Mass timber construction is being embraced by architects and developers across British Columbia, with hundreds of wood buildings completed and more planned. The province is also enthusiastic about the material and recently announced that they will provide $4.2 million to assist the industry in adopting mass timber building systems.

BC is set to become a leader in the production and use of the material, even establishing an advisory council to provide advice and guidance for the industry. Cape Group adopted mass timber construction in 2018, seeing great potential for a variety of building types, including rental and market homes, as well as for commercial builds.

• See also:
  • Construction begins on mass timber rental housing building next to future SkyTrain station
  • Mass timber office tower to be added to Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver
  • 21-storey wooden tower with 216 rental homes proposed for Vancouver (RENDERINGS)
  • Major wooden office building proposed near SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station

As the development and building industry strives to meet upcoming climate codes, and moves to progress to the most efficient and cost effective construction methods, factory- based mass timber building is the natural progression for building homes in Vancouver, and beyond.

Off-site construction, sometimes referred to as pre-manufactured building, means that parts of the home are assembled and built in a local factory and then moved to the site where the project is completed.

This model boasts a variety of important benefits. With labour shortages and struggles to secure top talent, moving the construction work to a safe, controlled factory environment reduces the risks associated with building onsite. This includes enhanced safety and controlled climate where workers no longer need to execute complicated construction tasks in winds, rain and extreme temperatures. According to BuildForce Canada, the number of BC construction jobs that will be unfilled due to labour shortages by 2028 is 7,900. A part of solving this is improving work conditions.

The off-site model also allows for increased quality control, and mass timber allows us to build a structure within millimetres of a perfect fit. This type of quality assurance enables teams to pre-manufacture a variety of building components off-site, months ahead of schedule, and install onsite later.

Unlike concrete’s requirement to site-measure building envelopes, windows, and cabinets, all of these features under the mass timber process can be manufactured in the factory before the structure is started. This speeds up a construction timeline by months and can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in re-work, as the details have been carefully measured and designed in advance.

With increased costs across the board, more quality control and tight building timelines are more important than ever. According to Statistics Canada, the cost of fabricated metal products and construction materials had increased 114.7% in May relative to January 2020, and the cost of glass had doubled.

Off-site construction also reduces the industry’s carbon footprint while eliminating a large amount of waste that is produced with onsite home builds. In the factory, materials are optimized to be used completely and transportation and packaging are reduced. Off-site construction also reduces the industry’s carbon footprint while eliminating a large amount of waste that is produced with onsite home builds. In the factory, materials are optimized to be used completely and transportation and packaging are reduced.

dailyhive