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CWC, Mass Timber, Residential Buildings, Tall-Wood Buildings, Woodworks

Brock Commons Tallwood House – University of British Columbia Vancouver Campus

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.

Mid-Rise Buildings, Woodworks

Mid-Rise 2.0 – Innovative Approaches to Mid-Rise Wood Frame Construction

Academic Buildings, CWC, Seismic Studies, Woodworks

Seismic Design with Wood: Solutions for British Columbia Schools

Infrastructure, Woodworks

Case Studies

Celebrating Edmonton’s Wood Architecture

It is significant that wood played such a large role in this type of complex, which is usually done in other materials. The wood structure is a unifying element between the spaces of the centre. The design is coherent, consistent, elegant and expresses wood beautifully.

CWC, Infrastructure, Woodworks

Edmonton Transit System – LRT Stations

Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, is a fast-growing city with a population of 1,200,000 people in the overall metropolitan area. It boasts comprehensive bus and light-rail transit (LRT) transportation provided by the Edmonton Transit System (ETS). The North LRT line is a 3.3 km extension of the light rail transit system from the Churchill LRT Station in downtown Edmonton to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) (Figure 1). It’s the first segment of a planned LRT expansion to the northwest Edmonton city limits. Light rail service on this line will commence in July 2014 and bring two new LRT stations and one bus transfer station into service. The NAIT LRT Station will have modular, temporary shelters until land use planning for the City Centre Airport lands has been completed. The North LRT line to NAIT is expected to serve 13,200 weekday passengers, with many more expected as the new line is eventually extended to the city limit near St. Albert. Wood was used for both structural and architectural elements for the MacEwan and Kingsway/Royal Alex LRT Stations, and for the Kingsway/Royal Alex Bus Transit Station. Glulam decking and beams were used for the platform and building roofs. In addition, the MacEwan LRT Station has a decorative wood ceiling in the main heated waiting area. The roof structures for both LRT stations are cantilevered from pairs of columns located at the centre of the platforms so that the edges of the platforms are not obstructed.

Commercial Buildings, CWC, Fire Safety, Insurance

Fire Safety and Insurance In Commercial Buildings

Throughout history, protecting commercial structures from fire has been important. Fire poses risk in terms of safety to occupants, building integrity, business interruption and the economic health of a community. Consequently, reduction in the risk of fire for commercial buildings has been a significant goal for society, achieved through a better understanding of all the factors that contribute to fire risk. Designing and building structures in compliance with building and fire code requirements, and insurance industry guidelines, contributes to the reduction of fire losses. Wood has had a long history of use in commercial construction. Some of the reasons for this are:

high strength-to-weight ratio,

ease of use and constructability,

known performance characteristics,

resource abundance and renewability,

economy in construction, and

architectural aesthetics.

Wood construction that makes use of good design and appropriate fire protection measures provides a level of fire safety that is comparable to other types of construction. This document discusses some of the basic factors that affect fire risk and property insurance rates, as well as some common misconceptions regarding what conditions make commercial buildings fire-safe.

Civic Buildings, CWC, Woodworks

Wood in Civic Buildings

CWC, Residential Buildings, Woodworks

80 Atlantic Avenue – Toronto, Ontario

Ontario’s first mass timber commercial building in over 100 years, 80 Atlantic pioneers a new urban office typology for potentially many more timber-frame projects across the province, and the country. Comprising four storeys of mass timber above a one-storey concrete podium, the 8,825-sq.m. (95,000-sq.ft.) building completes a courtyard with 60 Atlantic to create a paired commercial development. Revisions to the Ontario Building Code in 2015 made it possible to build commercial wood buildings up to six storeys high. The developer and architect saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in the rapidly developing field of mass timber, and to attract tenants seeking a premium workplace environment associated with innovation and sustainability. The client requested that the building harmonize with the Liberty Village neighbourhood, noted for its wealth of converted factories and warehouses, which attract high-calibre, creative tenants in this section of downtown Toronto.

Commercial Buildings, CWC, Woodworks

Wood in Commercial Buildings

Partner Content, Structural Engineering

Vertical Movement in Wood Platform Structures: Basics

Partner Content, Structural Engineering

Vertical Movement in Wood Platform Structures: Design and Detailing Solutions

Partner Content, Structural Engineering

Design Guides & Resources

Vertical Movement in Wood Platform Structures: Movement Prediction

A Business Case for Tall Wood

Delivering Mid-Rise Housing Solutions – Part 1 Light Wood Frame

Simplified and Sustainable Acoustic Solutions for High-Performance Mass Timber Buildings

Elevate Innovate Acoustically Integrate

By Engineer or By Supplier? How “Involved” to Be in Choosing Engineered Lumber

The Role of the Wood Industry in Climate Change Mitigation

Unlocking Insights: Mass Timber Fire Performance

Building Code Evolution: Understanding the Latest Mass Timber Provisions

Light-Frame Solutions for Mid-Rise Buildings in High Seismic Zones

T3 Bayside

Magazine, Revue, Technical Publications

Wood Design & Building Magazine, vol 24, issue 95

Webinar: Shearwall Connections and Lateral Systems for Wood Buildings

Life Cycle Assessment

Construction products and the building sector as a whole have significant impacts on the environment. Policy instruments and market forces are increasingly pushing...

Durability, Environmental Impacts

Codes & Standards

BUILDING CODES & STANDARDS (THE REGULATORY SYSTEM) The construction industry is regulated through building codes which are informed by: Design standards that provide...

Codes & Standards, Structural Engineering

Energy Code

The National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) aims to help save on energy bills, reduce peak energy demand, and improve the quality and comfort of the building's...

Codes & Standards, Environmental Impacts

Acoustics

Wood is composed of many small cellular tubes that are predominantly filled with air. The natural composition of the material allows for wood to act as an effective...

Acoustics

Combustible construction

The provision of fire safety in a building is a complex matter; far more complex than the relative combustibility of the main structural materials used in a building. To...

Fire Safety

Encapsulated mass timber construction

In addition to combustible, heavy timber and noncombustible construction, a new construction type is presently being considered for inclusion into the National Building Code...

Engineered Wood Products (EWP), Mass Timber

Fire Safety

The National Building Code of Canada (NBC) defines fire safety under Objective OS1: “an objective of this code is to limit the probability that as a result of the design or...

Fire Safety

Flame Spread

Flame spread is primarily a surface burning characteristic of materials, and a flame-spread rating is a way to compare how rapid flame spreads on the surface of one material...

Fire Safety

Fire Resistance

In the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) “fire-resistance rating” is defined in part as: “the time in minutes or hours that a material or assembly of materials...

Fire Safety

Construction Sites

The vulnerability of any building in a fire situation is higher during the construction phase when compared to the susceptibility of the building after it has been completed...

Structural Design

A structure must be designed to resist all the loads expected to act on the structure during its service life. Under the effects of the expected applied loads, the structure...

Structural Engineering

Lumber properties

For many years, the design values of Canadian dimension lumber were determined by testing small clear samples. Although this approach had worked well in the past, there were...

Durability, Environmental Impacts

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