Showcasing Innovative Wood Construction in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BC, March 2, 2021 /CNW/ - Investing in Canada's forest sector by building sustainable communities is an investment in our future. This is why the Government of Canada supports British Columbia's dedication to mass timber projects by increasing the use of wood as a green building material and leading our transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Government, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, today announced $648,250 for Fast + Epp, a structural engineering firm from Vancouver, toward the construction of their head office, a four-storey, hybrid, mass timber and steel building.

This project is a highly visible head office building that showcases innovative mass timber design and construction technologies and is highly replicable across the country. This demonstrates Canada's leadership in low-rise non-residential wood construction while helping to reduce our carbon footprint and contributing to Canada's growing bioeconomy.

Funding for this project is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Green Construction through Wood (GCWood) program, which encourages the use of wood in non-traditional construction projects, such as tall and low-rise non-residential buildings and bridges. The program aims to position Canada as a world leader in innovative timber construction systems and technologies and in the low-carbon economy.

Projects like this will help Canada achieve its 2030 climate change goals by finding effective ways of building sustainably using Canadian wood products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Quotes

"I am pleased to see such innovative mass timber building design in downtown Vancouver. By supporting greater use of sustainable, carbon-storing wood in construction, we can protect the planet, create jobs and support the competitiveness of the forest sector in Western Canada."

The Honourable Joyce Murray
Minister of Digital Government

"Wood is being used more and more in building bigger and taller buildings, and we're leading the world at it. Creating new markets for Canadian timber supports our forestry workers, creates jobs and gets us to net zero."

The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.
Canada's Minister of Natural Resources

"It's a really special moment in our Fast + Epp company history to have the opportunity to move into a custom-built mass timber office building. It features a robust, sustainable structure; warm, exposed-wood interiors; and the latest in seismic technology using self-centring, energy-absorbing Tectonus connectors. The building will serve as living lab with ongoing thermal, moisture and vibration monitoring. It will also house Fast + Epp's Concept Lab, where physical testing of mass timber components and software development will take place."

Paul Fast, Partner
Fast + Epp

"This project is an excellent example of an innovative, sustainable and high-performance wood building. It showcases technologically advanced wood products and systems, and how mass timber components work together for optimal designs that can be easily replicated. Projects such as this will address today's urgent demand for more efficient construction using sustainable building materials, toward a goal of carbon-neutral structures that will positively transform our built environment."

Lynn Embury-Williams, Executive Director
Wood WORKS! BC

Associated Links

• Green Construction through Wood
• Fast + Epp
• Wood WORKS! BC

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada