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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.
Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce was designed to be the province’s first “net-zero energy” commercial building and demonstrate the feasibility of low-energy-use buildings in cold climates. The owners challenged the design team to deliver a net-zero energy building capable of gaining certification by the Living Building Institute and LEED® Platinum. In addition, feasibility analysis favoured wood construction to meet all building science challenges and also provide an enhanced interior work environment. Construction started in mid-March 2014 and was completed in the fall of 2015 — three months ahead of schedule and on budget. The 2,790 m2 (30,000 ft.2) building is located in the emerging southwest Edmonton community of Summerside.
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.
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.
The R-Town V6 pilot project is the first 6-storey, mixed-use, multi-unit residential building developed in Ontario that fully employs mass timber as the main structural system. The energy-efficient wood building was designed to Passive House standards and built with lower embodied carbon materials.
The decision to use Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) for the elevator cores and exit stair enclosures helped simplify the build by eliminating the challenge of integrating a noncombustible core into a wood building. It required the team to obtain approval for an alternative solution because this approach to construction currently falls outside the prescriptive requirements for 6-storey combustible construction in Ontario’s building code.
It was the development team’s vision to bring the benefits of offsite manufacturing to the midrise market in Toronto and the panelized, tallwood design developed for R-Town V6 streamlined the assembly process and successfully demonstrated proof of concept for challenging infill developments.
This modern approach to construction accelerates and improves project delivery and the versatile, repeatable design contributes to a sustainable and much-needed increase in density along urban arterial roads, creating more attractive, desirable housing in established, walkable neighbourhoods.
Red Deer College (RDC) Student Residence is a 5,800-sq.m. (60,000-sq.ft.), five-storey wooden structure with 145 units, designed and completed to meet the 300-bed demand for the Canada Winter Games in early 2019. RDC envisioned a building that would be a welcoming, fun home base for students; the college was well aware that isolation and lack of community support for students have a negative influence on their ability to perform in the classroom and can negatively impact their mental health and well-being. The goal was to create a “residence” that felt more like a home.
Manasc Isaac Architects, led by Vedran Škopac, proposed a hybrid between a student residence and a set of seven distinct “public gathering spaces,” scattered around the perimeter of all five storeys of the building. As part of the plan, Škopac’s team increased the conventional amount of social space by a factor of 10. The residence also functions as a hotel, providing accommodation for short- and longterm visits.
Another design mandate was to incorporate sustainable features, which influenced the decision to utilize a wood structure with a high performance building envelope that maximizes thermal performance and comfort. With a construction budget of $18.5 million, funding allowed for photovoltaic panels cladding the east, south and west faces, which provides approximately 45 percent of all energy the student residence requires. Although the building was not aiming for certification, it was designed to a LEED Gold standard.
As an example of an innovative approach to dormitory housing, Red Deer College Student Residence prioritizes quality of life and sustainability, while using mass timber construction to achieve both goals. These are some of the reasons it won a 2019 Wood Design & Building Canadian Wood Council Award.
This case study examines two wood buildings, both with primary retail commercial occupancies, but which employ different mass timber products to achieve very different effects. Askew’s Uptown Supermarket in Salmon Arm, BC, features an expansive nail-laminated timber (NLT) roof that appears to float above the retail floor (Figure 1.1), while the Whistler Community Services Society Building in Whistler, BC, uses a robust, utilitarian exposed glued-laminated timber (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure as befits the building’s industrial setting (Figure 1.2).
In April 2019 John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia, announced a new directive to require municipalities and the BC government to strongly consider the use of wood in public buildings, both as a structural material and for interior finishes. The goal of this initiative is to increase demand for BC’s wood products and to assist the forest industry in dealing with the significant impacts of climate change. To date, these have included the mountain pine beetle infestation and an increase in the frequency and severity of forest fires, both of which have had widespread negative consequences for the industry across the province.
When announcing the initiative, Premier Horgan stated: “We will expect the result to maximize the potential of the existing timber supply, maintain jobs, incorporate First Nations’ interests, and address the economic, cultural, recreational and other uses of BC’s land base.” New engineered mass timber products, supported by new legislation, now make it possible for wood to be used in a wide range of projects, both urban and rural.
This case study showcases two recent projects that illustrate the value and versatility of wood, both in its response to technical challenges and in its contribution to economic and social sustainability in communities around the province.
In Vancouver, Fire Hall No. 5 (Figure 1.1) is an example of an innovative response to rising land costs and the shortage of affordable social housing; while in the Kootenay village of Radium Hot Springs, a wealth of local wood products, manufacturing capabilities and craft skills combine in a community hall and library that can truly be called a ‘100-mile building’ (Figure 1.2).
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.
Mark Twain called Anne of Green Gables, “The sweetest creation of child life yet written.” He sent the author Lucy Maud Montgomery a letter of praise, congratulating her on her writing. This was over 100 years ago and, ever since, the story of Anne has captured the imaginations of people from all over the world.
Green Gables, the name of a 19th-century farm in Cavendish, Prince Ed – ward Island, is the setting for the popular Anne of Green Gables novels by L.M. Montgomery. The property has become one of the most visited Federal Parks in Canada, and an iconic tourist destination. Visitors travel here to reconnect with their own childhood memories of Anne, or to create new ones. Part of Parks Canada since the 1930s, the property includes the main Green Gables house, the Haunted Wood trail and Lovers Lane.
A 2015 study revealed a need for more exhibit space and enhanced amenities on site to not only tell the story of Anne, but also that of her creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Parks Canada acted on the study by creating an extensive program which would be constructed in three distinct phases. Phase I was completed in the spring of 2017. The Green Gables Visitors’ Centre, Phase II, consisting of an exhibit hall, gift shop, ticket/ information areas, offices and new washrooms and lobby, was completed in the spring of 2019. Phase III was to decommission the temporary gift shop in Phase I and transform it into a new café and commercial kitchen.
In 2009, the British Columbia Building Code (BCBC) was amended to permit residential buildings of up to six storeys to be constructed in wood. Since then, through a five-year code process of consultation and research, the potential for expanding these provisions to other building occupancies has been under consideration at the national code level. Changes introduced in the 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) and adopted in British Columbia in 2018, have expanded these provisions to office-type buildings, but also permit mixed-type occupancies on the first two storeys. As a result, wood building types now include office, residential, mercantile, assembly, low hazard or storage/ garage uses.
This case study examines two wood buildings, both with primary retail commercial occupancies, but which employ different mass timber products to achieve very different effects. Askew’s Uptown Supermarket in Salmon Arm, BC, features an expansive nail-laminated timber (NLT) roof that appears to float above the retail floor (Figure 1.1), while the Whistler Community Services Society Building in Whistler, BC, uses a robust, utilitarian exposed glued-laminated timber (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure as befits the building’s industrial setting (Figure 1.2).
Located in Sudbury, Ontario, Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture is the first new school of architecture to be built in Canada in 40 years. Its mandate is to provide a uniquely integrated, uniquely focused education to Indigenous, Anglophone, and Francophone students. It is the only school of architecture outside of Québec to offer French-language studio courses, and the first to include offices for Indigenous Elders, who play a central role in the school. The curriculum addresses resilient architecture and fabrication techniques for northern latitudes, with an emphasis on Indigenous culture, wood construction, local ecologies and resources, and design for the impact of climate change. The school is a didactic instrument with structural and HVAC design elements purposefully exposed in each of the various buildings. The multi-phase development of the McEwen school began with the adaptive reuse of the site’s two existing heritage structures. The two storey CPR ticket and telegraph building (circa 1914) became faculty offices and a boardroom, and the single-storey market building became a temporary studio before ultimately transforming into the fabrication laboratory once the new studio spaces were constructed. Phase two of the project included the construction of a 36,480 ft2 steel-and-concrete Studio Wing, and the new 15,670 ft2 CLT Library Wing which is the focus of this case study. By combining the two repurposed heritage buildings with 52,150 ft2 of new construction, the McEwen School of Architecture demonstrates the properties of wood, steel, concrete, and masonry construction, and illustrates to students the structural potential and aesthetic qualities of each.
Environmental awareness in building design, construction and operation is stronger than ever. But how can we meet the world’s rapidly growing need for buildings and still be environmentally responsible? Although construction is never fully benign for the environment, designers and builders can make choices to minimize the impact. Wood plays an important part in sustainable design, as shown by scientific analysis.
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