Wood Works - Tall Wood
It’s somewhat surprising to witness the recent stunning increase in the use of wood in architecture. If shelter magazines and architectural websites are any indication, wood cladding is taking over the world. But perhaps more surprising, wood structure is back in fashion.
How did wood become a space-age material? Its characteristics are well known: it is reliable only within certain limits and overdesign is a necessity; you can’t manufacture it to rigid specifications: it grows, you cut it to size, fasten it in place and trust it will behave the way it always has. Also, it is combustible.
But things changed in 2015. In that year, the National Building Code (NBC) was amended to allow “combustible materials” (lightweight wood or heavy timber) to be used in constructing five- and six-storey buildings, provided that additional fire safety measures were incorporated. Previously four storeys had been the maximum. In the same year, Natural Resources Canada (NRC) introduced an incentive program to encourage the design of tall wood buildings, with the intention of making code revisions in the 2020 Code to permit 12-storey wood-structured buildings.
To this end, the Canadian Government introduced the Tall Wood Building Demonstration Initiative (TWBDI) to investigate the feasibility of constructing tall buildings out of wood.
As the NRC reports:
“Two innovative tall wood buildings were completed through TWBDI funding. The first, Brock Commons Tallwood House, is an 18-storey hybrid mass timber student residence at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. Brock Commons is currently the world’s tallest hybrid wood building. The second, Origine, is a 13-storey mass timber residential building in Quebec that features stairwells and elevator shafts made from cross-laminated timber.
….
[I]n August 2015, the Government of Quebec became the first jurisdiction in North America to officially support the construction of tall mass timber buildings.” [1]
The Canadian Government is committed to pressing ahead when the TWBDI initiative reaches its conclusion:
“Budget 2017 announced funding of $39.8 million over four years, starting in April 2018, to increase the use of mass timber as a greener construction material in buildings and public infrastructure projects.” [2]
In April of this year, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry announced its own Mass Timber Program to encourage the development of mass timber technologies in high-rise buildings. In theory, at least, for wood construction, the sky is the limit. The program will collaborate with a variety of organizations and institutions and provide funds for research and development in the use of wood in taller buildings. In addition, the program will provide up to $2.45 million to offset the cost of four mass timber building projects.
To understand the sudden popularity of wood as a twenty-first century construction material, you need only look at the rapid advances in engineering technology. Where once wood construction implied massive, solid cross-sections of milled lumber, which had to be cut and fitted on site, new wood technology takes advantage of laminated material that is much stronger than milled lumber and lighter than steel or concrete, and it can be shipped to the site prefabricated. Andrew Waugh, of Waugh Thistleton Architects, designers of London’s 10-storey cross-laminated timber (CLT) Dalston Tower, calls it “super fast, super accurate, and also makes the most amazingly beautiful spaces.” [3]
Perhaps even more important in the long term, mass timber construction is ecologically sound. It has a low carbon footprint, since trees absorb and store atmospheric carbon; in managed forests, it is a renewable resource that, in Canada is still plentiful.
Not surprisingly, the trend toward tall wood buildings in Canada found its roots in British Columbia, where wood and architecture have enjoyed a long relationship. The Tall Wood Residence at the University of British Columbia, completed in the summer of 2017, is the world’s tallest wood building.
But the original impetus for CLT came from farther afield. The 10-storey, 32.3 metre Forté apartment block in Melbourne, Australia was the world’s tallest wood structure when it was completed in 2012. This was followed by “The Cube,” a 33 metre building in London, UK; “The Tree,” a 49 metre, 14-storey tower in Bergen, Norway was completed in 2017, the same year as the 18-storey, 53 metre Tall Wood in Vancouver.
The Ontario Demonstration Projects
George Brown College’s Arbour Deveopment - Moriyama & Teshima Architects / Acton Ostry Architects
“...planned to be a 12-storey building that will be the most carbon friendly building in Canada, constructed almost entirely of mass timber. It will house the college’s School of Computer Technology and act as a living laboratory for students of mass timber construction.”[4]
MTA is no stranger to the use of wood in design. When you enter their downtown Toronto office, you are greeted by impressive wooden models in the lobby. These are a reminder of the firm’s past – as far back as the early 1960s, in projects such as the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the Edwards Gardens Shelter, wood has played a prominent role in the firm’s design aesthetic – but also serve as an indication of future directions.
When the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Mass Timber initiative was issued by the Ontario government, MTA immediately teamed up with the BC firm Acton Ostry, architects of the Brock Commons Tallwood House at UBC. MTA traces its origins to British Columbia and maintains an office there. In addition, both firms share a common vision and a similar approach to their work. From the start, the integrated team included not just the two architectural firms but engineers and other specialists as well.
Central to the design approach was the need to consider the overall sensory experience of a wooden environment, so it was resolved to make the spaces airy, light-filled and unobstructed, including occasional “breathing rooms.” The feeling would be that of “being in a forest” – with a towering scale but intimate spaces.
In order to express the diversity of the student population, the scheme includes a variety of smaller atria, rather than a large central atrium. To take advantage of the building’s waterfront site, functional spaces are located at the periphery, where students can enjoy views of the lake and park.
Through the use of a decentralized mechanical system and passive solar heating and cooling through “solar chimneys,” the traditional rooftop mechanical room was eliminated, allowing a dramatic sloped roof that further reflects the building’s uniqueness and provides a home for the Tall Wood Research Institute – the first in Canada.
SUBCONSULTANT TEAM
ACCESSIBILITY: DesignAble | ACOUSTIC: Swallow Acoustic Consultants | AUDIOVISUAL: The Hidi Group | BUILDING ENVELOPE: Morrison Herschfield | CIVIL: Randal Stantec Consulting | CODE: GHL Consultants | COST: Altus Group | ELECTRICAL, LEED, LIGHTING, | MECHANICAL, SECURITY: Integral Group | ENVIRONMENTAL: Transsolar Inc. | FIRE ENGINEERING: CHM Fire | LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Terraplan Landscape Architects | STRUCTURAL: Fast + Epp | VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION: Soberman
80 Atlantic - Quadrangle Architects
Not included in the four demonstration projects, 80 Atlantic Avenue is worth discussing in the context of the Mass Timber initiative because it makes exemplary use of the technology. According to the presentation panel,
“In place of heavy timber are engineered glue-laminated wooden beams and columns with nail laminated deck – lighter, stronger, more economical and durable wood products than traditional timber, but which retain wood’s net positive, embodied carbon qualities.”
“Newly constructed from engineered black spruce manufactured in Northern Quebec, 80 Atlantic will be the first wood-structured commercial mid-rise building in Ontario and one of the first in Canada.”
Like the Carpet Factory, described below, 80 Atlantic is located in Toronto’s historical Liberty Village. Although it is new construction, it shares a courtyard connection with its neighbour to the south, a rejuvenated wood-structure industrial building at 60 Atlantic Avenue. As Quadrangle principal Richard Witt explains, the building has a solid connection to the past, but with its advanced timber technology, it is also connected to the future.
SUBCONSULTANT TEAM
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: Eastern Construction Limited | INTERIOR DESIGN: Quadrangle | STRUCTURAL: RJC | MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL: Smith + Andersen | LANDSCAPE: Vertechs Design | SITE SERVICING: RV Anderson Associates Limited | SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY MODELLING: RWDI | BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTING: RDH | BUILDING CODE: Les Muniak | ACOUSTIC: HGC Engineering | SHORING: Isherwood | COMMISSIONING: RWDI | PLANNING: Bousfields Inc. | NLT: Timmerman Timberworks | GLULAM: Nordic | CLADDING: Ontario Panelization, Ceramitex Sintered Compact Surface Panel System | CURTAINWALL: Alumicor 2600 | GLASS: Carey Glass Insulated Glazing Units | ACCESS FLOORING: Camino
Academic Wood Tower at the University of Toronto - Patkau Architects + MJMA Architects in Association
“…planned to be the tallest mass timber and concrete hybrid building in North America, this 14-storey building will act as a living laboratory for students learning skills in mass timber construction.”[5]
Like many Ontario architects, MJMA architects have made extensive use of wood cladding. But their use of big wooden ceilings and soffits in public buildings has been a signature element of their work, distinguishing their buildings as especially warm and inviting. Notable examples include Chinguacousy Park Renewal and Regent Park Aquatic Centre.
As MJMA partner Ted Watson explained, “Wood creates the most intimate connection with people – it operates at the interior (close-up) and exterior (more distant) scale. People respond at the psychological level.”
Before the Mass Timber initiative, the plan for the Bloor Street site had been to build a tower adjacent to the athletic centre, with no intention for a connection between the two structures. However, in planning the Goldring facility, it became quickly apparent that the only way to accommodate the service requirements for the four buildings was to use the space dedicated for the tower as service space. The client wondered if it would be possible to build the tower on top of the athletic facility – a tall order (so to speak), but the architects accommodated the request by taking advantage, in part, of the lighter weight of wood structural components.
MJMA’s relationship with the Patkaus began in 2008, with a Quadpad Arena proposal in Toronto, so it was natural to team up with them on the Goldring Centre. MJMA appreciates the deliberative analytical approach that the Patkaus take to their highly expressive architecture.
Watson said that MJMA is excited to be at the forefront of this Mass Timber movement. Where previously commercial buildings were considered, Institutional buildings present a whole new set of opportunities and problems to be solved, with a wider variety of spaces and interconnections.
The British Columbia connection appears again. The Patkaus are a west coast-based firm. Ted is from Vancouver, where he planted trees in his youth. He is proud to have helped to bring this predominantly West Coast phenomenon to Toronto.
“For years we’ve been seen as a country sending our raw materials out to everybody, and they’ve been sending manufactured goods back to us, so it’s really important that we can build up industries and manufacturing within our own country to use these materials.”
– Robert Wright, dean of the Faculty of Forestry and an associate professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.
SUBCONSULTANT TEAM
STRUCTURAL: Blackwell Structural Engineers | MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL: Smith + Andersen | SUSTAINABILITY: Footprint Engineering Inc | ENVELOPE & BUILDING SCIENCE: RDH Building Science | CIVIL: EMC Group Ltd. | LANDSCAPE: MJMA Landscape Architecture | SPECIFICATIONS: Brian Ballantyne Specifications | ACCESSIBILITY, INTERIOR DESIGN, INTERNAL WAYFINDING/SIGNAGE: Patkau Architects + MJMA | FOOD SERVICE & KITCHEN: Cini Little International Inc. | VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION: Soberman Engineering Inc | ACOUSTICAL AND VIBRATION CONTROL,STRUCTURAL LOADING AND MOTION STUDY: RWDI | COST: A.W. Hooker Quantity Surveyors | PLANNING (FOR REZONING): Bousfields Inc | HERITAGE: ERA Architects Inc. | BUILDING CODE & LIFE SAFETY: David Hine Engineering Inc. | FIRE PROTECTION (ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO OBC): CHM Fire Consultants Ltd.
The 57 Wade Avenue Development - Bogdan Newman Caranci, Inc.
“…planned to be an eight-storey office building in Toronto. This building’s construction will incorporate mass timber beams and an innovative floor assembly that will result in exposed wooden ceilings to the office space below.”[6]
BNC’s previous work used wood in a religious context, where “natural materials were used to create spiritual atmospheres” or in civic facilities, where “the prominent use of wood cements the elemental references in the space and further hints at the eco-friendliness of the design.”
The idea of using structural wood in the Wade Avenue project came directly from the client, who already had a portfolio of retrofits and renewals of existing warehouse buildings, so the intention to build an eight-storey wood structure predated the Mass Timber initiative. As BNC partner Jonathan King put it, “the brief was to throw the design into a time machine and create a new post-and-beam building.”
The major motivator for this design solution was the cachet of repurposed warehouse buildings in downtown Toronto – especially among the target demographic: millennials, new digital workers, technically inclined, eco-oriented, attracted to loft-type spaces, but averse to the problems of old building retrofits. The site being in a transitional area – and about to become one of the city’s busiest transportation hubs – the advanced technology heavy timber time-machine approach seemed tailor-made for the project.
The building will be constructed using exposed nail-laminated composite concretetimber decks with 30-foot (10-metre) spans, supported by glulam columns. On completion, at seven storeys and approximately 150,000 sq. ft. (approximately 14,000 sq. m.), 77 Wade Ave will be the tallest modern mass timber office/commercial building in Canada, targeting LEED Gold.
SUBCONSULTANT TEAM
DEVELOPERS AND MANAGERS: Next Property Group | WOOD STRUCTURE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE: Structure Fusion | STRUCTURAL: Blackwell Engineering | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/MODELLING: Integral Group | LEED: Integral Group | LIFE SAFETY: Vortex Fire | PLANNING: R.E. Millward + Associates | LANDSCAPE: NAK Design | TRAFFIC: LEA Consulting Inc. | CIVIL: Cole Engineering | PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Alliance 7 Construction Inc. | RAIL CONSULTANTS: ARUP
NOTES:
Greening our built environments with wood: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/industry/products-applications/16834
Ibid.
https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/09/cross-laminated-timber-construction-architecture-timber-age/
Backgrounder, Ontario’s Mass Timber Program, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ottawa, April 25
Ibid.
ibid.