For Professor Christopher Timusk, it was “almost serendipitous” when Toronto’s George Brown College opted to create the position of industrial research chair in mass timber construction.
“I’ve been interested in wood construction ever since I was a child,” says Timusk, a specialist in the areas of building science and wood composite materials who teaches at the college’s Casa Loma campus.
“Some of my fascination came from climbing in our 100-year-old barn at the family farm, and helping my father build a farm cabin using logs from my grandfather’s farm.”
As a young teenager, Timusk helped build a two-storey farmhouse — a high-performance “dynamic” wall house — designed by his father John, a professor of building science at the University of Toronto. The project was featured in Canadian Architect magazine.
Down the road, Timusk obtained a bachelor of science degree, in forestry, wood science from U of T. He later received a master’s degree in forestry, wood science from the University of British Columbia, specializing in wood composite materials.
He subsequently obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto in building science — civil engineering.
At one juncture, in between his master’s degree and PhD, Timusk spent six years working at the Ainsworth Lumber Company in 100 Mile House, B.C.
While there, he researched ways to improve the oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing process and properties. The moisture properties of this wood composite material was later the subject of his PhD thesis.
“Although in civil engineering, I was able to draw on all my experience and education in wood composite materials in looking at OSB from a new angle in a building science perspective.”
At George Brown College, Timusk has been a faculty member and researcher since 2005, teaching courses in building science and material science. He is affiliated with the Centre for Construction and Engineering Technologies.
Ultimately, Timusk came to the realization “that mass timber was where I needed to be in terms of focus and research” after the convergence of several events:
- A guest lecture a couple of years ago at his building science class by Graham Finch of RDH Building Science on construction of the 18-storey, tall-wood Brock Commons student residence at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver;
- An invitation to become part of the Mass Timber Institute, an initiative being led by University of Toronto forestry professor Anne Koven;
- A speech by David Moses of Moses Structural Engineers about wood projects in which his company has been involved. The award-winning firm specializes in cutting-edge wood design.
“All this, combined with my love for wood, helped convince me that mass timber was where I needed to be,” he said. “It seemed almost serendipitous when the college decided to create the position of industrial mass timber research chair and to build The Arbour.”
The 10-storey building is Ontario’s first mass-timber, low-carbon institutional building. It will be home to an advanced research hub focused on mass-timber construction.
As the college’s inaugural mass timber research chair, Timusk will bring together researchers, students and industry partners to explore, develop and test innovative solutions and technologies that advance the use of mass timber.
“We have already started (doing so) and plan on continuing for the foreseeable future,” he said, noting that numerous aspects of mass-timber construction will be studied both during and after construction of The Arbour.
Construction is slated to begin in 2021 on a site at the southeast corner of Queens Quay East and Lower Sherbourne Street.
Timusk has already been holding discussions with several research institutions and companies “on what sort of research projects we can collaborate on, based on the needs of the industry and our research infrastructure and expertise here at George Brown College.”
One of those companies is FPInnovations, a private, not-for-profit organization that specializes in the creation of solutions that accelerate the growth of the Canadian forest sector and affiliated industries.
Timusk said it is the college’s goal to involve as many students and faculty as possible in mass timber-related activities, curriculum development and research.
“We will have mass-timber-related course content in all our construction-related programs, including architectural studies, construction management, and apprenticeship and skilled trades,” he said.
‘We hope to eventually have whole courses, and possibly a program or stream, dedicated to mass-timber construction.”
Timusk said participation in mass-timber research from all related aspects is also a focus — from students involved in “capstone” thesis project work and summer research work terms, to faculty working with industry to advance knowledge and skills in the area.
“I definitely think the time has come for a focus on mass-timber construction in Canada,” he said, pointing to the challenges the world is facing in terms of global warming and climate change.
The college announced in late May that Timusk would serve as the inaugural mass timber research chair. He officially assumed the role in September.
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