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Earth Sciences Building at UBC J UNE 2015 | 45 Engineered Wood Products strand lumber (LSL) provided by StructureCraft Builders. Specialty 95-foot trusses were prefabricated, comprising of glulam top and bottom chords, plywood deck and LSL webbing; inside, ducts, sprinklers and lighting were pre-installed. The 29.5-metre-high Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC) in Prince George, B.C., is a notable proj- ect, too – it's the tallest contemporary wood building in North America. "The WIDC demonstrates the utility of a variety of wood products and systems, all of which should convince designers that the wood products of today are significantly more advanced than they were even a decade ago," says Embury-Williams. And thanks to prefabrication technologies,which save time and installation costs, EWPs are more affordable than ever. "Prefabrication offers significant benefits in terms of building performance, scale possi- bilities and construction efficiency," explains Embury- Williams. Mass timber panel systems – large, complete sections made from either traditional wood or EWPs – combine structural and architectural elements and "can provide greater accuracy resulting in successful on-site assembly and envelope integrity key success factors," Embury-Williams explains. These products offer significant benefits in terms of fire, acoustic, seismic and structural performance, scale possibilities, rigidity, stability and construction efficiency. They are a valid alternative to steel and concrete as they are lighter, more environmentally friendly and easier and faster to install. Projects using these products also take "multiple function components" to a new degree, such as floor/ ceiling panels that provide a structural floor, a finished ceiling, vibration control, acoustic dampening and the integration of services in a single, shipped-to-site, ready-to-install element. The precision and effective- ness of off-site prefabrication using automated and internetworked design/fabrication technologies is also demonstrated in these projects. The use of com- puter-numerically controlled fabrication equipment ensures absolute precision of structural components and connectors. "Glulam is seeing a lot of resurgence in commercial buildings as it does the job effectively, is cost competi- tive and also offers a lot of architectural appeal," adds Lema. "You don't hear a lot of complaining that there is too much exposed wood or that it is not appealing to look at." And now that it's being manufactured in longer lengths and depths, there are even more design possibilities on offer. Western Archrib recently provided prefab glulam beams for the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, B.C. "It used a catenary roof structure, and the glulam acts only in tension. The effect is quite unique and provides a stunning effect," explains Lema. Polyurethane technology has long been the stan- dard in Europe, and now that it's in North America, it has opened a lot of doors. "On the adhesives side, you used to need heat or radio-frequency curing, or two components, or a long press time," says Whelan. "Now, the one-component, moisture-curing polyurethane allows a lot of flexibility of how you can manufacture and what you can manufacture. I expect to see more innovative products coming down the road." Henkel's new adhesive features a ductile bond line, which allows the wood to expand and contract. "Our ductile Loctite-Purbond bond line is very similar to the consistency of wood, and moves much like the wood itself. There's less cracking," notes Whelan. It's also solvent and formaldeyde free, so there's no off-gas- sing – this was one of the reasons Vancouver's Ronald McDonald House used CLT made by Structurlam with Loctite-Purbond. As environmental awareness increases, so too does the demand for wood. "It's re-emerging as the material PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHOTOGRAPHY WEST/COURTESY WOOD DESIGN AWARDS IN BC/WOOD WORKS! BC

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