International Mass Timber Conference Portland Oregon, March 26-28, 2024

This past February, thanks to an introduction from my colleague Norm Couttie, I was invited by the Canadian Wood Council/WoodWorks https://wood-works.ca/ to assist in encouraging B.C. municipalities to offer zoning bonuses and other incentives to promote mass timber buildings between 12 and 18 storeys in height. As some of you may be aware, the city of Vancouver recently approved height and density bonuses https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/vancouver-approves-new-incentives-for-mass-timber-construction-8371662 which are already attracting a high level of interest from developers. Now we want to get forward looking municipalities like Coquitlam, City of North Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Victoria and Kelowna, and others to offer something similar.

While I have never developed a mass timber project, I have had a longstanding interest and appreciation of the product. Five years ago I wrote a column for the Vancouver Sun celebrating mass timber projects after attending an awards program. At the awards ceremony I learned that the B.C. government was planning to increase the allowable height for wood projects from 6 storeys to 12 storeys and reported on this. While only a few projects have been built, the government is now about to announce that the maximum height will be increased to 18 storeys.https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0173-001959

Over the past two months I have spent a lot of time learning about mass timber. After setting up a 'mass timber google alert' I receive daily news about new projects and initiatives around the world. When a google alert alerted me to a forthcoming internation conference in Portland I immediately signed up. https://masstimberconference.com/

As an 'academic', I saved about $450 USD on registration!

Structure Craft is involved with many amazing projects around the world. They are based in Abbotsford

While I don't have the time to write about all that I learned at the conference, one significant surprise was the prominent role played by some BC companies across the US and around the world. These companies include Structure Craft https://structurecraft.com/ based in Abbotsford which is collaborating with the Danish architectural firm BIG (Bjark Ingles) on a major project at John Hopkins University and dozens of other major projects around the world. 

Another company is Kalesnikoff which was one of the conference sponsors with a most impressive display. https://kalesnikoff.com/

The BC Govenment was also a sponsor, through OMTI, the Office of Mass Timber Implementation

Another Canadian company that had a presence at the conference and attracting international attention is Oliver Lang's Intelligent City https://intelligent-city.com/about-us-leaders-in-urban-housing/ which has been developing innovative housing concepts for many years and is now finally proceeding with on-the-ground projects.

For many, a critical consideration is whether mass timber is as safe as concrete. Interestingly, while I think this is a major public concern, it is not a concern of building department officials since they know mass timber chars, but doesn't lose its structural qualities in a fire.

This remarkable 25 storey mass timber building is in Milwaukee. I very much enjoyed meeting the developer, whose family originated from Ukraine, and spoke at the conference.

While many question whether mass timber is going to become a significant factor in building construction, I would suggest it is analogous to electric cars. When I purchased my first electric car more than 10 years ago, many people questioned the wisdom of this since they thought it was a fad that wouldn't last. Well.....

I expect something similar will happen with mass timber. It will take a while for more zoning bylaws and building codes to adjust to the reality that this is a very good way to build, especially from an environmental perspective. There are many other advantages of mass timber construction. It is a lot faster, is less reliant on traditional construction trades, and the cost premium is not always what many would expect. As Norm Couttie has observed, when you factor in the greater precision that comes with this type of construction, the 'aggravation factor', that can add to construction costs can be reduced. And the time savings, given the cost of 'General Conditions' can be significant.

There is another important consideration. It has to do with biophili design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design

I'll be writing much more about the pros and cons of mass timber construction as time progresses, but for now, you too might want to set up a google alert for mass timber to get a sense of all that is happening in the industry. And to mayors Richard Stewart, Linda Buchanan, Brenda Locke and Malcolm Brodie, I'll be calling soon. But in the meantime, you may want to discuss with your officials how best to encourage more mass timber projects in your municipalities. After all, wood is