Mass Timber: Unlocking the Mysteries of Connection Design and Fabrication

Course Overview

Melissa will discuss the role of the specialty structural engineer in glulam connection design for your project. Tips will be provided to help streamline the work of the project architect and engineer of record, and also highlight specific detailing situations to help construction run more smoothly. Glulam fabrication will be discussed: from chisels to CNC machines. Some examples will be given to see what is possible during this timber connection renaissance, made possible by 3D fabrication models and CNC machines.

Learning Objectives

  1. Mass timber fabrication processes and the role of shop drawings.
  2. Detailing to accommodate for differing tolerances of different trades on the construction site.
  3. Tailoring timber specifications to meet architectural needs.
  4. Information required in construction documents for delegated design of mass timber connections.
  5. New timber connection possibilities through use of CNC Fabrication.
  6. How to communicate scope delineation for multiple suppliers of structural systems on your project and where are the potential gaps / overlaps.
  7. How involving your mass timber supplier early in the design process can create material and construction efficiencies.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Melissa Kindratsky, P.Eng., LEED® AP BD+C
Structural Project Engineer
ISL Engineering and Land Services

Melissa Kindratsky, P.Eng., LEED® AP BD+C, is a structural project engineer for ISL Engineering and Land Services. With 400 people in 14 offices in western Canada, ISL established a Buildings Group in 2012 with the acquisition of Cascade Engineering Group, and Melissa joined the growing team in the Canmore office in 2015.

Melissa supports the successful delivery of building engineering to a range of clients, from independent homes owners to internationally renowned architects, timber framers, and mass timber fabricators. With over 15 years of experience in design engineering and construction, Melissa has experience in commercial, residential, and industrial developments of various shapes and sizes. Her material of choice is timber and she focuses most of her time on both concept and detailed design of timber structures. These range from modern developments to repairs of heritage structures and even playgrounds.

She passionately believes that to engineer a structure in wood, one must respect the unique properties of this natural material and even use them to enhance the design, both structurally and architecturally. Close attention is paid to the contribution of the structure to the sustainability features of a building project and these are even more easily achieved when the structure is timber.

Course Curriculum

Lessons