New Markets and Applications: Building Our Future

Join us for this session to hear:

• Why Cities need to go on a “vegetarian diet” and how buildings made from “plant-based” materials sequester carbon
• How emerging technologies and new wood/bamboo products have optimized the value chain for buildings/construction.
• How large-scale timber solutions will increasingly supplement concrete and steel
• How UBC “walks-the-talk”, from building the tallest hybrid mass timber building in the world in 2017 (Brock Commons) to the increasing use of wood in construction.

Session Hosts:
Jack Saddler, Professor, Department of Wood Science, UBC
Ian de la Roche, Adjunct Professor, Department of Forest Resources Management, UBC

Session Time:
Monday, August 16, 9:00  PST | 12 pm EST | 5 pm UK

Recent Trends in Building with Wood

Population growth, increasing urbanization, geophysical and climate-related disasters are just some of the mega-trends impacting a growing global demand for affordable shelters.

Environmental sustainability, carbon footprint, new technologies and innovations throughout the wood construction value chain are driving a renewed interest in wood, particularly when used in combination with other mainstream building materials.

This presentation will examine these current trends, with particular emphasis on sustainability, emerging technologies, new wood products, new applications and new business models which are all helping to optimize the wood construction value chain. The author will conclude by offering his perspective on the critical role which wood can play in meeting the construction needs of the future.

Building with Bamboo

George Bernard Shaw once said, “there are those men who look at the world as it is and ask “why?”, while there are those men who look at the world as it might be and ask, “why not?”

Atelier One’s introduction to Bamboo: After a visit to Bali 10 years ago, I found people “back home” thought building with bamboo was a bit of a joke.

Engineering investigation into Bamboo: However, it is important to understand the very precise structural properties of Bamboo from the Molecular level up as only nature could have made something quite so beautiful.

Assessing the potential of Bamboo including form and connection: Working with Ibuku in Bali to enhance our understanding of Bamboo’s remarkable properties with years of work on geometric shape and stiffness.

Laminated Bamboo: We are at the birth of a novel material (laminated bamboo) that can be used by the construction industry. Although in its infancy, it will compliment wood as a sustainable building material. 

Online Bamboo: A plea – let’s form an open source, online resource.

The Arc: A recently completed project applying some of what we have learned.

The builders asked when are we putting the trusses in!!!!!

Sustainable material developments with bamboo

Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet.  Used since ancient times as a food, fuel and materials, bamboo is becoming increasingly important as a sustainable solution to a number of pressing global challenges, including poverty, climate change and timber shortage.  This presentation will highlight some of the research work by UBC’s newly established Bamboo Application and Management (BAM) Group and its partners.  We will discuss bamboo’s unique growth and carbon sequestration attributes, and opportunities and challenges of current engineered bamboo products for building applications.  Examples of innovative bamboo-based products for bio-packaging and green infrastructure applications will also be presented. 

Growing the Future

Cities need to go on a vegetarian diet — we can build most of the buildings we need from plant-based materials.  Timber skyscrapers are possible, and large-scale housing, schools, hospitals and other mid-rise buildings have a large role to play in carbon storage in long-lived real assets.

Forest conservation and timber construction can be symbiotic.  The buildings are beautiful, energy efficient, and resilient.  We need policies to ensure widespread adoption around the work. 

Beyond the Case for Tall Wood

Ten years after we made “The Case for Tall Wood”, it is clear that the concept has taken deep roots. We no longer argue whether Tall (and Big) Wood is possible or even a good idea.

The challenge before us now is to identify the best most repeatable large-scale timber solutions, in the same way that the steel and concrete industry settled on their own go to solutions over time.

As lessons learned continue to accumulate from a fast-growing pool of market driven projects, those go to timber solutions are bound to come into focus. This presentation will take stock of the state of affairs today. 

The Evolution of Mass Timber Construction at the University of British Columbia

This presentation provides an overview of mass timber building construction at the University of British Columbia (UBC) over the past decade. 

UBC has been at the forefront of the revitalization of wood construction with the innovative use of mass timber products in academic, student life and operational buildings.  A total of nine building projects at UBC have utilized engineered wood products in significant structural applications during this period, with another building currently under design.  A wide range of products have been deployed including glue-laminated timber (glulam), cross laminated timber (CLT), parallel strand lumber (PSL), laminated strand lumber (LSL), and nail laminated timber (NLT). 

Lessons learned on initial projects with respect to design, construction methodology and cost informed the development of subsequent projects.  This evolution culminated with the Brock Commons Tallwood House, an 18-storey (54 metre) student residence which at the time of completion in 2017 was the tallest hybrid mass timber building in the world.  The presentation will review the benefits, challenges, and key lessons from these mass timber projects.