by Web Editor | Feb 13, 2017 | News
The new Brock Commons student residence at the University of British Columbia will be the tallest contemporary mass timber building in the world when finished this May. The term “mass timber” or “mass wood” covers an array of approaches, usually referring to a structural system combining engineered wood columns and floor slabs. In Canada, the most commonly referenced technical innovation, and one of the ones behind Brock Commons’ structure, is the cross-laminated timber (CLT) slab, available in a variety of thicknesses for different span requirements.
While Brock Commons’ height will unquestionably get the lion’s share of attention after its completion, that’s not the most interesting thing about the building for architects. Rather, it is the fact that, on typical floors, the wood is not visible.
Acton Ostry Architects principal Russell Acton, FRAIC, the lead designer of Brock Commons, has lectured widely on the project. When he talks to architectural audiences, he is inevitably asked: “why didn’t you expose the wood?” The answer is that the wood structure has been encapsulated in drywall and concrete topping to ensure efficient code compliance.
This pragmatic approach was a response to achieving quick approvals, and as an associated outcome, addressed perceptual challenges in terms of fire safety. In fact, the historic (and completely understandable) fear of fire in wood frame buildings is dramatically less relevant to mass timber. During a fire, the outside surface of a thick wood member chars while protecting a structural core of unburnt wood. As building codes develop, it is likely that the testing of mass wood assemblies will assist authorities to better understand the inherent fire resistance of mass timber, and potentially reduce the need for encapsulation, provided that a sacrificial layer of wood char is provided in its place.
From Canadian Architect: https://www.canadianarchitect.com/features/reaching-new-heights-2/
by Web Editor | Feb 1, 2017 | News
Market participants in the North American wood products market are once again cautiously optimistic as they look to 2017. This caution continues to pervade the wood products markets as uncertainty from the ongoing softwood lumber trade negotiations between the USA and Canada, the uneven U.S. housing recovery and the potential for further OSB restarts stifle optimism.
Market participants seem to be gearing up for what they believe will be yet another year of modest demand growth with ample supply availability. This will likely result in cautious inventory buying behavior early in the year. However, 2017 could easily surpass these cautious expectations, which could result in an insufficient inventory buffer as demand powers higher both cyclically and seasonally in late spring and throughout the summer.
Buyers adopted a conservative inventory strategy in 2016 in response to recent market performance and restrained expectations. Unmet price expectations in the North American OSB market in 2013 and more recently in the softwood lumber market in 2015 translated into debilitating inventory losses.
Fresh memories of inventory losses combined with guarded optimism about housing (traders fully in the show-me mode), the OSB industry still acclimating to the startup of over 4.5 BSF of OSB capacity, and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the softwood lumber trade negotiations between the USA and Canada drained enthusiasm for building inventories in 2016.
From Building-Products.com: https://www.building-products.com/January-2017/2017-Good-Signs-in-Wood-Products/
by Web Editor | Jan 23, 2017 | News
Composite Panel Association Reports Panel Shipments End Year Slightly Below 2015
The Composite Panel Association’s December Industry Snapshot Report indicates that North American composite panel shipments of particleboard and MDF totaled 5.511 billion square feet for the year 2016, a slight decrease of 0.9 percent below 2015.
December shipments totaled 412 million square feet (MMSF) (3/4-inch basis), down 1.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Particleboard shipments totaled 236 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) in December, and were 3.305 BSF for the year 2016, coming in 1.4 percent below 2015. MDF shipments totaled 176 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) for the month and 2.206 MMSF for 2016, essentially flat compared to 2015.
Capitalization rate for particleboard production was primarily in the 65 to 75 percent range for 2016. Particleboard shipments for both the United States and Canada have remained about the same for the past four years. Shipments are extrapolated based on data received from 95.2 percent of the U.S. industry and 100 percent of Canadian industry.
The Industry Snapshot Report is published by the 15th of each month and is available to members on CPA’s web site. The 2016 North American Shipments and Downstream Market Report will be published in May and provide a comprehensive analysis of industry shipments.
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by Web Editor | Jan 18, 2017 | News
Mass timber is sprouting up in cities in North America and abroad. After years of feasibility studies and design proposals, buildings six stories or taller constructed primarily from pre-engineered wood products are being considered in cities around the world.
In London, one proposal, called the Splinter, would rise to 100 stories. In Chicago, Perkins+Will (in collaboration with Thornton Tomasetti and the University of Cambridge) has designed an 80-story high-rise with 300 duplex apartments. If built, River Beech—a key component of P+W’s master plan for the Riverline development—would be made almost entirely from mass timber.
So-called “plyscrapers” are still a tiny sliver of nonresidential construction. In the past five years, only 17 buildings seven stories or taller have been completed worldwide, mostly in Europe and Canada. Six more have started construction, according to the American Wood Council.
Mass production of timber for high-rise construction is still in its infancy in North America. Specifying these products in the U.S. faces resistance from insurers, regulators, and code officials. Steel fabricators and concrete suppliers disparage mass timber for taller buildings on the grounds of safety and durability.
Proponents cite the speed at which tall buildings can be constructed using pre-engineered wood and mass timber’s ability to sequester carbon. Joey-Michelle Hutchison, RA, LEED AP BD+C, CSBA, Associate Vice Principal, CallisonRTKL, says, “The role of mass wood is going to grow because of the demand for sustainable design.” Researchers from Yale and the University of Washington, in a study published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry (March 28, 2014), postulated that using wood substitutes for constructing buildings (and bridges) could save 14–31% of global CO2 emissions.
From Building Design + Construction: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/mass-timber-what-heck-wow
by Web Editor | Jan 9, 2017 | News
To be competitive in the wood products industry, companies must stay on the cutting edge. But to get to the forefront, wood products companies must invest in their production facilities to increase automation and efficiency, and to lower manufacturing costs, experts say.
“It’s a competitive market,” said Jon Anderson, president and publisher of Random Lengths, a wood products industry trade publication based in Eugene. “Unless people are investing in their plants, they’re going to fall behind and, ultimately, fall by the wayside probably in the tougher markets.”
In the past couple of years, Swanson Group in Springfield, Seneca Sawmill in Eugene, Weyerhaeuser in Eugene, and International Paper in Springfield have made major investments in their facilities totaling about $273 million. Such upgrades are part of a trend throughout the North American woods products industry, Anderson said. Wood products companies in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and the southern United States have improved their operations, he said.
The improvements can help firms capture market share during strong markets and allow them to stay afloat when the economy weakens. “It’s the more efficient, more productive producer that is going to survive the downturns,” Anderson said. “We’re not in a downturn now, but most of these operators have gone through ups and downs in their time, and they are going to get ready for the next one.”
Seneca Sawmill on Highway 99 in Eugene is nearing the end of a major facilities renovation, including the installation of new kilns, revamping its shipping and loading facility and expanding its log yard. Early this year, the company plans to upgrade its planer, the equipment that smooths lumber. By the time it’s finished, the firm will have spent $63 million on improving its operations.
From The Register-Guard: https://registerguard.com/rg/business/bluechip/35084194-62/competition-drives-mill-investments.html.csp
