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J UNE 2019 | 25 RENDERINGS COURTESY AHC GROUP; PORTLIVING Engineered Wood Products Embury-Williams notes that CLT pieces can be up to 10-feet wide by 40-feet long, so they can be stood on end to form an elevator shaft, fire wall, or outside wall. More commonly CLT is placed horizontally to form floor plates and roofs. "This building system is quick, it's safe, and it creates a solid, high-quality build- ing. Mass timber also performs very well and predictably in a fire situation. When those elements are exposed to fire, a char layer develops very slowly around the exposed surface, protecting the interior of the wood so it maintains its integrity and provides the two-hour fire rating required by the building code. Wood WORKS! Alberta has also been working with innovative designers who are incorporating a variety of engineered wood products into building projects. One unique project – and the only one of its kind in the world incorporating Passive House technology – is the Subaru auto dealership in Red Deer, Alberta. "The Subaru Red Deer dealership used two interesting engineered wood appli- cations; exposed glulam post-and-beam in the showroom and LVL [Laminated Veneer Lumber] studs for the structural walls," says Lukas Armstrong, principal and architect, certified Passive House designer with Cover Architectural Collaborative Inc. "Typically this would have been a steel frame building because of the wall height and the span, but early on in the process it was understood that steel conducts heat through the building assembly quite readily and that wood has a much lower conductivity. Wood is also less expensive than steel and has a lower environmental impact." Armstrong explains this was a unique use of LVL studs that were 12 inches by two inches by roughly 20-feet long on 16-inch centres. "This is the first time the manufacturer has seen that kind of application for mass timber studs." He adds that because wood breathes, there is no vapour barrier in this building. "We do have an air barrier, which is airtight and vapour open. The wall breathes in both directions, inside and out, so any leakage or condensation can get out through both sides of the wall." Structurlam Products Ltd. is known for its glulam and CLT products and often has up to 30 projects on the go, many with cutting-edge designs. "The traction that mass timber is getting in the development sector is impressive in two areas: one, the increase of floor plates being used in midrise multi-family buildings; and secondly, we are also seeing glulam columns and beams with CLT floor plates in office structures," says Stephen Tolnai, VP, sales and marketing. "Part of the reason why CLTs are being used in this fashion is schedule savings by getting the building up sooner, and also people want a better building. Developers are looking at utilizing walls made of traditional two-by-four framing, and the floor plate is CLT in either an exposed or non-exposed fashion." Tolnai says Structurlam is also seeing an increase in post-and-beam, and platform office construction. "There is a shift from concrete to mass timber. For multi-family residential builds, this is most common on the West Coast, but in office construction, the trend is national," Tolnai explains. "What I love about what we do is there's no greenwashing necessary. In office construction with mass timber, you can expose the bones of the building and have a healthy struc- ture that is esthetically pleasing." In July 2019, the AHC Group is embarking on a two-year construc- tion project for the Mount Carmel Spirituality Centre in Alberta. The 75,000-square-foot facility will be built in several phases to complete three main structures – the monastery, a three-storey housing unit, and a 140-foot elevated breezeway/bridge, connecting all three components. With sweeping arches and a 70-foot tower at the front of the chapel, the Centre will be one-of-a-kind. "We will be using CNC machinery for cutting all of the pieces of wood because everything will be done in a factory," says John Paone, president, AHC Group. "The arches are a combination of glulam and CLT. It's all engineered wood, but the decorative curves can't be made strictly out of glulam. We take big CLT panels and machines will cut out the shapes, then we marry the two together with special connections. You can't get that kind of curve out of glulam beams because they have such a tight radius. We're also taking the two products and putting them together for a truss and beam system." He adds 80 percent of the building will be exposed wood. Western Archrib Structural Wood Systems continues to see a lot of interest in, and reasons for, using mass timber for building plates using GLT, or West Deck, which is similar to CLT or NLT. "We are getting inquiries from all over Canada and the U.S. for mass timber in mid-rise residential and office construction with eight to 12 storeys in the design," says Andre Lema, manager of business development. "The systems are typically wood plate, but some will do a combination with steel or wood and steel columns, depending on the load." Working with developer PortLiving, Western Archrib's project docket for 2019 includes Terrace House, a 19-storey mixed-use tower featuring mass timber that will be North America's tallest concrete and hybrid mass timber residential structure. Paying homage to the late Arthur Erickson's neighbouring Evergreen Building, the building was designed by Japan's Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban and will be a unique addition to the downtown Vancouver skyline. "Not only is it impressive with the exposed mass timber on the inside, but the design also uses primarily glass walls on the upper storeys so people can see right through the residential units," says Lema. The design's base is stepped concrete, but the upper nine floors arc at a 41-degree angle, with a pinnacle finish similar to an isosceles triangle. Over at Henkel the company recently launched Loctite HB Xxx2 Purbond. The first and only 1K Polyurethane adhesive to be certified for wet use in Canada and the U.S. It meets all fire performance requirements, including glulam, CLT and I-Joist. It is also suitable for Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine. This revolutionary adhesive is ecologically and work-space responsible, being Formaldehyde and solvent/VOC-free. It is 100 percent solids and moisture curing. The product creates no liquid waste and has a wide ambient and wood condition operating window. Ductile bond lines also create long life and are esthetically pleasing timber elements. "Loctite Polyurethane adhesives for engineered wood are used extensively in the most architecturally significant heavy timber projects in the world, including the tallest wood high-rise, the largest multi-family housing complex, and the longest free- span wood bridge," says Chris Whelan, Henkel Corporation's business development director – engineered wood adhesives. "Our skilled team of application engineers and wood production experts work closely with the industry to assist in innovation, implementation, and development of modern engineered wood production." Sansin, known for its environmentally friendly products for wood products, recently participated in the completion of the Rocky Pines Community Centre on the Lower Nicola Indian Band land, near a small community of 100 homes located in a pine forest and bordered by a beautiful mountainous valley. "It was designed by Lubor Trubka Associates Architects and serves the remote community's fami- lies with a large multi-functional space, as well as a library, convenience store, meeting room, kitchen, and coin-operated laundry," says Caroline March-Long, Sansin's director of sales and marketing. "To showcase the mass timber features, as well as the interior wood, Sansin's architectural wood finishes were used for esthetics, protection, and their low- VOC profile. The posts-and-beams were coated with KP12-UVW and Sansin SDF in a custom Light Honey. The pine interior boards and trim are treated with KP12- UVW and ENS Optimum Clear." March-Long explains that Sansin's architectural service, called SansinIRIS, worked with the architect team to ensure the interior and exterior wood substrates were protected. "Absorption of the undercoat enhances the stability of wood components and increases topcoat performance, so it is imperative that the undercoat allows subsequent topcoats to sink in and penetrate the wood for optimal performance," she says. A Terrace House, Vancouver, B.C. Mount Carmel Spirituality Centre, Parkland County, AB. 1:37 PM

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