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Bremer Bank, Minot, ND J U N E 2 0 2 3 | 29 Engineered Wood Products P H OTO G R A P H Y BY CO R E Y GA F F ER P H OTO G R A P H Y L LC /CO U RT E S Y W E S T ER N A RC H R I B Kinsol is currently working on YouTube's Headquarters in San Bruno, California. "The proj- ect uses glulam posts and beams and CLT panels for the floors and roof. It is phase 1 of 5 phases and adds to the growing body of work that Kinsol is doing in Silicon Valley and within the tech sector in Northern California," says Marshall. "It's the biggest project we've ever had with around 30,000 carpentry hours and $11 million in labour." Despite ongoing challenges with recruitment and supply, Kinsol's COO Steve Stevenson is opti- mistic. "We know of multiple fronts where more suppliers are looking to open up facilities north and south of the border." Additionally, Kinsol has a side- line product called KinsolPlay, a natural playground design-build company that is experiencing extraor- dinary demand. It's fair to say, when it comes to wood, Kinsol has established its roots. Western Archrib, a leader in the design, man- ufacture, and custom fabrication of glulam is yet another company that has been extremely busy of late, and according to Andre Lema, manager of business development, there are several factors con- tributing to this trend. One of the main drivers is the growing recog- nition of wood's carbon sequestration capabilities, which has caught the attention of government officials. "It's just better understood now, and gov- ernment is very alert to its capabilities. Also, the speed and ease of construction of mass timber buildings have become more widely understood by developers, making them an attractive option for projects. We have seen a shift where we are moving mass timber beyond concept and trials into a more mainstream structural building product," says Lema. In the past, the fire durability of mass tim- ber buildings was also a major concern for many. However, recent research has shown that they are not only safe and strong, but also resistant to fires. Lema cites a recent testing program conducted by the Canadian Wood Council, which partnered with federal and provincial governments to con- duct a series of five separate fire research burns (one being on a full-scale mass timber struc- ture in Ottawa). The results of these tests showed that the fire performance of the mass timber structure was comparable to that of non-com- bustible construction in a similar fire scenario. The primary goal of this project was to sup- port the market acceptance of tall and large mass timber buildings in Canada and pro- mote the adoption of the 2020 National Building Code, which includes provisions for 12-storey mass timber buildings. The fire tests had mul- tiple objectives, including advancing building codes to permit taller and larger wood buildings. The full-scale research fire test results showed that mass timber structures have fire perfor- mance similar to non-combustible construction, and they can withstand rare fire scenarios where the sprinkler system fails and the fire department cannot respond. During the four-hour test, the mass timber structure largely burned out within the first hour and demonstrated a quick and con- trolled burnout after the building's furnishings 7071 Oakwood Drive, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada L2G 0J3 Telephone (905) 356-1581 • Fax (905) 354-2077 Email: info@niacoat.com Website: www.niacoat.com Coatings.indd 1 Coatings.indd 1 2022-10-27 2:19 PM 2022-10-27 2:19 PM (604) 240 2326 - British Columbia (780) 960 8979 - Alberta & Saskatchewan Mass Timber Installation CLT, GLT, NLT, DLT and All Glulam StructuresHeavy Timber Supply and Installation • Design Modeling and Specialty Engineering Beam Craft.indd 1 Beam Craft.indd 1 2023-05-16 9:19 2023-05-16 9:19

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