News in engineered wood products mass timber

Stora Enso has announced that it has invested in the French wood process company ACDF Indstrie SAS. Stora Enso has taken a 35% stake in the company. According to the company website, the investment is aligned with Stora Enso’s growth strategy for mass timber building elements, enabling value-added, bespoke cross-laminated timber (CLT) solutions to its long-term French partners.

The City of South Perth, Australia’s skyline is about to become home to one of the world’s most unique tower buildings. Grange Development submitted plans on Thursday (4-21-22) to the City of South Perth for what is set to be the world’s tallest $350 million (A$) hybrid timber tower and Australia’s first carbon negative building.

Norway’s third tallest skyscraper is unique. The building was built using local pine, which was harvested straight from its own backyard and is at the center of lumber-based architecture. The Mjøstårnet was built with 100% diverse types of engineered wood. Everything, including the elevator shaft, features complete wooden construction.

A venture between R-Hauz, Windmill Development, and Leader Lane to build the first-ever mass timber passive house condominium project in Toronto is in the design phase. The project will include three six-story residential buildings to be built near the Mimico GO station in Etobicoke and will have a total of 83-units.

The Danish architectural firm of Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) has designed a 100-meter (more than 30-story) housing block in the city of Winterthur, near Zurich, Switzerland, that will be world’s tallest cross-laminated timber building when complete. The second tallest building is still under construction in Wisconsin.

Sterling announced on Monday (4-11-22) that it is entering into the construction market. Sterling’s new business unit, Sterling Structural, will offer its TerraLam® CLT product lines as a scalable, sustainable, and affordable floor/roof solution for buildings that are compatible with a range of structural building materials.

On Thursday (4-7-22), Ravi Kahlon, British Columbia’s Minster of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation, announced B.C.’s Mass Timber Action Plan. The plan comes with $1.2 million (CAD) in funding for four new mass-timber housing and infrastructure projects, as part of the StrongerBC Economic Plan.

Construction using mass timber remains a viable option and checks several boxes, including environmental, economic, and human resource factors. However, the unpredictable costs associated with mass timber construction, which includes supply chain and logistics issues, has made it a difficult scheme for many builders to embrace.

The terminal highlights its proximity to the boreal forest by using locally produced wood and high-performance products such as glulam and CLT structural slabs. Timber curtain walls surround the waiting area on three sides. Engineered wood and steel components make up the roof structure.

Canada released an updated set of model construction codes that will make Canadian homes and buildings “safer and more accessible while responding to climate change.” This is according to Kevin Griffiths, Chair of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC). The update includes allowing mass timber construction up to 12-stories tall.