Innovation - Spring 2024

FEATURE

MASS TIMBER BUILDINGS ON THE RISE The 2024 BC Building Code greenlights taller mass timber buildings. But some experts say developers should still proceed with caution. Shereen Lee

W hen UBC built Brock Commons Tallwood House in 2016, at 18 storeys, it was the world’s tallest hybrid mass timber building. Since then, the student-housing building has paved the way for similar projects. As of January 2024, 689 mass timber structures have been completed in Canada; over 40 percent of these are in BC, which has a particularly abundant supply of compatible wood species and engineered wood products.

Some key advantages include ease of construction and lower emissions. Mass timber is particularly advantageous in analyses of “embodied carbon,” or the total amount of carbon a building emits over its lifecycle through factors including manufacturing, transportation, construction, and disposal. Research indicates reductions of 22 to 50 percent in carbon emissions of mass timber buildings, compared to “functionally equivalent” steel and concrete counterparts.

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Spring 2024

Innovation