by Web Editor | Nov 15, 2017 | News
The Framework: Home Forward project and the Framework team recently announced that it has been awarded $6 million to develop 60 units of affordable housing in what will be the first high-rise structure in the U.S. made from wood and the first earthquake-resilient building of its kind in America.
The funding award came through the Portland Housing Bureau’s Fast Starts program — a city initiative designed to get shovel-ready affordable housing units built as quickly as possible to react to our city’s housing crisis.
“By investing in Framework, our city will now be home to the first skyscraper made from wood in the United States,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement released Tuesday. “This project not only reflects Oregon’s leadership in the newly emerging wood products industry of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), it also demonstrates our city’s commitment to finding innovative ways to quickly deliver affordable units during our housing crisis.”
“Framework was selected as a Fast Starts project after a rigorous process under the city’s new effort to mobilize resources quickly to alleviate the housing crisis,” said Portland Housing Bureau Director Kurt Creager. “Because so many partners have also contributed to make this important project a reality, we have a great opportunity to begin using this innovative technology in Portland to create more resilient, sustainable, and affordable housing.”
Framework, which received building permit approval in June 2017, was selected for its project readiness, alignment with the city’s equity goals, ability to leverage city funds, new partnerships and philanthropic incentives, and innovation in sustainable materials and earthquake resilience.
From the Portland Patch: https://patch.com/oregon/portland/portland-awarded-6-million-construct-affordable-housing-unit
by Web Editor | Aug 7, 2017 | News
Just off the winding Sea to Sky Highway running along the coast from Vancouver to Whistler, B.C., the unique wooden architecture of the Squamish Adventure Centre beckons tourists to stop in.
The building is almost entirely made of wood. The timber roof is shaped like two massive discs jutting out of the center of the structure almost like wings, separating the building into two sections.
The company behind the eye-catching structure is Squamish’s own FraserWood Industries. FraserWood opened its doors to Canadian Forest Industries in early April to show us how they turn cants into strong and beautiful custom timber products at their facility in Squamish, B.C.
The company has been in operation since 1998 when owner Peter Dickson purchased a radio frequency (RF) kiln from his former employer, Canfor. Today the company not only operates two RF kilns to dry massive timbers, but has expanded into custom planing and re-sawing, joinery and CNC milling and glulam.
The bulk of FraserWood’s customers are timber framers, but they also sell to building supply centers and log home builders. With a staff of more than 30 including scientists, engineers and R&D specialists, last year was the most productive in the company’s history, with more than 1.5 million bdft of high-value timber passing through the facility.
From Wood Business: https://www.woodbusiness.ca/sawmilling/mills/fraserwood-innovates-with-high-end-timber-products-4387
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/
