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Recent developments

• South Korea: Eco-Village demonstration project completed
• Elderly care facilities in Japan a growing market for Canadian wood
• Wood use front and centre at Expo 2010’s Vancouver Pavilion
• 2010-11 Canada Wood and Wood First funding announced for Quebec
• Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games: Opportunities for showcasing wood
• MOU with China promotes energy efficiency of wood-frame construction

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South Korea: Eco-Village demonstration project completed

Canada Wood Korea (CWK) has taken a major step forward in opening the multi-storey, multi-family market for wood frame construction with the recent completion of the country’s first four-storey wood-frame house, a demonstration project sponsored in part by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

The stacked duplex is the first to be built as part of the Eco-Village Project, a new housing community located outside of Seoul. Once completed, the project will consist of 50 duplexes and 34 single family homes, all built from Canadian wood products.

The developer’s vision is that Eco-Village will embody many of the latest developments in green and healthy living. While the duplex demonstrates the green attributes of using wood as a building material, it doesn’t stop there.

The duplex also demonstrates how wood frame construction can meet South Korea’s fire and acoustical codes – among the world’s most stringent. CWK has spent a number of years working on code issues, so obtaining fire and acoustical approval for this kind of structure is a major achievement for CWK in its effort to expand into the multi-storey, multi-family market.

One of CWK’s main objectives with the demonstration project was to ensure that architects, developers and contractors would have the skills they needed to design and build top quality wood-frame structures. Both the architect and developer have already decided to use Canadian wood in upcoming commercial and residential projects.

Thanks to the publicity generated by the demonstration project, another developer who had originally planned to use concrete in a major multi-structure project has asked for CWK’s assistance in converting substantial elements of the project to wood.

NRCan contributed close to $250,000 for Canadian wood building materials and advanced wood building technology toward the demonstration house under Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

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Elderly care facilities in Japan a growing market for Canadian wood

When you think of 2x4 construction, large-scale, multi-storey institutional projects don’t usually come to mind. But that is exactly what is happening in Japan, where an aging population means increased demand for new elderly care facilities.

One such facility is currently under construction in Sagamihara City, about 40 kilometres from downtown Tokyo. What sets this project apart is that at over 6,300 m2, it will be Japan’s largest structure featuring 2x4 construction and the first large-scale wood-frame elderly care facility in the greater Tokyo area. The amount of lumber in this project would build over 50 typical Japanese homes.

It used to be that the Japanese building code permitted only single-storey wood-frame institutional facilities under 1,500 m2. That changed in 2004 when years of extensive Canadian industry- and government-funded fireproof testing paid off and the Japanese government gave the go-ahead for the construction of large-scale, multi-storey wood-frame structures in Japan’s strictest fire protection zones.

It’s thanks to Canada Wood Japan’s (CWJ’s) ongoing promotional activities that the Sagamihara project is being built in wood. For a number of years, CWJ has organized Japanese missions to Canada focusing on elderly care.

A major objective of these tours has been to familiarize Japanese decision-makers with Canadian-style construction and the advantages and benefits of wood use in seniors’ facilities. Back in 2003, the Sagamihara project’s architect participated in one of these missions.

Responding to advertising placed in a Japanese healthcare magazine in 2008, the architect and project owner contacted CWJ to ask for assistance in meeting architects with expertise in building large-scale 2x4 projects. CWJ subsequently arranged for meetings with technical experts from the Japan 2x4 Home Builders Association, which resulted in the decision to go with wood.

The Sagamihara facility is slated for completion later this year.

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Wood use front and centre at Expo 2010’s Vancouver Pavilion

Canadian expertise in wood construction is on display for the world to see with the recent opening of the Vancouver Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.

The Pavilion is a collaboration of the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver. Vancouver was one of only a handful of North American cities selected for the exposition’s Urban Best Practices Area, which gives participating cities a chance to showcase the best in urban construction and development.

The three-storey, 900 square metre pavilion has two levels of exhibits and a third-floor seminar/reception area.

The first floor tells the story of Vancouver’s transformation into one of the world’s top cities between hosting Expo 86 and the Winter Olympics earlier this year.

The second level features displays that promote wood as a natural, sustainable building material and wood-frame technology as energy efficient, earthquake resistant and cost-competitive. Concrete construction is currently the norm in China.

The third-floor space is being used to host Chinese developers, builders and government officials as part of the program to promote Canadian wood products and advanced wood frame technology in China.

The Pavilion was built with beams made from Canadian spruce-pine-fir (SPF) combined with regular 2x6 construction. The exhibits feature Western red cedar, hemlock, maple and other Canadian wood species.

The Vancouver Pavilion is one of several offshore large-scale wood demonstration projects funded by NRCan’s Wood Markets under Canada’s Economic Action Plan. Canada Wood China and Forestry Innovation Investment China were instrumental in the design, construction oversight, outfitting and operation of the Pavilion.

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2010-11 Canada Wood and Wood First funding announced for Quebec

The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, recently announced $2.8 million in funding to support domestic and overseas market development initiatives for Quebec’s forest products industry.

Minister Paradis made the announcement April 28, 2010 during his keynote address at the États généraux du bois dans la construction 2010 in Quebec City.

Through the Canada Wood Export Program (Canada Wood), the Quebec Wood Export Bureau (Q-WEB) will receive $1.2 million for the continued development of overseas markets for Quebec wood products.

More specifically, Canada Wood will fund initiatives undertaken by Q-WEB to promote wood products, including hardwood, engineered wood and prefabricated homes, in Europe and Asia. This funding will also support promotional and exploratory missions in Europe, the Middle East, Vietnam, Southeast Asia and Mexico.

Minister Paradis committed $1.6 million through the North American Wood First Initiative (Wood First). This investment will support the Centre d’expertise sur la construction commerciale en bois (Cecobois) (available in French only) in its efforts to increase the use of wood in non-residential construction throughout Quebec. Cecobois is a branch of Q-WEB.

The Wood First investment will be used for projects and initiatives that educate architects, engineers and builders in Quebec on the advantages of and opportunities for using wood in non-residential applications, such as retail outlets, schools and recreational facilities.

Canada Wood and Wood First funding is part of the federal government’s two-year, $170-million investment under Canada’s Economic Action Plan to help the forest industry expand market opportunities and develop innovative products and processes.

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Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games: Opportunities for showcasing wood

Just as the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games provided unequalled opportunities for showcasing wood at many of its venues, so will the Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.

Capitalizing on the momentum of the Vancouver Olympics, Ontario Wood WORKS! has produced a brochure aimed at getting decision makers to think about incorporating wood products in the Pan Am sports venues.

Existing sports facilities in and around Toronto will be upgraded for the 2015 Games, one of the world’s premier amateur athletic competitions. New facilities will also be built, including several aquatic centres, a velodrome and a high performance training centre.

Wood products are frequently used in aquatic and other recreational facilities. In addition to wood’s unique architectural appeal, it is exceptionally durable and resistant to corrosion that can occur in aquatic facilities. These qualities make wood a material of choice for pool enclosures.

Marianne Berube, Executive Director of Ontario Wood WORKS!, notes there are additional reasons for considering the use of wood products in the 2015 Games’ sports venues. “Life cycle analysis has shown wood to have the lowest environmental footprint of all major building materials. Commitment to building with wood demonstrates leadership in sustainable procurement and is a strategic decision for investment in public infrastructure.”

The Pan American Games are held every four years for athletes of the 42 member nations of the Pan American Sport Organization. Toronto 2015 is expected to draw 10,000 participants and 250,000 visitors.

Managed by the Canadian Wood Council, Wood WORKS! is an industry-led program that seeks to build proficiency in non-residential wood use through training, networking and technical support. Its activities are supported in part by NRCan’s North American Wood First Initiative.

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MOU with China promotes energy efficiency of wood-frame construction

The governments of Canada, British Columbia and China recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will promote wood-frame construction as a means of improving energy efficiency in China’s construction sector.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), BC’s Ministry of Forests and Range and China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development are the parties to the MOU. Canada Wood China, FII China and the Chinese Society for Urban Studies will work to implement the MOU on behalf of the signatories.

The five-year MOU calls for collaborative research as well as the development and adaptation of wood-frame building systems to meet China’s demand for energy-efficient construction with a low-carbon footprint. It also envisages sharing expertise and producing technical standards for wood-frame construction in China.

It is anticipated that the work undertaken as a result of the MOU will help open up the Chinese market to more Canadian lumber and wood products.

The MOU was signed at a ceremony March 29, 2010 during the 6th International Conference on Green and Energy-Efficient Building in Beijing. David Mulroney, Canada’s Ambassador to China, signed the MOU on behalf of Canada. Pat Bell, BC’s Minister of Forests and Range, signed for BC. Qiu Baoxing, China’s Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, signed on behalf of China.

Jim Farrell, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Forest Service at NRCan, was on hand for the signing.