I am pleased to share that construction of Brock Commons, the soon-to-be tallest wood tower in the world, has reached a significant milestone with the mass wood structure and façade now complete and four months ahead of schedule.
The 18-storey building at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, creates a lot of opportunity for the wood products industry. The leading-edge and innovative project has demonstrated an increased confidence in wood in tall building construction. We also continue to hear announcement of more tall wood buildings planned in other areas around the world, which further emphasizes the growing global demand for wood in these exciting applications.
Along with its aesthetic attributes, wood as a construction material offers several benefits including its lower economic and environmental costs in comparison to other traditional building materials. An example that showcases the environmental benefits is that Brock Commons has a total potential carbon benefit of 2,432 metric tonnes of CO2. This is equivalent to taking 511 cars off the road for year.
As mentioned, the wood construction was complete four months ahead of schedule. The efficiency of the construction was truly impressive. Once the prefabricated components were delivered to the site, the floor assembly progressed at a rate of two floors per week.
We’re excited how this project is positively impacting our industry but we’re also proud to have been lumber supplier of choice for Brock Commons. Canfor supplied the specialty lumber used to produce all of the wooden columns and we were the only lumber supplier able to provide the specific strength of lamstock required to meet the demanding performance requirements for these columns. Canfor also supplied one third of the lumber for the building’s Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).
With the wood construction now complete, the project will now focus on completing the interior elements and is on track to begin operating as a student residence in September 2017.
For more information on this project, including a time-lapse video of construction, please see a media release issued by UBC. - http://news.ubc.ca/2016/09/15/structure-of-ubcs-tall-wood-building-now-complete/
Brock Commons Facts
- 78 glulam columns per floor (all comprised of Canfor lumber)
- 29 CLT panels per floor (1/3 of lumber supply from Canfor)
- 5-10 minutes = the time required to install one glulam column
- 6-12 minutes = the time required to install one CLT panel
- 9 1/2 weeks = time to complete the wood structure
- 2,432 metric tonnes of CO2 = total potential carbon benefit
Brock Commons in September 2016. Photo credit: University of British Columbia.