INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The National Building Code of Canada was updated last year , permitting wood builds of up to 12 storeys , taking into consideration its strength and fire resistance ratings . But it ’ s up to the provinces and territories themselves to rework these updates into their own building regulations . British Columbia and Quebec , through alternative approval processes , led the way for the construction of tall timber buildings prior to these code changes . Ontario has also updated its building code to harmonise with the national code .
Further proof of Ontario ’ s mass timber ’ s potential is a new mass timber facility in St . Thomas , run by Canada ’ s latest Cross Laminated Timber ( CLT ) manufacturer , Element5 . The 137,000-square-foot , CAD50-million plant produced its first panel in December 2020 and is now fully operational . It houses a technologically advanced , fully automated CLT and glulam production line , and can produce up to 45,000 cubic metres of CLT and glulam annually .
While this sounds promising for Ontario , Nhan ’ s work will evaluate if the province can sustainably grow the forest sector at the same time mass timber production is increasing , while considering the four distinct areas of sustainability : human , social , economic , and environmental . Supporting her analysis is Remsoft ’ s Woodstock Optimisation Studio — a prescriptive analytics and optimisation modelling platform for forest management planning .
Nhan explains Woodstock will be used to build timber harvest scheduling models for different scenarios on two Crown Forest management units in central Ontario , similar to long-term management direction ( LTMD ) models used in forest planning .
ASSESSING FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Once the models confirm if any wood can be repurposed , researchers can also answer some key questions such as what tree species are available , what stands are these species coming from ( i . e ., mixed wood , conifer , spruce pine fir , or cedar ), and how much of that wood can be used for mass timber , keeping in mind opportunities for First Nations communities ? How will mass timber affect overall wood costs compared to the cost of pulp and softwood lumber in the region ?
“ There are a lot of moving parts which can get quite complex . Woodstock is great because it gives us the flexibility to implement these different scenarios and answer our big questions ,” says Nhan .
“ With all of that information , we ’ ll have a pretty good idea if this wood system is suitable for mass timber applications and if it can provide opportunities for those regional economies ,” adds Snyder .
Nhan and Snyder are both optimistic about the possibilities of mass timber in Ontario . Their findings will help develop models for other forest management units in Ontario to determine where and how a new mass timber value chain might be optimised .
“ This is going to be a big and complicated modelling project ,” says Snyder . “ Without Woodstock , we would have to make some big assumptions ourselves , some which would be less realistic .”
Source : Canadian Forest Industries ( CFI )
On Ontario Crown lands , the available harvest volume ( calculated with optimisation modelling during LTMD ) is often much higher than the actual harvest amount . This ‘ extra wood ,’ particularly underutilised tree species and small diameter fibre , could potentially be used for mass timber .
The models will help determine how much sustainable and unallocated wood , if any , exists on those specific units once commitments to mills and shareholders have been met .
Mass timber is hailed as an advanced building material , in many ways superior to traditional building materials like concrete and steel .
Kärdla City Pavilion
The new Kärdla City Pavilion located on Dagö Island just off the west coast of Estonia is one several projects that was initiated to celebrate the nation ’ s declaration of independence 100-year anniversary . Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter along with Mareld Landscape won an open international competition to renew the city ’ s central square and create new life in the city centre with a new market hall and cultural centre . Part of the competition project now constructed is the new city pavilion .
Kärdla , being the only city on Dagö Island , is characterised by urban sprawl . The project initiators wanted to concentrate public life around the central square adding a number of programmes in order to reduce distances and create new flows in the city . The proposal by Bornstein Lyckefors and Mareld introduced a market pavilion including landscape architecture as an urban element to break down the size of the larger urban void .
The layout of the pavilion is a built on the idea of Hortus Conclusus , the enclosed garden . It ’ s a concentrated space , a void and container of space and landscape , a framework to relate to in the construction of the wider urban landscape . The walls surrounding the inside serve only as a backdrop to the park .
The structure is entirely built from wood with platforms walls and ceiling crossbars mounted together in a semi-transparent manner . Wooden pieces used to create distance between the bars are placed in a pattern to resemble and pay tribute to patterns used in the former textile industry – once the largest industry of Kärdla . The roof , being covered with sheets of glass , enhances the sensation of being covered in a semi-transparent and delicate wooden fabric .
Over time the wood will lose colour and blend in with the street , the enclosed garden will get dense and green . In the end , left in the middle , a precious green space – the Kärdla Bouquet Park .
8 DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022 // www . timberiq . co . za