Monthly Update: May 2021

The Architect’s Newspaper has published an updated timber map, its annual listing of key regional and national universities, research and industry organizations, and manufacturers that are leading the way in mass timber research and development. The SLB, the AWC, Think Wood, and WoodWorks are among the U.S. and Canadian groups listed. The Architect’s Newspaper teamed with the Mass Timber Institute and the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Program to validate the list.

Access the 2021 timber map here.

Vancouver is working to be on the leading edge of reducing emissions from the building sector through embodied carbon. Vancouver started requiring new construction projects to provide a whole-building life cycle assessment (LCA) in 2017, and its Climate Emergency Action Plan, adopted in 2020, requires all new buildings in the city to achieve a 40% reduction in embodied carbon from 2018 levels by 2030.

A report commissioned by the city using the LCAs submitted to date found that greater proportions of wood in a building led to greater declines in its embodied emissions, while greater proportions of concrete and steel led to greater increases. This data is supplemented by recent studies of Brock Commons, the mass timber tower completed on the University of British Columbia’s campus in 2017, which conclude that Brock Commons’ construction avoided 748 tons of greenhouse gas emissions (estimate by the Canadian Wood Council) and that its use of mass timber for structural elements resulted in a 36% reduction in global warming potential based on lower embodied carbon.

Read more about Vancouver’s efforts here.

Inhabitat, an online green design and technology site, recently published a photographic tour of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University’s two mass timber buildings that opened last year—the 83,000-square-foot Peavy Hall and the 18,000-square-foot Advanced Wood Products Laboratory (AWP). Both buildings were designed by Canada-based Michael Green Architecture and together incorporate 2,130 cubic meters of wood that store 2,077 U.S. tons (1,884 metric tons) of carbon dioxide.

The buildings embody the mission of the college by combining material and performance innovations, reduced emissions through embodied carbon and optimized energy efficiency, and strong and direct linkages to Oregon’s forestry industry and economy.

Read more about the structures here.

The British Columbia government announced that it will provide $4.2 million in funding to 12 mass timber demonstration and research projects and that it has established an advisory council to accelerate the adoption of mass timber building systems in the province. The demonstration projects include a diversity of building types and uses, including a fire station with strict post-disaster requirements, a health and culture center, and affordable housing. Meanwhile, the research projects focus on mass timber’s fire performance, cost-efficiency, and carbon benefits.

In announcing these investments, British Columbia Premier John Horgan stated, “Mass timber is good for forestry-dependent communities, workers, and the environment—because it adds value rather than just volume” and “growing the sector is key to building a strong and sustainable economic recovery that reaches everyone.”

Read more about these investments here.

Michigan State University (MSU) recently completed its 157,000-square-foot STEM Teaching and Learning Facility in East Lansing. The building is the first of its kind in Michigan, having been constructed primarily from mass timber. The building is part of Michigan State’s growing commitment to leverage its rich history in forestry and become a modern-day leader in mass timber in the region.

According to George Berghorn, an assistant professor of construction management in the School of Planning, Design and Construction, “We were a little late to the game in the Midwest . . . MSU is really trying to establish the fact that we have a viable research and development program here on campus looking at the material and also looking at how it is used in design and construction. Hopes are that we will eventually be able to attract a mass timber manufacturer to the state.”

Adding to mass timber demand, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is designing its own $5 million mass timber building on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Read more about MSU’s uptake of mass timber here.

Bisnow recently ran a piece on the importance of reducing embodied carbon alongside operational carbon to drive down building emissions. The article cites WoodWorks’ Regional Director, Chelsea Drenick, who spoke on the topic at a Home and Environment webinar hosted by the Housing Action Coalition on Earth Day. Drenick noted that buildings generate almost 40% of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Drenick, although operational carbon surpasses embodied over the lifetime of a building, it takes 17 years for operational carbon to surpass embodied carbon. This means that efforts to reduce embodied carbon can have a large and immediate impact in combating climate change.

The article notes that while new types of concrete are being developed with sustainability in mind and steel can claim credible sustainability benefits thanks to its high recyclability, wood remains the leading building material for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is the only truly renewable building material.

Read more here.

As first reported by FastCompany, a team of architects from NBBJ and researchers from the University of Washington have developed a prototype wood wall that reduces noise levels. The research team studded wooden walls with numerous small holes with bottle-shaped cavities and narrow necks that can trap sound. Through testing, the team determined an optimal array of holes, which they installed on a large CLT panel that can be used for a wall or ceiling. Initial testing of this installation reduced noise by 13 decibels, a 60% reduction.

Read more about this innovation here.

In contemplating how Canada can achieve the goals of its climate change plan, including net-zero emissions by 2050, FPInnovations highlighted the potential role of constructing multistory buildings with wood as a key intervention to reduce the building industry’s carbon footprint. According to Patrick Lavoie, a FPInnovations senior sustainability scientist, “Tall wood buildings can play a big role in helping lower Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions because they store carbon and sequester it for long periods of time, and because wood can replace more carbon-intensive materials.”

In the same piece, FPInnovations stressed the importance of using science-based LCAs to support climate-sensitive decision-making, identify opportunities to improve the environmental performance of supply and production chains, and avoid environmental burden shifting

Read more from FPInnovations here.