Next-generation wood pushes to greater heights

By design, a new mid-rise building in Prince George, B.C., breaks many conventions of commercial construction.

At 29.5 metres, its height alone makes the Wood Innovation and Design Centre the highest contemporary wood structure of its type in North America a record soon to be broken by others. The $25.1-million centre also stands out for its embrace of engineered wood: thick panels, columns and beams of so-called mass timber, sturdier and more fire-resistant than lightweight wood frame construction.

Built as a showcase for woods potential in mid-rise and taller buildings, the provincial government-owned centre houses academic and research programs at the University of Northern British Columbia and corporate offices. Its opening last fall comes as architects and others look to push the traditional boundaries of wood as a structural material in commercial construction. See earlier story: Six-storey wood buildings a game-changer.

The building is a very important milestone and stepping stone as we work our way higher into the taller wood building arena, says Michael Green, principal of Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture and the centres architect. He used engineered wood products for the centres stair and elevator core and, for the floor assembly, eliminated a layer of concrete typically needed to muffle sound.

The hardest part of this process of introducing a new way to build is not the engineering; it is shifting the publics perception of what is possible, adds Mr. Green, co-author of the 2012 industry-financed study, The Case for Tall Wood Buildings.

Climate change is one factor behind the rise of wood as a competitive rival to concrete and steel, the typical energy-consuming components of taller buildings. Mr. Green likens the shift to adopting healthy eating habits.

What we want to do is reduce the things that we know arent good for us, like steel and concrete, but that doesnt mean we get rid of them completely, he says. We are just reproportioning these materials in buildings and not trying to say that one is exclusive over another.

Also raising woods profile is an expanded menu of engineered products, first developed in Europe a decade ago but now manufactured in Canada. One recent arrival is cross-laminated timber, engineered in various panel thicknesses of 2 x 6 planks, glued cross-wise, often pre-cut and assembled on site faster than traditional materials.

Architects also use laminated veneer lumber (thin strips glued together), laminated strand lumber (a largely warp-free composite material) and glue laminated timber, an established product known for its steel-rivaling strength and used for horizontal beams or vertical columns.

In just 15 years, wood has repositioned itself as a high-tech material, says Vancouver engineer Eric Karsh, a principal at Vancouver-based Equilibrium Consulting Inc., and Mr. Greens co-author of the tall wood building study. People are starting to see it as a high-tech material and it is no longer something you use in a rough or inefficient manner, he adds. We have shown that wood can be used in just about any building type so now it is just a matter of weighing the pros and cons.

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Next-generation wood pushes to greater heights