Beauty and Value of Wood: Natural material
January 15, 2018
As builders and developers, we are always striving to provide homebuyers with options, and that includes choices in the building materials that are used in the construction of their new home.
For various great reasons, some homebuyers choose wood. For some, it’s an aesthetic choice, as wood has a natural warmth and beauty. Buyers who want to reduce their environmental footprint choose wood because it is a renewable and recyclable resource. Some like that it allows fast, efficient home construction, while others appreciate its strength, the result of advances in wood science.
The many advantages of wood were the reasons BILD and its partners advocated for changes to the Ontario Building Code to increase the height standard for wood buildings from four to six storeys. Those amendments came into effect in January 2015.
Knowing that some homebuyers prefer wood, our industry has been working to find innovative ways to design, build and market wood construction homes. Small surprise, then, that BILD members were involved in several projects that received accolades at Canadian Wood Council’s 17th annual Ontario Wood WORKS! Awards.
Great Gulf was the developer behind the Centennial Park Residence in Toronto, which received the Environmental Building Award. Because wood was used in construction, 89.5 per cent of the building materials are potentially recyclable. Eighty per cent of the wood products used are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Great Gulf used its innovative H+ME Technology to build the residence, ensuring that components fit together with greater precision, and less material waste was diverted to landfill. Great Gulf’s Tad Putyra, president of the H+ME Technology division, received the Wood Champion Award.
BILD members Branthaven Homes and Kirkor Architects & Planners were the developer and the architect for the Lake House Condominiums in Grimsby, which received the Midrise Wood Design Award. At six storeys, Lake House is the kind of project that was made possible by the changes to the Building Code. Another midrise builder, Pratt Development, received the Designer/Builder Award.
Other BILD members with projects honoured in the Wood WORKS! Awards included Diamond Schmitt Architects and Moses Structural Engineers.
Our industry continues to advocate for choice in construction materials. We look forward to seeing taller wood buildings, such as the 12-storey structure George Brown College is planning for its waterfront campus in Toronto. Recently, a committee I was part of helped the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry prepare a technical resource that will help members of the industry apply for approval to build wood buildings of more than six storeys.
Building wood construction homes is just one way the building and development industry is providing choices to homebuyers.