Building a Sustainable Future: The Rise of Mass Timber Construction
Exploring the Innovations, Benefits, and Applications of Engineered Wood Structures
This Week’s Top Highlights: Mass Timber Construction Resources
🍃 The Whole Wood World: Reimagine the possibilities of wood in the built environment. Read more.
🏛 British Columbia Wood Supplier Directory: If you want to learn more about the benefits of MTC or you would like to get the product specification, here is a list of all BC’s wood suppliers. Read more.
🤍 Latest Update on Mass Timber: From the latest code updates to action plans to innovations, all you need to know. Read more.
Read Time: 4 Minutes
This week, I’m focusing on a new trend, technology, and methodology: Mass Timber Construction (MTC). If you are unfamiliar with the term, Mass timber construction is a building method that uses engineered wood products to create strong, sustainable, and efficient structures.
Believe it or not, this material is a champion of sustainability. It's derived from renewable forest resources, a testament to the power of Sustainable forestry. This practice ensures the long-term health of forest ecosystems, benefiting all living things. It also opens up environmental, economic, social, and cultural opportunities for present and future generations.
I had the opportunity to work on a couple of projects that used MTC as the main structure. In my case, we used Cross-Laminated Timber, commonly known as CLT. I like the product because it provides the versatility and freedom required to design significant buildings and has excellent load-bearing capacity. Two other benefits are reduced construction time and the opportunity to expose the material with a comforting and delicate look.
I'm lucky enough to live in British Columbia, which is well-known in North America for leading mass timber innovation, production, and usage. Local Codes have expanded mass timber construction opportunities for taller buildings, up to 18 storeys high, and many more types of buildings, such as restaurants, shops, care facilities, and warehouses.
Other potential benefits of using MTC include a smaller carbon footprint than steel or concrete, making it the material of choice for design professionals who want to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of traditional construction. Elements like wood create a direct connection with nature that has been shown to help improve mood, health, productivity, and comfort, enhancing health and well-being.
I recommend MTC for any of its different products as it is an excellent material to work with, sustainable, fast to erect buildings, and looks nice. In the following years, Mass Timber construction will continue to evolve, and it will eventually replace a large chunk of traditional construction materials.
Let me know if you want to learn more about MTC in the comments below!