A stunning coastal forest in Vancouver, BC is the gateway to the University of British Columbia (UBC) which has provided inspiration for the institution’s long-standing relationship with wood. The result is an enviable inventory of wood buildings interspersed throughout the campus which showcases ground-breaking technologies and sustainable design.
UBC’s commitment to promoting locally sourced, environmentally responsible, leading-edge engineered wood products and building technologies has culminated in the most recent addition to the UBC Vancouver Campus: the Brock Commons Tallwood House. The newest of the UBC’s student residence buildings, Brock Commons Tallwood House currently stands as the tallest contemporary hybrid mass timber building in the world.
Over the years, with an ever-increasing demand for student housing, UBC developed a preferred typology for its student residences, creating mixed-use residential hubs to enhance campus life. For this latest project, the University was determined to demonstrate the applicability of an advanced systems solution to BC’s development and construction industries while advancing its reputation as a hub of sustainable and innovative design.
Wood use from the 18th to the early 20th centuries frequently included seven-storey wood buildings; taller wood structures such as church towers and pagodas were built worldwide earlier still. Today, pushing the envelope of wood use comes with challenges. Authorities having jurisdiction and oversight of the approval process for a new generation of tall wood building designs require comprehensive scientific data to evaluate their safety since there are no prescriptive provisions in the Canadian building codes to permit them. Until such a time as building codes establish provisions for tall wood buildings, performance aspects of their design must be proven on a design-by-design basis.
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), in recognition of the technical challenges inherent in the design and construction of modern tall wood structures, has provided targeted funding to support demonstration projects that use innovative engineered wood products and construction systems.
