Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry Co. announced on February 1st that it has jointly established three companies—Bywater SFC Holdings, Bywater SFC Management, and Bywater SFC Investments (collectively Bywater SFC)—with British real estate developer Bywater properties.
News in engineered wood products mass timber
Hasslacher Group Acquires 40% Stake in Egoin Wood Group
Hasslacher Group announced earlier in the week that it has acquired a 40% stake in Egoin Wood Group. Based in Spain, the Egoin Wood Group is an international timber industry company with a total production capacity of 22,000 m3 engineered timber products.
Portland, Oregon, Completes Its First Mass Timber Affordable Housing Project
Designed by All Hands Architecture and billed as a “deeply affordable” by its developers, Chiles House in Portland is considered the first completed mass timber affordable housing in Oregon. The building’s 27 units provide transitional housing.
Another Mass Timber Apartment Tower Planned for Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is already the home of the world’s tallest mass timber structure. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Ascent could soon be joined by another equally tall, or perhaps taller, mass timber building in downtown Milwaukee.
Denver Prepares for the Construction of “Return to Form,” Winner of the 2022 Mass Timber Competition
Colorado-based architecture firm Tres Birds has confirmed that construction on the city’s tallest mass timber building will commence in July 2023, according to the Construction Specifier magazine. The project was one of six winners in the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and USDA Forest Service 2022 Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net-zero.
Report Highlights the Benefits of Building Schools Out of Wood
A recent report, “Wood Use in British Columbia Schools,” authored by BC-based architecture firm thinkspace and structural engineering firm Fast + Epp finds that BC schools have increasingly featured a more innovative, eco-friendly, and flexible designs.
Holmen Announces Investment in Its Bygdsiljum, Sweden, Sawmill to Increase CLT Production
Sweden’s Holmen announced on Tuesday (1-31-23) that it was planning an extension and investment at its Bygdsiljum Sawmill, which will help remove bottlenecks at the facility and increase CLT production.
Construction of Six-Story Mass Timber Student Housing Project at University of Fraser Valley’s Abbotsford, BC, Campus to Get Underway
Turner Construction Co. and Clark Builders have been appointed by University of Fraser Valley to build a 398-bed student housing community on its Abbotsford, BC, Canada campus. Originally announced in May 2022, the $73.7 million (CAD) project will triple the campus’ number of beds.
Oregon Turns to Mass Timber and Factory-Built Houses to Meet Growing Housing Shortages
Oregon is short approximately 110,000 housing units and needs to build more than a half-million additional homes over the next 20 years to keep up with demand. Some believe the answer could be a protype of an affordable housing unit made from mass timber.
BC Government Announces New Forestry Program with Dedicated Fiber Supply for Certain Value-Added Manufacturers
On Tuesday, the BC provincial government announced that for the first time, small and medium sized secondary manufactures will have a dedicated fiber supply under a new licensing program. The BC Timber Sales Value-Added Manufacturing Program will be open to facilities producing high-value products.