The structural use of wood in North America so far was mostly related to low-rise and mid-rise residential light-frame construction. Lately, legislative changes and the emergence on new mass-timber engineered products enable the use of wood in tall and large buildings. Two of the most promising solutions involve the notions of "mass-timber" such as cross-laminated timber and hybrid construction such as timber-steel and timber-concrete systems. The prospect of building larger timber structures creates challenges, amongst them the increased lateral forces created by wind and earthquakes and the increased demand on floor serviceability. This presentation will present the state-of-the-art and innovative solutions of adopting mass timber structural systems.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream (Channel 1). Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.