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Canadian Wood Council (Conseil Canadien du Bois) logo featuring a stylized golden maple leaf.

Searching for: Wood

Searching results for “Wood”

Popular Topics: Mass Timber Fire Tests Sustainability Events

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  • CWC, Non-Residential Wood, Pressure Treated Wood, Wood Specifications

Specification Guide for Non-Residential Pressure Treated Wood Products

  • 2020-2021, Architectural Excellence, CWC, Innovative Designs, Wood Design Awards

Wood Design Awards, 2021

  • Commercial Buildings, construction, low rise buildings, Low-rise, Low-rise Buildings, lowrise, Mass Timber

Low-Rise Commercial Construction in Wood

Across Canada, the low-rise non-residential sector—think offices, retail stores, warehouses, and restaurants—presents a major growth opportunity for structural wood systems, including light wood-frame, heavy timber, mass timber, and hybrid construction.

Together, retail, office, and light industrial warehouse buildings account for nearly 75% of new floor space in this market each year. Yet despite their scale, these segments continue to show low uptake of structural wood.

As retailers adapt to the shift toward online shopping and businesses compete to attract talent, the design and performance of their buildings matter more than ever. Wood offers a sustainable, visually appealing solution that enhances employee well-being and elevates commercial spaces.

This new technical publication explores the market potential, challenges, and the role wood can play in redefining this sector.

  • Building Systems, construction, Mid Rise, midrise

The Canadian Guide to Mid-Rise Wood Construction 2021

  • 2019-2020, Best in Wood Architecture, CWC, Industry Achievements, Wood Design Awards

Wood Design Awards, 2020

  • Construction Safety, CWC, Fire Codes, Fire Safety, Tall Wood Buildings

Tall Wood Course of Construction Site Fire Safety

  • British Columbia, Life Cycle Analysis, Sustainable Design, Wood Design

Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: Life Cycle Analysis Comparisons

Climate change is one of the largest threats facing the planet today. The construction industry accounts for 11% of global carbon emissions, playing a significant part in the climate crisis. To determine the best solution for future school buildings, not only does practicability, economy and constructability play a part, so does sustainability.

In order to better understand the embodied carbon emissions associated with the construction of new school buildings in British Columbia, the embodied carbon content associated with the four framing systems examples in the companion report, An Analysis of Structural System Cost Comparisons (costing study), was assessed. The purpose of this study is to allow the embodied carbon associated with these systems to become an important factor when choosing a viable scheme.

Embodied carbon is the carbon footprint of a material or product. To determine the embodied carbon of a building you must consider the quantity of greenhouse gases associated with the building. The most effective way to measure this is through Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), a study which determines the embodied carbon from cradle to grave (material extraction to building demolition). Consequently, an LCA was conducted for each of the four schemes presented in the costing study. Additionally, for wood frame Options A and B, WoodWorks online carbon calculator was used to determine the potential carbon savings associated with carbon sequestering.

  • British Columbia, cost comparisons, Structural Engineering, Structural Wood, Sustainable Design, Wood Design

Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: An Analysis of Structural System Cost Comparisons

As land values continue to rise, particularly in higher-density urban environments, schools with smaller footprints will become increasingly necessary to satisfy enrollment demands. There are currently several planned new school projects throughout British Columbia that anticipate requiring either three-or four storey buildings, and it is forecast that demand for school buildings of this size will continue to rise.

Though timber construction would offer a viable structural material option for these buildings, the British Columbia Building Code (BCBC 2018) currently limits schools comprised of timber construction to a maximum of two storeys, while also imposing limits on the overall floor area. Given these constraints, the development of viable structural options that would accommodate larger and taller schools constructed primarily with timber materials has not been a key focus.

With the above factors in mind, the purpose of this report is to build upon the findings of the previously published Design Options for Three- and Four-Storey Wood School Buildings in British Columbia prepared by Fast + Epp and Thinkspace dated November 2019. Specifically, this report supplements the previous one by providing guidance in assessing and comparing the various framing options considered in the previous report primarily on a cost basis.

  • building codes, CWC, Structural Guide, timber structures

Wood Design Manual 2020

The Wood Design Manual is the Canadian reference on the design of timber structures, under gravity and lateral loadings, according to Part 4 of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) and the “Engineering design in wood” standard (CSA O86). It provides guidance and design examples on sawn and engineered wood members, their connections and fire design. The most common design situations encountered by practicing engineers are covered through intuitive Selection Tables. In addition, the Wood Design Manual contains the latest CSA O86 Standard, as well as a technical commentary written by timber design experts including members of the Standard’s technical committee.

The 2020 Wood Design Manual includes a copy of the CSA O86:19 Standard, incorporating Update No.3 – July 2021. The main changes in this edition are:

  1. Updates to NBC 2020, including guidance on the new “transient live load” in serviceability load combinations.
  2. New sawn lumber joist vibration tables, based on the new vibration design method in O86:19 Annex A.
  3. Updated bending and tension tables for Hem-Fir beam and stringer grade, based on the changes in Hem-Fir design values in O86:19.
  4. Updated CLT deflection tables, based on the removal of the 1.2 form factor in O86:19.
  5. Updated CLT combined loading tables, again, based on the removal of the 1.2 form factor in O86:19.
  6. Improved bolt tables that can be directly used to obtain bolt resistances and failure modes.
  7. Updated shearwall and diaphragm selection tables based on the new alternative f1 equation.
  8. Updated design example of CLT shearwall to account for O86:19 additional provisions and provides design and deflection expressions for multi-panel CLT shearwalls.
  • 2018-2019, CWC, Notable Wood Projects, Sustainable Architecture, Wood Design Awards

Wood Design Awards, 2019

  • school buildings, Structural Engineering, Sustainable Design, Wood Design

Design Options for Three- and Four Storey Wood School Buildings in British Columbia

As land values continue to rise, particularly in higher-density urban environments, schools with smaller footprints will become increasingly more necessary to satisfy enrollment demands. There are currently a number of planned new school projects throughout British Columbia that anticipate requiring either three-or four-storey buildings, and it is forecasted that the demand for school buildings of this size will continue to rise.

Though timber construction would offer a viable structural material option for these buildings, the British Columbia Building Code (BCBC 2018) currently limits schools comprised of timber construction to a maximum of two storeys, while also imposing limits on the overall floor area. Given these constraints, to date there has not been much effort put into the development of viable structural options that would accommodate larger and taller schools constructed primarily with timber materials.

With the above factors in mind, the purpose of this study is to illustrate the range of possible timber construction approaches for school buildings that are up to four storeys in height. Given this emphasis on four-storey construction, this study focuses on the main classroom blocks within a school building, as these portions of the building are the ones that are the most likely to take advantage of an increased number of storeys. While other portions of school buildings, such as gymnasiums, shops, and multi-purpose areas are also strong candidates for wood construction systems, since there are already numerous examples of this type of construction these areas are not emphasized in this report.

  • 2017-2018, Construction Excellence, CWC, Innovative Wood Designs, Wood Design Awards

Wood Design Awards, 2018

Specification Guide for Non-Residential Pressure Treated Wood Products
Wood Design Awards, 2021
Low-Rise Commercial Construction in Wood
The Canadian Guide to Mid-Rise Wood Construction 2021
Wood Design Awards, 2020
Tall Wood Course of Construction Site Fire Safety
Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: Life Cycle Analysis Comparisons
Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: An Analysis of Structural System Cost Comparisons
Wood Design Manual 2020
Wood Design Awards, 2019
Design Options for Three- and Four Storey Wood School Buildings in British Columbia
Wood Design Awards, 2018

Specification Guide for Non-Residential Pressure Treated Wood Products

Wood Design Awards, 2021

Low-Rise Commercial Construction in Wood

Across Canada, the low-rise non-residential sector—think offices, retail stores, warehouses, and restaurants—presents a major growth opportunity for structural wood...

The Canadian Guide to Mid-Rise Wood Construction 2021

Wood Design Awards, 2020

Tall Wood Course of Construction Site Fire Safety

Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: Life Cycle Analysis Comparisons

Climate change is one of the largest threats facing the planet today. The construction industry accounts for 11% of global carbon emissions, playing a significant part in the...

Four-Storey Wood School Design in British Columbia: An Analysis of Structural System Cost Comparisons

As land values continue to rise, particularly in higher-density urban environments, schools with smaller footprints will become increasingly necessary to satisfy enrollment...

Wood Design Manual 2020

The Wood Design Manual is the Canadian reference on the design of timber structures, under gravity and lateral loadings, according to Part 4 of the National Building Code of...

Wood Design Awards, 2019

Design Options for Three- and Four Storey Wood School Buildings in British Columbia

As land values continue to rise, particularly in higher-density urban environments, schools with smaller footprints will become increasingly more necessary to satisfy...

Wood Design Awards, 2018

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