Quebec is looking to snatch B.C.’s bragging rights for having some of Canada’s tallest wood structures, but the University of British Columbia (UBC) is working hard to keep the glory.
The Origine, a 13-storey residential project in Quebec City’s Pointe-aux-Lievre eco-district, has been announced.
It will include 12 floors of wood, mainly constructed of cross-laminated timbers and will sit on a concrete podium.
The 40.9 metre structure is the design of Yvan Blouin Architecte and is being constructed by Nordic Structures, a CLT manufacturer.
"We are selling the units and construction should start within the next few months," said Nordic Structures spokesman Frédéric Verreault.
He said the project was one of three demonstration projects that the Canadian Wood Council (CWC) selected to promote wood construction and design across Canada, with funding support from Natural Resources Canada.
The council looked at submissions that exceeded 10-storeys.
In 2013, the CWC asked developers, design teams and institutions to put forward highrise wood concepts.
The Origine is the first CWC project out of the gate, marking what could be a Canadian shift into modern wood highrises, after some jurisdictions allowed midrise wood structures in the past few years.
The Origine will dwarf the newly-built Wood Innovations and Design Centre (WIDC) in Prince George, which stands six-storeys or 27.5 metres tall (eight storeys total).
WIDC was designed by Vancouver architect Michael Green.
Some of B.C.’s heritage structures are built of wood, as tall wood buildings were common from the 1880s to 1940s across Canada.
The Landing at 375 Water Street in Vancouver, built in the early 1900s, is one of the largest and tallest at nine-storeys.
The second CWC project is at UBC.
John Metras, managing director of UBC Infrastructure Developments, said UBC has an 18-storey student residential structure on the drawing board and construction could start in fall of 2015 pending regulatory approvals.
Known as the Brock Commons Phase 1, the $44 million structure will have 17 floors of wood resting upon a concrete foundation.
It will accommodate up to 400 students in one, two and three bedroom units.
The design is by Acton Ostry Architects with Architekten Hermann Kaufmann.
Once completed, the UBC structure will go into the record books.
"It will be the tallest wood structure in Canada when completed," said Metras, adding he believes it will be a world record as it measures 53 meters in height.
It would be one metre taller than the Treet (The Tree), in Bergen, Norway.
The 14-storey wood housing cooperative is the current record holder.
The Forte Tower in Melbourne, which stood at 32 metres (10 storeys) was the previous record holder.
Canadian Wood Council sustainability manager Peter Moonen said there is a third project in Ottawa, but few details are yet available.
Moonen recently returned from a European tour where he visited the Treet.
He said an interesting feature of the building’s structure was the integrated modularization of the units, making it easy to connect phone, water, electricity and sewer in almost "plug-and-play" style.
He said the three demonstration structures will help Canada promote wood exports and design.
"Canada is the largest exporter of wood products and a leader in wood design and engineering," he said, adding B.C. will be able to showcase buildings using mass timber construction to promote timber use internationally.
In 2009, B.C. allowed six-storey, wood-frame structures, up from the previous four-storeys.
Ontario recently passed a building code that permitted six-storey wood structures.
"Canada’s building code in 2016 will showcase six-storey, light-frame construction," said Moonen, adding it will be up to the various provinces to adopt the standard.
Architect and highrise wood advocate Green said he likes what he’s seen so far of Origine.
"We are thrilled to see more tall wood buildings being designed around the world and especially here in Canada," he said.
"Quebec and Eastern Canada have a lot to offer the conversation. There is some outstanding wood design happening in Quebec. We are looking forward to seeing the project built."
Guido Wimmers, chair of the integrated wood design program at the University of Northern B.C. which uses a portion of the WIDC, said that wood buildings are growing taller with an Austrian design team looking at a structure with 20 or possibly 30 storeys.
"I’m convinced we’ll see much taller buildings over the next five years, but the mainstream will be wooden midrise buildings in the 10-12 floors range," he said.
A one-day conference promoting wood in construction: forum Wood: Construction | North America, will be held June 12 in Prince George.
Is is the inaugural North America event for a series of construction conferences that have been held regularly in Italy, France and other countries.
Presenters will cover topics such as prefabrication, multi-material construction, design and RFP, engineering, and on-site installation.
For more information, see the University of Northern B.C’.s website.
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