VICTORIA — The Government of British Columbia is providing more than $4 million for 12 new mass-timber demonstration and research projects.
Eight demonstration building projects and four research projects are receiving funding from the third intake of the Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP), a release stated.
“Mass timber advances the construction of climate-smart buildings built with a renewable and sustainable product that helps grow our province’s clean economy. Investing in B.C.’s mass-timber sector allows us to get more value from every tree harvested, while supporting good jobs for people throughout B.C,” said Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey in the release.
The MTDP-funded third intake projects are:
Demonstration Buildings
365 Railway Street Inc – 365 Railway ($500,000): Sitting atop a two-storey heritage building in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, 365 Railway will be a four-storey commercial and industrial addition built using lightweight prefabricated mass-timber systems.
The City of Burnaby – Cameron Community Centre and Library ($500,000): A multi-purpose recreational hub in Burnaby will use a hybrid mass-timber and steel structural system to support the reduction of embodied emissions.
Wesgroup Properties – River District ($500,000): This mixed-use development will feature an 18-storey mass timber tower and podium and a seven-storey building, providing approximately 240 units of rental and strata housing to Vancouver’s Killarney neighbourhood. The building’s construction will include mass timber and steel hybrid and will leverage prefabrication for the balconies to reduce thermal bridging and increase airtightness.
More Than A Roof Housing Society – Vienna House ($500,000): With additional support from the National Housing Strategy Demonstration initiative, this seven-storey multi-family development in East Vancouver will feature mass timber and light-frame hybrid construction.
The City of Vancouver – Marpole Community Centre ($500,000): A comprehensive mass-timber-based development in South Vancouver will replace and double the size of the existing centre built in 1949. The project will use glue-laminated timber for the columns, beams and the signature gently curved roof.
Columbia Shuswap Regional District – Golden and Area Indoor Aquatic Centre ($441,720): An indoor aquatic centre in the town of Golden, B.C. will be a hub for community health and wellness, while aiming to meet the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building standard and future operations as a zero-emissions building.
The Loon Foundation – The Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station (PODS) ($388,000): This marine facility will be the tallest and first net-zero carbon mass-timber building on the Sunshine Coast. The nearly all-wood structure features glue-laminated and cross-laminated timber and a Douglas-fir-clad interior.
The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust Society – Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Centre ($300,000): This nearly all-wood three-storey building in Tofino will combine light-frame wood, mass timber, cross-laminated timber and a geothermally sourced hydronic heating and cooling system.
Research
FPInnovations – Fire Performance of Modern Mass Timber Connections Testing ($200,000): Identification and testing of effective and cost-efficient modern mass-timber connections that provide at least two hours of fire-resistance rating, as prescribed in the 2020 National Building Code of Canada for encapsulated mass-timber construction (up to 12-storeys).
FPInnovations – Guide on hygrothermal modelling ($75,000): The research and guide will include the use of mass-timber-based façade panels in order to improve prediction of long-term durability performance.
National Research Council (NRC) – Intumescent coating for mass-timber buildings ($210,000): Research on large-scale production and full-scale performance testing of NRC’s high performance and thin-film intumescent coating technology.
University of British Columbia – Fire-related thermal penetration testing for mass timber ($28,000): Development of assessment methods that will allow quantification of fire damage to mass-engineered timber structures to determine appropriate repair.
I will donate MFB-31CitroTech the cleanest safest zero VOC fire chemistry to your Mass Timber burn test. I guarantee it will deliver Class A results that will reduce the distance of sacrificial char and loss and significantly reduce the smoke index. It’s factory applied and very very cost effective and good have a major impact on reducing insurance premiums if you get me involved. I was involved in the BC Commons prototype built on a wall panel plant in Abortsford but nobody would listen.