Timber Towers Using CLT Grow Markets for Wood

Continued advances in cross laminated timber (CLT) and wood framing techniques now make wood high-rises practical. A key enabling technology are adhesives.

Architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill provided an update on urban construction trends at last month's American Assn. for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. Attendees we spoke to were excited to learn of SOM's re-engineering and re-design of plans for its existing 400-foot tall, 42-story concrete apartment building - built in 1965 - re-imagined using wood as the principle construction material. The verdict: wood high-rises are strong enough to be tall. And surprisingly, wood structures are also fire-resistant enough to be practical.

The business case: wood high rises are economically and environmentally better than steel and glass for housing millions of newly affluent workers in the developing economies, including hundreds of millions of Chinese and Indian urban dwellers. This would create large new markets for North American wood products.

Among organizations advancing the role of wood in high-rise construction are WoodWorks.org and the Softwood Lumber Board, the latter based in Chicago, where it has been funding research into engineering high-rise construction. WoodWorks.org, an initiative of wood industry associations and lumber companies, notes:

“The type of adhesive used at both North American manufacturing plants currently producing CLT is a formaldehyde-free structural adhesive with great moisture performance. Adhesives must be qualified in accordance with ANSI/APA PRG 320 for bonding strength, moisture durability, elevated temperature performance, and heat durability.”

This is definitely a trend to follow.

"Driven to solve the problems of climate change, social alienation, end of resources and rapid urbanization I have designed a new social and sustainable alternative to our traditional construction methods and ways of life," says German architect Leonhard Weingartner. His solution is called elastic_WOODSCRAPER II, a 600-foot-tall building that is 70 percent wood.

OAKLAND, CA - WoodWorks, an initiative of the Wood Products Council, will announce the winners of its 2015 Wood Design Awards at the Bay Area Wood Solutions Fair in Oakland, CA on January 27, 2015.

“The Wood Design Awards are an opportunity to recognize extraordinary buildings that exemplify, not only wood’s beauty, but the versatility and structural performance attributes that make it such an interesting material to architects and engineers ,” said Jennifer Cover, PE , executive director of WoodWorks.

“Collectively, this year’s award winning projects celebrate the kind of innovative thinking that continues to expand the possibilities for wood use — and bring wood’s cost, sustainability and other advantages to a wider range of projects.”

National awards are being presented in nine categories including: • Jury’s Choice • Institutional Wood Design • Wood in Educational Buildings • Beauty of Wood • Multi - Story Wood Design • Wood in Government Buildings • Green Building with Wood • Commercial Wood Design – Industrial • Commercial Wood Design – Office

Seven Regional Excellence Awards will be presented at regional Wood Solutions Fairs beginning with the Bay Area Wood Solutions Fair in Oakland.

National Winners Jury’s Choice: Live Oak Bank Headquarters • Wilmington, NC Architect – LS3P Associates Ltd Structural Engineer – Woods Engineering General Contractor – Clancy & Theys

Construction Institutional Wood Design: Jackson Hole Airport • Jackson, WY Architect – Gensler Engineer – Martin/Martin General Contractor – Wadman Corporation Wood in Educational Buildings : Indian Mountain Student Arts & I nnovation Center • Lakeville, CT Architect – Flansburgh Architects Structural Engineer – Roome & Guarracino General Contractor – United Construction & Engineering Beauty of Wood : Stapleton Library • Staten Island, NY Architect – Andrew Berman Architect Structural Engineer – Gilsanz General Contractor – Plaza Construction Multi - Story Wood Design : N - Habit Belltown • Seattle, WA Architect – Bushnaq Studio Architecture + Design Structural Engineer – DCI Engineers General Contractor – Charter Construction Wood in Government Buildings : Mojave Rivers Ranger Station • Acton, CA Architect – Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects Structural Engineer – Gregory P. Luth & Associates General Contractor – Swinerton Builders Green Building with Wood : Reveley Classroom Building at the University of Idaho • Mo scow, ID Architect – Patano Studio Architecture , LLC Structural Engineer – DCI Engineers General Contractor – Quality Contractors , LLC Commercial Wood Design – Industrial : Sauter Timber Production Facility • Rockwood, TN Architect – Sauter Timber LLC Structural Engineer – Grossman Bau GmbH General Contractor – Botkin Construction Commercial Wood Design – Office : Venture Capital Office Headquarters • Menlo Park, CA Architect – Paul Murdoch Architects Structural Engineer – Simpson Gumpertz & Heger General Contractor – Louis Ptak Construction Regional Excellence Winners Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office Building • Arcadia, CA Architect – HMC Architects Structural E ngineer – Thornton Tomasetti General Contractor – PW Construction, Inc. Saint Edward Catholic Church • Keizer, OR Architect – Di Loreto Architecture, LLC Structural E ngineer – WDY, Inc . General Contractor – The Grant Company Project: ARCHITECTURE • Provo Canyon, UT Architect – Integrated Technology in Architecture Center, University of Utah Structural E ngineer – Acute Engineering Contractor – Euclid Timber Frames SAC Federal Credit Union Headquarters • Papillion, NE Architect – LEO A DALY Structural E ngineer – LEO A DALY General Contractor – Meyers Carlisle Leapley Construction Burr Burton Academy Mountain Campus • Peru, VT Architect – Bensonwood Structural E ngineer – Annette Dey, PE General Contractor – Bensonwood The Georgetown University Calcagnini Contemplative Center • Bluemont, VA Architect – Dynerman Architects pc Structural E ngineer – McMullan & Associates General Contractor – Howard Shockey & Sons/Walnutdale Building Company University of North Carolina at Greensboro Dining Hall Renovation • Greensboro, NC Architect – Gantt Huberman Architects Structural E ngineer – Bulla Smith Design Engineering General Contractor – Rogers Hardin Davis

Photos of the winning projects are available on the WoodWorks website, http://www.woodworks.org/project -gallery/ , along with a wide range of technical and educational resources for design and building professionals. About WoodWorks WoodWorks – Wood Products Council ( www.woodworks.org ) provides free one - on - one project assistance as well as education and resources related to the code - compliant design of non - residential and multi - family wood buildings. WoodWorks technical experts offer support from design through construction on a wide range of building types, including mid - rise/multi - residential, educational, commercial, corporate, institutional and public.

Cross laminated timbers are being used in mass quantities for the tallest wood building so far: a 121-unit, 10-story  apartment complex  in London. Architects Waugh Thistleton, CLT engineers Ramboll and developer Regal Homes, says the most exciting aspect of the project is the sheer size of the structure and its completion without the use of thousands of cubic meters of concrete.

To be covered with a brick facade, the project has seen more than 3,500 m3 of timber arriving at the construction site as work gets underway on a record-breaking cross-laminated timber (CLT) residential structure, which will become the tallest of its kind in the world.

The 121-unit development is estimated to use more timber than any other project in the world, making it, by volume, the largest CLT project globally.

SLIDESHOW Sauter Builds 1st U.S. Industrial CLT Wood Building Sauter Timber's Production Facility in Rockwood, TN, built from CLT (cross laminated timber) and glulam.

The project residential capacity of 121 units will be 12,500 sqm (about 125,000 square feet), with over 3,460 sqm of commercial space.

CLT structures are the only sustainable solution to provide high quality, high density housing.

Ramboll’s CLT experts have calculated that the building will save 2,400 tonnes of carbon, compared to an equivalent block with a concrete frame. By using CLT construction, the embodied carbon is 2.5 times less than that of an equivalent concrete frame. Taking into account that timber stores carbon by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, which is also known as ‘sequestered carbon,’ the structure can definitively be considered as ‘carbon negative’.

Upholding its material integrity, Dalston Lane’s external, party and core walls, floors and stairs will be made entirely of CLT.

The London borough of Hackney actively encourages timber construction, mooting a ‘timber first’ policy in 2012, and this building will join a number of other timber buildings in the area making this central London borough a world leader for timber construction.

Commenting on the site delivery, Ramboll Director and CLT expert Gavin White said:

“It is exciting to see this benchmark project get out of the ground. The height and size of the Dalston Lane building shows how versatile CLT is, as well as its potential in leading the future of sustainable construction. We have been working on CLT projects for over 10 years now, so it’s heartening to see Hackney actively encouraging CLT construction, and we look forward to completing what will be a landmark building.”

Commenting on the ground breaking nature of CLT use in residential developments, CEO at Regal Homes Simon De Friend, commented, "Regal Homes is proud to have pioneered CLT construction in London. Having already achieved great success with our first CLT structure, Banyan Wharf, Dalston Lane represents a landmark development for the company, and a pivotal moment in our history as our first project in the private rented sector.”

Andrew Waugh, director at Waugh Thistleton, said: “CLT structures are the only sustainable solution to provide high quality, high density housing, and as such this project given its scale and ambition is a seminal piece of architecture”
 

OLYMPIA, WA - Laying out the case for wood construction over steel, concrete and bricks, the Innovative Wood Products Collaborative notes that as timber grows, it soaks up carbon dioxide. That carbon is stored in wood products, a carbon sink that mitigates climate change.

About half of the dry weight of wood is stored carbon;  while 16 percent of global fossil fuel goes into making steel, bricks and concrete. At www.TheMostNaturalResource.com. details are presented about these and other benefits of building with wood.

The Innovative Wood Products Collaborative launch its website - www.TheMostNaturalResource.com - Sept. 11.

The new site is the product of a collaboration between Washington and Oregon sustainable forestry managers, wood products manufacturers, conservationists, academics and architects to highlight the latest information about using innovative wood products from sustainably managed forests.

Wood – the only building material that is grown by the power of the sun – is a renewable resource that has a low carbon and energy footprint. Using wood from sustainably managed forests will significantly reduce carbon emissions from the building sector.

As timber grows, it soaks up carbon dioxide - about half the dry weight of wood products - a carbon sink that  mitigates climate change.

According to a Yale University study, substituting wood for more energy-intensive building materials would reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 14 to 31 percent because wood consumes much less energy than concrete or steel construction.

"Wood construction is incredibly fast and effective, with the added benefit of producing a building that stores carbon rather than emitting it," says Canadian architect Michael Green. "The only way to achieve a net-zero building is to build with wood."

As timber grows, it soaks up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, and that carbon is stored in wood products. This creates a carbon sink that helps mitigate climate change. About half of the dry weight of wood is stored carbon. In contrast, 16 percent of global fossil fuel consumption goes into manufacturing steel, concrete and bricks.

"This collaboration between Oregon and Washington sustainable forest growers and manufacturers is capturing the recent wave of recognition among architects, builders and conservation groups that wood products have real carbon benefits, and can be used in tall buildings," says Mark Doumit, executive director of the Washington Forest Protection Association.

ARTICLE Tallest Wood Building On the Rise Cross laminated timbers are being used in mass quantities for the tallest wood building so far: a 121-unit, 10-story  apartment complex  in London.

Wood products are carbon-negative because they sequester and store carbon," says Joseph Mayo, a designer at Mahlum Architects in Seattle. "There is no other natural building material like wood. Increasing the use of wood also supports local jobs and industry."

"The forest landowners and lumber manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest are the largest supplier of wood building materials in the nation," says Paul Barnum, executive director of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. "Using those wood products in new and better ways will benefit both the environment and the economies of Oregon and Washington."

Wood's strength-to-weight ratio is comparable to concrete and steel. Engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), glue-laminated timber (glulam) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) make it possible to build taller wood structures. These mass timber construction materials are highly fire-resistant and cost-effective. Prefabricated CLT panels can also be installed quickly, speeding up construction time.

"As global demand for wood continues to increase with population, we need to be sourcing our timber from sustainably managed forests," says Thomas Maness, dean of the Oregon State University College of Forestry. "The most environmentally sustainable place to grow wood is right here in the Pacific Northwest."

About the Innovative Wood Products Collaborative: The Innovative Wood Products Collaborative is co-sponsored by the Oregon Forest Resources Industries and the Washington Forest Protection Association to promote the use of wood from sustainably managed forests in the Pacific Northwest.

About the Oregon Forest Resources Institute: The Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Forest Resources Institute in 1991 to advance public understanding of the state's forest resources and to encourage environmentally sound forest management through training and other educational programs for forest landowners. OFRI is funded by a dedicated harvest tax on forest products producers. For more information, go to OregonForests.org.

About the Washington Forest Protection Association:
The Washington Forest Protection Association is a trade association representing private forest landowners in Washington state. Members of the 100-year-old association are large and small companies, individuals and families who practice sustainable forestry in Washington's private forests on about 4 million acres of forestland. WFPA is committed to advancing sustainable forestry in Washington to provide forest products and environmental benefits to the public. For more information, go to wfpa.org.

SOURCE Innovative Wood Products Collaborative

A 10-story timber tower is planned by SHoP Architects for Manhattan's Chelsea Neighborhood. If approved, it would be the first in New York City to use cross laminated timber construction (CLT).

Located in Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood, 475 West 18th Street is a ten-story residential condominium building designed immediately opposite the High Line. The building will contain fifteen two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments.

REPORT 42-Story Wood Skyscraper by SOM Skidmore Owings & Merrill has re-rendered an existing 42-story building using cross lamianted timber construction. The design is practical.

130-134 Holdings LLC, in partnership with Spiritos Properties, SHoP Architects, Arup, and Atelier Ten, proposed 475 West 18th Street as a model for the industry, demonstrating an innovative approach to construction by going beyond the typical, limited palette of materials and systems available for high-rise construction.

The building will be the first in New York City to use modern mass wood systems, and will be the tallest building in the city to use structural timber, pending approvals from the New York City Department of Buildings.

RIDDLE, OR – Today’s announcement by U.S. Secretary Tom Vilsack of the successful projects in the Tall Wood Building Competition was met with enthusiasm at D.R. Johnson, manufacturer of CLT panels and glu-laminated beams.

“We have tremendous respect for the team of the Oregon project that was named, the Framework, a 12-story urban + rural project in the Pearl District area of Portland,” said Valerie Johnson, President of D.R. Johnson. “We have been anticipating this announcement for several months, and are very appreciative of the USDA and the Softwood Lumber Board for this major incentive to accelerate the development of building with mass wood components “With one of the project winners right here in our own state, we look forward to learning more about their design and plans for this building.”

Announced in October 2014, the competition is a joint initiative of the USDA and the forest industry designed to support rural communities by creating a market for wood in larger and taller buildings.  “The goal of the prize competition is to link rural U.S. technical expertise and products with evolving domestic and international market opportunities…” said the USDA announcement. The USDA Tall Wood Competition’s primary purpose is to advance the development of U.S. buildings constructed with mass timber components, which includes CLT and glu-laminated beams.

D.R. Johnson announced last week that it is the first and only U.S. manufacturer to receive ANSI certification from APA-The Engineered Wood Association to produce structural grade cross-laminated timbers. CLT are engineered wood panels typically consisting of three, five, or seven layers of dimension lumber oriented at right angles to one another and glued to form structural panels with exceptional strength, dimensional stability, and rigidity.

D.R. Johnson is currently manufacturing CLT panels for the first two orders for their product, The Albina Yard project, an office building in North Portland, and the Richard Woodcock Education Center at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

“Our company is confident that this revival of building with wood is going to grow,” said Johnson.  “It is good for beautiful buildings, great for the environment and critical for the economies of rural Oregon.  This announcement is one more confirmation that we are on the right track.”

For more information about D.R. Johnson or CLT, please visit www.oregonclt.com. For more information on the USDA Tall Wood Building Prize competition, please visit https://tallwoodbuildingcompetition.org.

NEW YORK — Winners of the U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition  will split $3 million in prize money to advance development of two real-life high rise wood project. If the projects reach groundbreak- each is required to be more than 80 feet tall by the competition rules - one will be built in Portland, Oregon, the other in New York City.

The program is supported by the government agencies in the United States and Canada, which see the adoption of cross laminated timber (CLT) contruction as a strategic opportunity to drive consumption of wood products both domestically and for export. The U.S. Department Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak announced the winners in partnership with the Softwood Lumber Board and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council.

At a press conference was hosted in New York Sept. 17,, Secretary Vilsack congratulated the competition winners.

"The U.S. wood products industry is vitally important as it employs more than 547,000 people in manufacturing and forestry, with another 2.4 million jobs supported by U.S. private-forest owners," said Vilsack. "By embracing the benefits of wood as a sustainable building material, these demonstration projects have the ability to help change the face of our communities, mitigate climate change and support jobs in rural America. I look forward to seeing how these two buildings help lead the way in furthering the industry."

Next-generation lumber and mass timber products are becoming the latest innovation in building. Innovative new technologies and building systems have enabled longer wood spans, taller walls, and higher buildings, and continue to expand the possibilities for wood use in construction. Mass timber wood products are flexible, strong, and fire resistant, and can be used as a safe and sustainable alternative to concrete, masonry, and steel. Using wood helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon and simultaneously offsetting emissions from conventional building materials. Wood can also help struggling rural forest communities. During the Recession, the drop in new construction and decline in home remodeling had a deep impact on wood manufacturing. However, if next-generation wood products can penetrate just five to fifteen percent of the non-residential North American market, it would mean roughly 0.8 - 2.4 billion board feet of lumber consumed annually. To put that in real-world context, roughly 35 jobs are created for each million board feet of wood processed.
The two winning proposals – Framework and 475 West 18th – were selected by a panel of distinguished jurors in the architecture and engineering fields who are familiar with innovative wood building systems. While each took a unique approach, both projects met the competition's criteria to showcase the safe application, practicality and sustainability of a minimum 80-foot structure that uses mass timber, composite wood technologies and innovative building techniques.
 

Framework, LLC and 130-134 Holdings LLC– on behalf of Framework and 475 West 18th, respectively – will each receive $1.5 million to embark on the exploratory phase of their projects, including the research and development necessary to utilize engineered wood products in high-rise construction in the U.S. As part of the Competition evaluation criteria, both of the winning teams have also obtained early support from their respective authorities having jurisdiction to proceed.

"Tall wood building systems have been embraced by developers and architects around the world for many years," said Marc Brinkmeyer, Softwood Lumber Board Chair. "Moving forward with these projects is a step in the right direction for the U.S. building industry in having the ability to take full advantage of the inherent benefits of wood from both an environmental and economic standpoint."
Additional background information on the Competition, including the Official Rules and contact details can be found on the prize competition website at: www.tallwoodbuildingcompetition.org.
WINNING PROJECT SUMMARIES
Framework: An Urban + Rural Ecology
Beneficial State Bancorp will provide site control to real estate developer project, affordable housing investor Home Forward, and LEVER Architecture, for the proposed Framework as a redevelopment of their Pearl District property in Portland, Oregon. The 12-story urban + rural ecological project is to be constructed primarily of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and will support a distinct blend of functions including street-level retail, office, workforce housing and community space. The main community space is designed to include a public Tall Wood Exhibit, featuring resources related to the realization and design of the building.
"We consider Framework to be a totally transformative, mission-driven project that will promote social justice, environmental well-being and economic opportunity at the building, regional and national levels," said Kat Taylor, President, Beneficial State Bancorp, the landowner of the project site.
"The relationship of our cities to our rural communities, what we call 'forest to frame,' is strengthened by Framework," added Tom Cody, Principal, project. "On a national scale this project will be catalytic, leading to more tall wood buildings, driving more wood products and wood product innovation, and boosting rural economic development."

130-134 Holdings LLC, in partnership with Spiritos Properties, SHoP Architects, Arup, Icor Associates, and environmental consultancy Atelier Ten, proposed 475 West 18th as a transformative and sustainable prototype for the design and construction industry, demonstrating an innovative approach to going beyond a limited palette of materials and systems for high-rise construction. Expanding the palette with wood, a locally sourced and renewable material, provides a low-carbon, more economically sound building solution.
475 West 18th's extensive use of wood structural elements and other wood products allows the team to set ambitious sustainability targets in the building's design, construction, and operation. By combining aggressive load reduction with energy efficient systems, the project team anticipates reducing overall energy consumption by at least 50 percent relative to current energy codes. It will also target LEED Platinum certification, as well as pursue higher levels of sustainability not captured in the LEED system.
"By choosing to develop a timber building, we hope to pave the way for a new method of urban construction that is ecologically conscious and supportive of rural economies," said Erica Spiritos of Spiritos Properties. "Rooted in the forests and erected in the city, this building is a celebration of habitats that are at once ancient and cutting edge, interconnected and individual, natural and technological."
"We are delighted to be developing this tall timber building in New York City, which has led the world in urban design and engineering throughout the last century," said Jonathan Ghassemi, on behalf of 130-134 Holdings LLC. "We are confident that this project will once again position New York to serve as a leader in a new generation of sustainable building methods during the 21st century and beyond."
For more information and resources on tall wood buildings, please visit www.rethinkwood.com.
For more information on the USDA or the Forest Products Laboratory:
For more information on the Softwood Lumber Board: www.softwoodlumberboard.org
For more information on the Binational Softwood Lumber Council: www.softwoodlumber.org
 

CHICAGO - A cross-laminated timber structure has been built in Chicago, bringing that city it's first high profile application of the wood construction material being used in high rise wood building construction. The Chicago Horizon project, by Ultramoderne, a Rhode Island architectural practice, was created as part of a competition, and represents "a quest to create the largest wood roof possible," in the words of the team - architects Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest and structural engineer Brett Schneider,  closely connected with the Rhode Island School of Design.

 Chicago Horizon won the BP Prize in the Chicago Lakefront Kiosk Competition for the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, running in the city thorugh January 3. Support for both design and construction were provided by Nordic Structures, reThink Wood, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

The materials used in the pavilion are inexpensive structural grade wood and chain-link fencing. The roof is made from cross-laminated timber (CLT), a structural wood material that sequesters carbon in its fibers. "The roof alone more than offsets the emissions generated by all the other materials used in the project combined," say its designers, who describe the project here:

The design for the kiosk became a quest to create the largest wood roof possible—to demarcate a zone of the city for all to enjoy. Inspired by two Chicago prototypes—Mies van der Rohe’s experiments in flatness and the Eames’ explorations of scale in Powers of Ten—we designed a 56’ square open roof with the largest clear spans possible: a fusion of Miesian rationalism with an American improvisational jauntiness.

Design Collaborator: Brett Schneider
Project team: Will Gant, Hua Gao, Ronak Hingarh, Tida Osotsapa, Emily Yen
Material Supplier & Fabricator: Nordic Structures
Design Engineer: Brett Schneider, Guy Nordenson and Associates
Engineer of Record: Thornton Tomasetti
Architect of Record: Animate Architecture

Radical simplicity underlies a subtle and varied experience. The lateral reach of the roof recalibrates the experience of two extremes of the Chicago landscape: at ground level, the Lake Michigan horizon dominates, forming a line of symmetry between ground and canopy. From the viewing platform, the roof becomes a new artificial horizon, shutting out the foreground and emphasizing the vertical skyline above an abstract floating plane.

Two programmatic volumes—a viewing platform and a vending kiosk—hang between the roof and the ground. Enclosed in chain link fencing used in tension, the volumes provide a subtle hierarchy within the otherwise open plan. Fin columns are distributed in a finely tuned radial pattern to respond to lateral loads and uplift; their orientation creates at once an intense focus on the space and activities central to the pavilion, as well as outwards towards the horizon.

At night, the chain link enclosures double as a lighting installation, attracting visitors to their mysterious glow. Each is outfitted with a plane of programmable LED lighting and glowing with a different color temperature: one warm (moonlight), one cool (daylight). The two pulsate in dialogue with each other throughout the night, alternating between the two poles of experience that the kiosk creates: floor and ceiling; day and night.

About TEAM ULTRAMODERNE

Team Ultramoderne is a collaboration between architects Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest and structural engineer Brett Schneider.  Based in Providence, RI, and closely connected with the Rhode Island School of Design, the Ultramoderne team members bring together an extensive range of experience in architecture, design, and engineering at a broad range of scales.  The team looks to develop design ideas rooted in architectural effect and the technical specificity necessary to push these effects beyond convention. Vobis and Forrest, who together lead the architecture studio Ultramoderne, have recently completed projects with the Van Alen Institute and the Boston Society of Architects, and have extensive experience working for leading architects in San Francisco, New York, and Madrid. Brett Schneider is Senior Associate at Guy Nordenson and Associates Structural Engineers in New York, where he has led projects in collaboration with SANAA, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Johnston Marklee, and other leading practices across the globe

VANCOUVER, BC -  One of the tallest wood buildings in the world will soon be constructed at UBC, providing housing for hundreds of students. When completed, the $51.5-million residence building will stand 53 metres tall (about 174 feet).

“This beautiful, new tall wood building will serve as a living laboratory for the UBC community,” said Martha Piper, interim president. “It will advance the university’s reputation as a hub of sustainable and innovative design, and provide our students with much-needed on-campus housing.”

Construction of the 18-storey tall wood student residence will begin later this fall, and the building is set to open in September 2017. It will house 404 students in 272 studios and 33 four-bedroom units, and feature study and social gathering spaces. There will also be a ground-floor lounge and study space for commuter students.

ARTICLE Cross Laminated Building Wins in Chicago Cross laminated timber (CLT) construction was used for the winner of a global competition for Chicago's ongoing Architectural Biennial.

“This project shows that when it comes to building with wood, B.C.’s innovation can’t be beat,” said Steve Thomson, minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. “By taking advantage of new building technologies, we’re also expanding our markets for B.C. wood products – and supporting jobs in the forest sector.”

In addition to its primary function as a student residence, the building will serve as an academic site for students and researchers, who will be able to study and monitor its operations.

The tall wood building will consist of a mass timber superstructure atop a concrete base. Wood is a sustainable and versatile building material that stores, rather than emits, carbon dioxide. UBC aims for the building to achieve a minimum LEED Gold certification, a rating system that evaluates how environmentally friendly a structure is in its design and energy use.

UBC’s Student Housing and Hospitality Services, the Binational Softwood Lumber Council, Forestry Innovation Investment, Natural Resources Canada and B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations are contributing funding for the building.

Any additional costs related to design and construction have been funded through external sources. Students will pay the same for rent at the tall wood building compared to similar accommodations at other student residences on campus.

UBC Properties Trust is managing the project. The project’s architect, Vancouver’s Acton Ostry Architects, is working in collaboration with tall wood advisor Architekten Hermann Kaufmann from Austria. Fast + Epp, another local firm, is the structural engineer.

BACKGROUND

The proposed location for the tall wood building is in an open area north of the North Parkade and adjacent to Walter Gage Road.

Other wood structure buildings on UBC’s Vancouver campus include the new AMS Student Nest and Engineering Student Centre, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, the Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility, and the Earth Sciences Building.

Earlier this year, the B.C. government passed the provincial Building Act, which enables innovation in building construction. The Building Act enabled the Province to develop a regulation to allow construction of UBC’s new tall wood student residence, with rigorous health and safety standards. The regulation was developed with the project design team, UBC’s chief building official and an independent building code consultant.

Rich Coleman, minister of natural gas development and minister responsible for housing

“When we introduced B.C.’s Building Act this year, one of our goals was to encourage innovation by creating an approval process for groundbreaking projects like this one,” said Rich Coleman, minister of natural gas development and minister responsible for housing. “As a result, we have been able to approve UBC’s tall wood building, while ensuring it meets rigorous health and safety standards.”

Cees de Jager, general manager of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council

“We’re thrilled to partner with UBC on this exciting project,” said Cees de Jager, general manager of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council. “The residence is a showcase of innovation and ingenuity that will contribute greatly to transforming how we develop taller wood buildings in the future. Lessons learned at UBC will stimulate increased use of wood throughout North America and beyond, benefiting our industry, our communities and our environment.”

Michael Giroux, president of the Canadian Wood Council

“The Canadian Wood Council congratulates UBC on its commitment to build a tall wood students’ residence,” said Michael Giroux, president of the Canadian Wood Council. “We are entering an exciting time for the Canadian and North American wood products industry. As the tallest wood building in Canada, this project will serve as a great example of the research and technology that is involved in taking wood construction to new heights – resulting in innovative solutions that are safe, sustainable and viable, and meet or exceed the requirements of the building code.”

About tall wood buildings

Wood is suitable as a beautiful finishing material and a structural material that meets safety and performance requirements. Wood structures, as with any building material, must meet building code requirements. Safety measures, such as sprinkler systems and fire resistance-rated wall and floor/ceiling assemblies, ensure tall wood buildings are built to meet and exceed fire safety and structure performance requirements.

FPInnovations, a forest sector research centre, conducted tests on the UBC building’s wood structural components. The building’s safety measures include enhanced fire protections and back-up systems, a building-monitoring system and an upgraded building core, the first in B.C. to be specified to the new 2015 National Building Code of Canada for seismic design.

A number of tall wood projects have been completed around the world in recent years. Today, the concept is gaining traction in North America as a safe, sustainable and cost-effective construction option.

The world’s current tallest wood building is a 32-metre (105-foot), 10-storey apartment building in Melbourne, Australia. Prince George’s Wood Innovation and Design Centre, completed in October 2014, is the tallest wood building in North America, standing at 29.5 metres (97 feet). A 51-metre (167-foot), 14-storey apartment building is now under construction in Norway. Two other tall wood projects have been announced for New York and Portland.

About UBC’s Student Housing Growth Strategy

UBC’s Student Housing Growth Strategy is an aggressive plan to meet the growing demand for on-campus student housing. The strategy will add more than 2,000 beds by 2017, and an additional 640 beds in 2019.

About 10,000 students currently live in university-operated student housing on UBC’s Vancouver campus, which offers more student housing than any other Canadian campus.

LEESBURG, Va.–  American Wood Council says the International Code Council (ICC) Board of Directors approval of the formation of a Tall Wood Ad Hoc Committee.

The committee will be made up of stakeholders, code officials and other interested parties. The committee will study tall wood construction and may develop code changes to be submitted for the 2021 International Building Code. Tall wood is an industry term to identify the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) and other heavy timber manufactured wood products in building heights greater than six stories.

“Other nations have already seen the benefits of tall wood construction – from the low carbon footprint, ease of construction and reduced construction time.

“Wood products are made from renewable resources found abundantly in North America. AWC petitioned ICC for creation of the committee to research the building science of tall wood buildings, and are pleased that it is moving forward. This is an important step toward the advancement of tall wood in the United States, a carbon-sequestering alternative in construction.”

The American Wood Council (AWC) is the voice of North American wood products manufacturing, representing over 75 percent of an industry that provides approximately 400,000 men and women in the United States with family-wage jobs. AWC members make products that are essential to everyday life from a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon. Staff experts develop state-of-the-art engineering data, technology, and standards for wood products to assure their safe and efficient design, as well as provide information on wood design, green building, and environmental regulations. AWC also advocates for balanced government policies that affect wood products.
 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Property developer Lendlease says it has opened the first hotel in the country to be completely constructed using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), the Candlewood Suites on Redstone Arsenal.

The project, a partnership between the United States Army, Lendlease and IHG Army Hotels, used the same strong timber and panels that make possible the wood skyscrapers that have captured the interest of architects and builders aroound the world.

ARTICLE Effort to legalize high-rise wood construction A federal agency has approved a grant of nearly $450,000 to Oregon State University to advance the use of new engineered wood products in high rise wood building construction.

The 62,688 square foot structure includes 92 guest rooms, and utilized 1,200 CLT wall panels and 200,000 CLT fasteners. It took the 11-man Lendlease crew 10 working weeks to erect the building, which is a 40 percent reduction in crew size and man hours, and 37 percent faster than conventional framing materials and methods.

"The use of CLT and other integrated methodologies has made it possible to 'do more with less' by constructing projects faster, with less labor and safer than conventional materials and methods," said Denis Hickey, CEO for Lendlease Americas. "Lendlease has pioneered the use of this material in Australia and the UK, and we're excited to expand our CLT portfolio into the Americas region."

Part of the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) Program, Lendlease is the owner, developer, design-builder and asset manager for the Candlewood Suites on Redstone Arsenal, and the exclusive developer for the Department of Defense's only lodging privatization program. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is the hotel operator. Lendlease has delivered 14 Holiday Inn Express and eight Candlewood Suites hotels throughout the United States, including the 310-room Candlewood Suites on Joint Base San Antonio, the largest in the world.

WASHINGTON D.C.– A new bill from Congress would establish performance driven research for advancing tall wood building construction in the U.S.  

The “Timber Innovation Act” would:

·        Authorize the Tall Wood Building Prize Competition through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually for the next five years

·        Create federal grants to support state, local, university and private sector education, outreach, research and development, including education and assistance for architects and builders, that will accelerate the use of wood in tall buildings

·        Authorize technical assistance for USDA, in cooperation with state foresters and state extension directors (or equivalent state officials), to implement a program of education and technical assistance for mass timber applications

Vancouver-based real estate developer PortLiving and world-renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban have unveiled plans for an upcoming hybrid timber structure said to be the tallest in the world. If so, this would mean it will be higher than other CLT wood structures, such as the 34-story design planned for Stockholm.

The residential high-rise Terrace house, which will be located in Vancouver’s Coal Harbor neighborhood, may set a new standard for urban luxury in design, sustainability and engineering innovation. The high-rise will feature a cross-laminated timber frame supported by a concrete and steel core. Wood for the project will be locally sourced from British Columbia, minimizing its carbon footprint.

ARTICLE Cross-laminated timber construction in Seattle stirs concrete mixer concerns Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), has expressed concern with the use of CLT in construction.

Cross-laminated timber has been gaining popularity as of late, due to its lightness, sustainability, and ease of use. Planks of timber are glued and orientated at 90 degrees to each other, and are then crosslaid in layers. Those pieces are then shipped to construction sites and can be assembled by just a few workers, even for large buildings.

Its use in tall wooden buildings has also been growing. London, Stockholm, and Quebec are just a few of the cities who either already have large timber towers or have one in the works. Recent plans include a Swedish firm's 436 ft. residential wood skyscraper in Stockholm, while a 12-story mixed wood high-rise is planned for construction in Portland, Oregon. 

Building codes are being adjusted in Oregon and Washington State to permit the tall wood structures. But CLT hasn’t gone without opposition.

Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, has expressed its concern over the use of CLT in construction.

The group says extreme caution should be used with timber due to its prone to fire, termites, earthquakes, and humidity.  Concrete makers, who would see their material displaced by wood, say that sufficient testing has not taken place to verify CLT’s durability and strength. 

PortLiving says it will release more details about Terrace House later this year.

COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont.  – SmartLam Technologies Group, the first manufacturer of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) products in the United States, today announced it is now certified under the American National Standards Institute approved ANSI/APA PRG 320-2012 Standard for Performance-rated Cross-Laminated Timber.
 SmartLam Cross Laminated Timber is an engineered wood building system made from several layers of solid lumber boards, stacked crosswise to each other and bonded together with a non-VOC and formaldehyde free adhesive. This provides dimensional stability, strength and rigidity, making the product a viable alternative to concrete, masonry and steel in many applications. The standard adopted by ANSI details the manufacturing and performance requirements for quality assurance.

 “The validation of this certification is a point of pride among our employees, but more importantly a verification for our customers,” said Casey Malmquist, president and general manager, SmartLam. “As CLT use continues to grow across the United States, certification underscores the viability of this material as a future mainstream construction practice.”
 First developed in Austria more than 25 years ago, CLT has a documented track record supporting its widespread use across Europe. Adoption of this construction method has grown with the green building movement. With careful, yet conventional planning and engineering considerations, the service life of a CLT building can last as long as buildings constructed from other materials like concrete or steel. Unlike concrete and steel, CLT is made entirely from wood, the only renewable building material.
 In addition to this certification standard for manufacturing and performance requirements, application standards are also being adopted: the use of CLT was incorporated into the 2015 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) as well as the 2015 edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code.
“With our wide range of products and services, we provide unmatched support to a wide variety of markets,” said Malmquist. “We continuously update and improve our processes to keep pace with developing codes and standards, today and in the future.”
 he first manufacturer of Cross Laminated Timber products in the United States, SmartLam produces more than1 million board feet of Cross Laminated Timber each month. Headquartered in Montana, the company sources wood for its manufacturing processes from regional forest vendors within 200 miles of SmartLam’s zero-waste production plant. For more information visit smartlam.com.