildingIN Most people prefer to live in low-rise areas, on tree-lined streets, close to transit, in communities that are well serviced and walkable. Few municipal housing strategies target this vision or focus on existing low-rise neighbourhoods. But this housing niche holds the potential to transform our cities and pull us out of housing crisis. Low-rise multi-unit repeatable infill housing in existing urban neighbourhoods is the key to housing supply and municipal fiscal sustainability. At the same time, it is the most affordable way to dramatically reduce household emissions. Housing, fiscal and environmental sustainability, with new homes in the kinds of neighbourhoods people love – it is a win for all. So why aren’t developers building this? They are not allowed, or can’t make a profit doing it. But municipalities can change that! The BuildingIN team has leveraged housing industry knowledge to understand the financial and regulatory barriers to this housing solution. Using GIS, we map our advanced housing market response forecasting to show cumulative outcomes for housing, fiscal and emissions reductions across low-rise urban areas. With this powerful simulation tool, we have reverse engineered a solution for municipalities. As a winner of the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge, BuildingIN is able to provide municipalities with a full suite of services; to quickly implement regulatory changes and establish necessary investment strategies, so that developers will build the housing we need and want, over and over and over again. We enable municipalities to plan with certainty and make evidence based decisions, instead of the age-old ‘make some adjustments’ then ‘wait and see’ approach. Our team has been researching, testing, and simulating solutions for neighborhoods for the past 6 years. This has led us to the creation of BuildingIN – a transformational solution to our country’s housing supply challenge.
From Forest to Form: Sourcing Local Wood for BC Projects
Course Overview Wood and mass timber are increasingly being specified for all kinds of buildings and spaces in BC, including mid-rise and taller residential apartments, schools, and healthcare facilities. Does this mean BC will cut down more trees? On this panel, hear BC’s Chief Forester discuss the province’s forest management practices and wood supply. Learn from a recently completed project that effectively sourced local wood materials and discover the tools and resources available to assist in procuring wood products from BC’s forests. Learning Objectives Explain how British Columbia’s forest management framework governs timber supply, old-growth protection, and sustainable harvesting for wood construction projects. Identify key challenges and opportunities in sourcing local wood for BC buildings, including certification systems, Indigenous rights, supply-chain transparency, and societal expectations. Recognize strategies designers and project teams can use to responsibly procure BC wood, including collaboration with vertically integrated suppliers, community forests, and forest stewards. Course Video Speakers Bio Helen Goodland Principal, Head of Research and Innovation Scius Advisory Inc. Helen Goodland is an architect registered in the UK and has an MBA from the University of BC. As head of research and innovation for Scius, she brings over 30 years of experience working on transformative solutions for the real estate and construction industries in Canada and around the world. Helen is firmly committed to achieving truly sustainable buildings within the next decade. She is also passionate about advancing leadership opportunities for women in construction technology. To this end, she participates on numerous boards and committees. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of Building Transformations (formerly CanBIM), the BC Digital Advisory Council, the BCIT Mass Timber Education Advisory Board and the University of Victoria’s Green Civil Engineering Advisory Council. She is also past chair of the UN Sustainable Buildings Initiative’s Materials Technical Committee. Shane Berg Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Forester Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbia Shane Berg is an Assistant Deputy Minister, and the Chief Forester, for the Province of BC with the Ministry of Forests. Shane obtained his BSc. in Forestry from the University of Alberta and has more than 35 years of experience working within BC’s Public Service. Shane is a registered professional forester (RPF) and has worked throughout the province, beginning as a silviculture technician in Invermere, a silviculture forester in Grand Forks, a forest planning manager in Squamish, and eventually taking on district manager roles over a span of 14 years with the BC Forest Service in northern BC (Hazelton) and the southern interior (Kamloops). He spent six years working as a regional executive director with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation until he returned to FLNR as an executive director and the deputy chief forester in 2017, a role that he held until has appointment as BC’s 18th chief forester in June of 2022. The mantra for the Office of the Chief Forester is “Caring for BC’s Forests”…and Shane’s goal as chief forester is to promote BC as a world leader in sustainable forest management. Ayme Sharma Associate Principal ZGF Architects Ayme leads ZGF Vancouver’s Building and Project Performance Team, drawing on almost 20 years of professional experience in architecture centered on building performance and environmental stewardship. Trained as both an ecologist and an architect, Ayme brings deep expertise in embodied carbon, healthy materials, high-performance envelope design including Passive House and LEED certification. Her current research delves into linking the biogenic value of wood to sustainable forest management practices in BC to understand carbon and ecosystem benefits. Ayme has cultivated an extensive network of wood industry partners that spans the entire supply chain-from First Nations forest stewards to both small- and large-scale product fabricators. Ayme brings expertise in designing one of the first CLT elementary schools in British Columbia that promotes student health and well-being. Rebecca Holt Senior Director, Sustainability hcma Rebecca Holt is an urbanist and passionate advocate for our planet. She spent her career collaborating with design teams, organizations, and researchers on strategies for high-performance buildings, neighborhoods, and cities. She leads hcma’s Impact Team, shaping how we practice, operate, and advocate. A subject matter expert with a foundation in building performance assessment and climate-responsive design, Rebecca brings decades of experience in design guidance. She is a strategist and steward of process dedicated to outcomes that respect the planet and include everyone.
Online Tools for Wood Construction
Course Overview This course will cover two new free online tools developed by CWC: CodeCHEK and FRR & STC Tool. CodeCHEK helps designers to determine if and when lightweight wood-frame, heavy timber, mass timber and/or encapsulated mass timber construction can be used, and to determine what are the applicable construction requirements related to fire safety. FRR & STC (fire-resistance rating & sound transmission class) Tool helps designers in the determination of generic fire-resistance rating designs of lightweight wood-frame wall, floor, and roof assemblies using the Component Additive Method described in Appendix D of the NBC , which is referenced as an acceptable solution in Section 3.1 of the NBC and can be used for buildings permitted to be of combustible construction. In addition, the tool provides the sound transmission class (STC) value that is associated with each wall or floor assembly for which STC information is available. Learning Objectives Background on the height and area articles of the National Building Code. Overview of new CodeCHEK tool. Description of the component additive method from Appendix D of the National Building Code. Overview of new FRR & STC (fire-resistance rating & sound transmission class) tool. Course Video Speaker Bio Marc Alam, Ph.D. Manager – Codes and Standards, Fire Canadian Wood Council Marc Alam is a member of the Canadian Wood Council. As Manager, Codes and Standards in the fire division, Marc assists through participation in CWC’s building code and standards fire‐related initiatives and the development of CWC’s fire design tools, as well as code‐related fire research projects.
