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J U N E 2 0 2 2 | 31 Engineered Wood Products Another great project is the 75,000-square-foot mass timber Bayview Elementary School in B.C. The structural walls, floors, and roof will be cross-laminated tim- ber (CLT) complemented by glulam columns and beams. The use of mass timber means low carbon construction, delivering a net CO2 benefit of 1,137 metric tonnes. Kalesnikoff Lumber, a fourth-generation family-owned company based in Castlegar, B.C., has stepped up to meet the growing demand and invested $35 million to develop a new mass timber facility. The 110,000-square-foot facility houses both the glulam and CLT product lines. Now complete, the company has begun producing a range of mass timber products: a CLT; glulam beams and columns, and some glulam-laminated timber (GLT) panels; as well as specialty cold-pressing of glulam beams to create oversized, large columns to support the highest mass timber towers in the world. The company has also been working on a number of projects including a multi- family residential building in Vancouver and a student residence in Toronto. Over at Structurlam Mass Timber, the team has been getting involved in some fascinating projects. One of their most recent projects was the new Terminus at District 56 commercial building located on Vancouver Island – one of the highest seismic regions of North America. Structurlam provided the mass timber kit-of-parts for the five-storey mass timber post-and-beam Terminus building, which features the first buckling-restrained braces housed within a timber frame. This state-of-the-art design enables its lateral system to be highly ductile while allowing the wood to be exposed. Tallwood 1 at District 56 (as previously mentioned by Embury-Williams) utilized Structurlam's CrossLam CLT and GlulamPLUS products in tandem with buckling-restrained braces for a warm, striking design. "The Terminus project sets a high precedent for mass timber construction and meets a variety of structural considerations, including fire ratings, seismic benchmarks and structural performance, all while providing the desired aesthetic," says Hardy Wentzel, CEO of Structurlam. "The completion of the building is a big win for all involved and we're looking forward to continuing to work with Design Building Services and Aspect Structural Engineers on Tallwood 1 in the coming months." CONCERNS & CHALLENGES Interestingly, the engineered wood product market is facing one unforeseen challenge right now, and that's the interruption in the flow of work, as Jason Beamish, sales and marketing at Beam Craft explains: "Over the past year there have been considerable opportunities to bid in B.C., but the bid cycle to award and construction is extremely slow. With that comes an escalation challenge in cost. For engineered wood products that rely on the commodity pricing of wood fibre, it makes it extremely risky." That's not to say every supply job is this way, however, and Beam Craft has been extremely busy with some great projects. One of which is the 268,000-square-foot Lethbridge Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre, which features a PSL custom post and beam frame with custom steel connections, supplied and installed by Beam Craft. "Like many engineered wood projects currently, it is hybrid as it also has a CLT roof deck supplied by Structurlam and installed by Beam Craft," says Beamish. Then there's the Lakeland College project in Vermilion, Alberta. "We worked with Western Archrib to do a glulam post and beam with Westdek GLT on portions of it and steel decking on the rest. And we are looking forward to the Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre project in North Vancouver, where we will be installing glulam and CLT where Kalesnikoff Mass Timber is the manufacturer." There is, however, one concern for Beamish as engineered wood and mass timber gain increasing momentum, and that's the lack of co-ordinated certification in the installation community. "With steel frame buildings, for example, we have well-understood rules regarding certifications and inspec- tions for the assembly, but that doesn't currently exist with multi-storey mass timber buildings. That leaves a lot of questions over whether installations will be done correctly, especially as the market grows. We shouldn't have to wait until something goes wrong to act. Ideally we need trade schools to get involved with private industry as well as provincial governments and build a recognized certificate program that is a bolt-on to an existing trade license." Like the other experts in the sector, Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers has found supply, timely delivery, and pricing fluctuation to be their biggest challenge of late. "In environments where sustainable strategies involve prod- ucts that limit suppliers to a narrow field, the fluctuation of pricing and delivery challenges adds more pressure on our client teams and diminishes our ability to advocate for a particular solution. On the bright side, newer and more innova- tive products are coming to the market every day that we can readily take up and bring to bear," explains Levi Stoelting, principal at Glotman Simpson. Glotman Simpson is currently involved in many great projects, too, including 843 N Spring Street – a five-storey creative office building and one of the most significant steel-timber hybrid structures in the greater LA region, built over a reclaimed and reused existing upgraded substructure. And closer to home, there's the M5, a 20-storey residential structure in Vancouver that is intended to be a replicable prototype for hybrid mass timber construction. As for the future of the industry, the team at Glotman Simpson believe that the rapid rate of change and exploration when it comes to technologies, hybrid solutions, integrated system solutions, and construction methodologies makes this a very exciting time to practice building engineering: "Our clients are more eager than ever to explore alternatives to their projects that were just not an option just a few years ago," says Stoelting. SOUND SOLUTIONS While in the past, concern over the acoustic performance of mass timber build- ings has acted as a deterrent for some, this is quickly becoming a thing of the past, explains Andre Rioux co-owner at AcoustiTECH, a division of the Finitec Group … and the reason for this turnaround may surprise you. "There's a lot more awareness out there from the consumer side around acoustic comfort and that has arisen as a result of what happened during the pandemic. With people working from home there were a lot of lawsuits and complaints over noise in buildings. That has forced builders and property managers hands to really look at this situation," says Rioux. He adds that he is now working with builders who, just three years ago didn't place importance on this, and yet it has now become top of the list of priorities. As consultants in the industry, AcoustiTECH is very busy, not just because of the growing popularity of mass timber, but because of their expanding portfolio of solu- tions. In fact, this year the company is working on some very innovative solutions related to all things acoustic when it comes to mass timber. "We are thinking outside the box and beyond flooring, and expanding into aspects related to reverberation sound versus what we typically deal with when it comes to footfall. We are adding brands and product lines that are complementary to each other so we can offer a lot more solutions inhouse. Plus, strategic alliances are happening that are chang- ing the game on the renovation front that we hope will further raise awareness." Rioux is excited about the future of mass timber and ensuring occupants have the acoustic comfort they deserve. Construction at Bayview Elementary, Vancouver, B.C. M5, Vancouver, B.C. P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y K I N S O L T I M B ER S YS T EM S; R EN D ER I N G BY H EN R I Q U EZ PA RT N ER S A RC H I T EC T S/CO U RT E S Y G LOT M A N S I M P S O N

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