Updated tall wood buildings guide released
By Adam Freill
Construction Green ConstructionTechnical document provides design and construction information for Canadian market.
(Source: FPInnovations)
FPInnovations, a private non-profit specializing in creating solutions that support the global competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector, has published the 2022 Edition of its Technical Guide for the Design and Construction of Tall Wood Buildings in Canada.
The nearly 700-page handbook has been updated from its 2014 edition and is aimed at assisting architects, engineers, code consultants, developers, building owners, and authorities having jurisdiction to understand the unique context to be considered when developing and constructing tall wood buildings.
The organization says that the guide can foster increased wood use in non-residential construction, and that the use of wood in these structures provides a way to store carbon in the long term. The use of encapsulated mass timber construction is permitted for buildings up to 12 storeys in Canada.
“In the context of sustainable forest management, carbon storage in wood buildings offers an important avenue for achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals,” states Stephane Renou, president and CEO, FPInnovations. “The pooling of knowledge from many specialists in various fields of expertise is indicative of the strength of this guide, which we firmly believe will continue to increase the number of tall wood buildings on both the Canadian and international landscapes.”
“The interest towards tall wood building construction has grown significantly worldwide in recent years, as evidenced by the many projects and code changes that have emerged since the first edition was published,” says Erol Karacabeyli, co-editor of the guide and lead scientist for sustainable construction at FPInnovations. “The experience and data gained through these projects and recent research have helped consolidate knowledge and provide an enhanced version of this comprehensive guide.”
The 2022 edition of the guide complies with the recently published 2020 National Building Code of Canada, the 2019 edition of the CSA standard O86, and the Canadian Wood Council Wood Design Manual 2020. It was written and peer-reviewed by more than 60 experts.
It can be downloaded for free at web.fpinnovations.ca/tallwood (English version) and web.fpinnovations.ca/fr/tallwood (French version). Hard copies can also be ordered via FPInnovations’ Amazon library.
