Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/331457
a five-axis CNC fully-automated machine transforms the model into the real thing; milling, cutting, creating slots and drilling Glulam members quickly and accu- rately. "With 3D design software and CNC technology, designers have the ability to add a lot more accuracy to the drawings and finished product," Lema says. "This has led the industry to be more innovative in their design and detail than was possible even 20 years ago." Lema also notes the continuing trend to using wood in larger building projects. In Calgary, the new Canadian Olympic hockey training facility is an inter- national size rink with 3,000 person seating, three North American size rinks and a high-performance training centre for Winsport. The company is cur- rently manufacturing the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, B.C., that will feature a 50-metre Olympic size pool, lifestyle pool, dive towers and spectator seating for 900. Western Archrib manufactures Westlam (Glulam) in Douglas Fir and CSA Spruce Pine. The Douglas Fir Glulam is a bit stronger, with darker and red boards, while the Spruce Pine is a bit more economical, and is mostly white, yellow, or light brown, Lema explains. The firm also offers Westdek, which is Glulam used as a roof or floor panel. It can be stained, textured and CNC milled like Glulam, and is often used as a replace- ment for solid wood decking. For example, Westdek was used as the support wall and the overhead arch for an above-ground light rail transit station in Edmonton, transforming a utilitarian platform into a wood-lined shelter. In addition to the esthetic appeal, the installa- tion time for Westdek is minimal, Lema explains, since it comes in dimensions of 600-mm wide and up to 20 metres in length. Working Together From The Start StructureCraft Builders Inc. has recently completed several structures in China. "We are both engineers and builders," explains Isaac Epp, who handles mar- keting and business development for StructureCraft Builders. "We get involved with architects in the con- ceptual and design stages, but also fabricate and erect the things we design. We literally have a 'workshop' to experiment in, and we enjoy working with other designers in refining each aspect of our projects," he continues. Epp explains that the company uses a team approach that allows it to work closely with the cli- ent and architect in the beginning stages of a project. The company's extensive knowledge of wood design enables it to explore a diverse range of design possibili- ties. "We take concept ideas and create renders using high-end 3D parametric modelling software," Epp says, "allowing our clients to visualize and interact with the designs. Once the design phase is complete, we detail the structure, producing shop drawings for fabrication and CNC data for our machines. Our proj- ect management department and workshop team then use these to prefabricate a 'kit of parts', which is then assembled on-site by our experienced erection crews." Epp agrees with the comments made by Wood WORKS! that the use of timber can help a building achieve a negative carbon footprint. For example, StructureCraft worked on the 25,000-square-foot VanDusen Gardens Visitor Centre in Vancouver, which was designed with Perkins + Will Architect to exceed LEED Platinum status, and is the first building in Canada to register for the International Living Future Institute's Living Building Challenge. Wood is the pri- mary building material, sequestering enough carbon to achieve carbon neutrality. StructureCraft Builders relied heavily on its work- shop in developing custom shear connectors for the Wood Wave panels on the Richmond Olympic Oval, built for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Full scale testing, Epp says, enabled the company to drasti- cally reduce the cost of what at first seemed like a prohibitively expensive connection system. As another example of the advantage of having a workshop, the company developed, with the architect, an idea to use reinforced plywood "node" for the free- form roof of a dinosaur museum. Each node receives up to eight large timber members, and is three- to four- feet wide, four- to six-feet long and four- to five-feet high. To get an idea of how the heavily-loaded, screw- reinforced plywood carries the internal forces, smaller pieces were load tested, and the results used to deter- mine the number of screws required. Cost Cutting Bill Downing, the president of Structurlam Products LP (that provided the mass timber products for the aforementioned Ronald McDonald House, the Earth Sciences Building and the Wood Innovation and Design Centre), stresses the importance of introduc- ing the Structurlam product at the design stage to reduce costs. The better the company can match the design to its production capabilities, Downing says, Left: Kingsway Grant MacEwan LRT station, Edmonton, AB. Photo: Owen Murray 2014/ommphoto.ca. Courtesy Wood WORKS! Alberta / Canadian Wood Council. Below: North Vancouver City Hall. Photo: Photography West. Engineered Wood Products 30/ junE 2014 p.28-33Engineered.indd 30 14-06-03 9:44 AM