The use of Mass Timber in community, commercial, and multi-family projects is becoming mainstream in North America. There are more than 370 buildings in British Columbia using mass timber, and 13 BC communities are leading the way as early adopters to bring mass timber technology for buildings up to 12 storeys. From sustainability to practicality of mass timber solutions, this session will explore the collaboration between a world-renowned fabricator of complex structural mass timber components based in B.C., Structurlam Mass Timber Corp. with the design teams and developers of several new B.C. community projects.

West Kelowna is establishing its first purpose-built city hall/library building to make the Westbank Centre a vibrant civic-centre area that serves the Greater Westside. The construction of the new three-story Pitt Meadows Firehall and emergency operations centre is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2022. The current design and development phases of these Mass Timber projects will be demonstrated.

Langford on Vancouver Island has been ranked #1 Best Community in BC, and #18 Best Community in Canada by Maclean’s Magazine. Their multi-family dwellings are carefully designed to be part of sustainable, livable neighborhoods that are pedestrian-friendly and close to local amenities. Featuring architecture that is vibrant and welcoming, their multiple Mass Timber buildings including Vancouver Island’s first 12-storey mixed-use residential/commercial mass timber tower are the cornerstones of their community. The current construction phases of these buildings will be demonstrated.

1. Explore the development and invigoration of local communities dedicated to building with mass timber –integrating mixed-use residential and commercial spaces in 3 to 12 storey mass timber buildings.
2. Learn about Mass Timber design considerations including Cross-laminated Timber floor assemblies, acoustical performance, fire performance, framing options, panel layouts and built-in sustainability features.
3. Learn more about Mass Timber building systems from a renewable and sustainable building material, to optimized structural performance, to coordinated on-site rapid assembly and superior aesthetic appeal.
4. Gain knowledge on Mass Timber standards for performance-rated Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue-lam, and its applied Digital Design and Manufacturing Technology