by Web Editor | Sep 18, 2017 | News
A delegation from China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) visited Tacoma, Washington-based APA-The Engineered Wood Association and toured wood-framed building projects in Seattle on September 11.
The delegation, led by Director General Yu Binyang, was the highest level foreign government group to visit APA in recent years. In addition to APA, the trade visit was hosted by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Lab (FPL), located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Representatives from the City of Bellevue, Wash. Planning and Development Department and U.S. Embassy Agricultural Trade Office in Beijing were also present.
The visit comes as China begins to formulate the nation’s timber structure construction development plan as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development. In a meeting held at APA headquarters in Tacoma, Director General Yu Binyang and other MOHURD representatives discussed opportunities and challenges around building with wood in China. Considerations included the importance of sustainability, green building, codes and standards, and further development of trade relations with the U.S.
“We were very pleased to host this Ministerial delegation from the People’s Republic of China,” said APA President, Edward Elias. “The caliber of this mission, in both the quality of participants and content, demonstrates the effectiveness of APA’s efforts to expand the interests of the North American wood products industry within this key Asian market.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/seeking-greener-construction-chinese-delegates-visit-us-wood?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Jul 17, 2017 | News
A two-story cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure is being subjected to the forces produced by a 1994 6.7 Northridge earthquake. The engineered simulation is expected to reveal ways in which tall wood buildings could survive damaging earthquakes.
Workers constructed a 22-foot tall wood test structure on UC San Diego’s shake table, a device for shaking structural models or building components with a wide range of simulated ground motions, like earthquakes.
Led by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), the new test will examine the viability of constructing quake-resistant CLT buildings that could be as tall as 20 stories high.
“We are working to minimize the amount of time buildings are out of service after large earthquakes,” CSM engineer Shiling Pei said in a statement. “We are also focused on cutting the costs required to repair them.”
Cross-laminated timber advocates say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world’s growing population.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/two-story-cross-laminated-timber-simulated-67-earthquake?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Mar 29, 2017 | News
Over the past several years, there has been a rise in mass timber construction around the world, demonstrating the strength, stability, and design flexibility of next-generation lumber technologies. To help inform architects, engineers, developers, industry professionals, students and interested parties, reThink Wood has launched the reThink Wood Research Library to serve as the go-to industry resource for those seeking information on the latest advancements in wood’s performance and advantages in the built environment.
reThink Wood is a body of research hoping to push boundaries and shift perceptions about building with wood.
Today, mass timber technologies, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail laminated timber (NLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam), are gaining traction in the U.S. for mid-rise and tall wood structures. The publicly accessible and comprehensive reThink Wood Research Library will be frequently updated with the latest research on wood building products and systems worldwide, as well as demonstrate where research gaps currently exist.
“The future of mass timber in the U.S. is really starting to heat up,” said Lucas Epp, head of engineering at StructureCraft. “In the next few years, there will be considerably more mass timber buildings built than we have today. The industry is starting to see that this type of construction is fast, cost effective and sustainable.”
Advocates of CLT say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world’s growing population.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/wood-research-library-advances-timber-building-construction?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
