THEY SAY EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, AND IT MUST be true. Otherwise, who would have predicted wooden buildings would become the last word in architec- tural innovation? Materials like cross laminated timber (CLT), parallel strand lumber (PSL), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), lami- nated strand lumber (LSL) and glued laminatedtimber(glulam)arebringing about a renaissance in wood buildings across the country, including Toronto. In addition, wood is being praised for its quick assembly, relatively low cost and low environmental impacts. “There’s a massive environmental benefit,” says Brian Grossman, a member of TCA’s Environmental Committee and general manager, Construction Group, at Weston Forest Products. “There’s the issue of seques- WOOD-FRAME CONSTRUCTION tering carbon emissions – using wood to build sequesters emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmo- sphere. You are avoiding much more environmentally impactful materials.” The other significant benefit, says Grossman, “is the quality of living inside these buildings. They tend to be very occupant-friendly. They are also very quick to put up, so the cost of produc- tion is dramatically lowered.” Advances in the fabrication of engi- neered-wood products are causing a rethink of fire codes that once banned wood-frame structures over a certain size – opening the door to a whole new building trend. For instance, the Ontario Building Code was amended in 2015 to allow construction of wood- frame buildings up to six storeys, while Bill 19, currently before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, would allow up to 14 storeys. This is particularly welcome news in Ontario, with its plentiful supply of timber. As part of the previous Liberal government’sFive-YearClimateChange Action Plan to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in building construction, a Mass Timber Program was initiated to encourage expertise in wood construc- tion through demonstration projects, research and education. The province has also established a Mass Timber Institute (MTI) in partnership with the University of Toronto, George Brown College and other stakeholders. FEDERALANGLE At the federal level, between 2013 and 2017, a Tall Wood Building Demonstra- tion Initiative (TWBDI) supported a number of key projects. This included BY SARAH B. HOOD Tall-timber projects push the boundaries of wood- frame construction Rendering of part of Sidewalk Toronto’s tall-wood construction project in the Quayside neighbourhood 34 | Builders' Digest Quarter 3 2018