January 2022

High-Performing Think Wood Content Reaches Thousands of New Specifiers

Think Wood wound down an eventful 2021 with a roundup of the year’s best content, covering trends reporting, expert insights, continuing education, and more. Think Wood’s Best of 2021 LookBook features nine cutting-edge projects that the campaign profiled throughout the year and that are sure to inspire designers and developers nationwide. Featured projects include a first-of-its-kind mass timber hotel in Austin, Texas, and an adaptive reuse of a 130-year-old warehouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since its launch in late December, the LookBook has been downloaded more than 1,900 times. Think Wood will continue to promote it via paid and organic social media and will distribute print copies at conferences and Think Wood Mobile Tour stops in 2022.

Think Wood also compiled and reshared some its highest performing content in its 2021: Year in Review blog. The steady flow of new content produced by Think Wood throughout 2021—including the Think Wood Mobile virtual tour, webinars, videos, project profiles, and blogs—enabled it to exceed its year-end performance targets for new database contacts and resource downloads, and constantly created opportunities for users to engage and continue on their journey toward designing and building with wood.

The campaign has a strategic editorial calendar for 2022 to reach even more specifiers with the powerful benefits of wood construction.

The AWC to Propose 15 Changes for Consideration in ICC 2021 Group B Process

The International Code Council (ICC) 2021 Group B code development process has begun and will cover structural loads, special inspections, and the material chapters of the International Building Code. The American Wood Council (AWC) has developed 15 changes for consideration in Group B. Among these are proposals to:

• Clarify cross laminated timber (CLT) sizing terminology (i.e., actual versus nominal), which, if accepted, will prevent confusion and manufacturing delays because of design errors;
• Enable connections with fire-resistance ratings to be used in mass timber construction, thus avoiding unnecessary testing and associated costs; and
• Require fire-retardant-treated lumber manufacturers to consider all design value adjustments, ensuring proper structural design.

Concurrently, the AWC is also developing six proposed changes to the International Residential Code. These include proposals to add a new standard for determining equivalent fire performance of a 2″x10″ lumber and engineered wood product floor assembly and to update requirements for when a costly, water-resistive barrier must be part of accessory structure construction.

WoodWorks Finishes Strong in 2021

WoodWorks met its 2021 goal by delivering a total of 448 influenced and converted projects that went to construction—a 12% increase over 2020. WoodWorks also continued to adapt and innovate to share its technical expertise with target audiences in virtual and electronic formats. During the year, WoodWorks devoted particular attention to filling information gaps to support the widespread pursuit of mass timber, including through multiple new resources and publications, including the following:

Guides and Manuals

• Mass Timber Design Manual (developed jointly with Think Wood)
• U.S. Mass Timber Construction Manual
• U.S. Mass Timber Floor Vibration Design Guide
• Index of Mass Timber Connections
  

Solution Papers

• Taking the Guesswork Out of Mixed-Use Building Requirements
• Insurance for Mass Timber Construction: Assessing Risk and Providing Answers
• Mass Timber Connections Index: Optimal Connection Considerations
• An updated Tall Wood Series, featuring papers on concealed spaces, fire resistance, and shaft wall requirements

Case Studies

• The six-story mass timber District Office building
• A light-frame/mass timber hybrid office at Perce-Clearwater National Forest

Technical Support & Inspiration

• Ask an Expert technical tips
• Biophilic Design LookBook (developed jointly with Think Wood)

The AWC Adds Staff to Support Building Code Official Relations

The AWC welcomed two highly experienced field staff members to its team this winter to broaden and deepen reach among building code officials and to support the code development process. The hires were made possible in part by increased funding of the AWC by the SLB.

Ed Lisinski, P.E., C.B.O., is the AWC’s new Midwest Regional Manager, Codes & Standards. Lisinski worked most recently as the director of the building inspection department of West Allis, Wisconsin; is a member of the ICC’s Structural Code Development Committee and the Building Membership Council; and has experience as a design engineer and plan reviewer.

Paul Armstrong, P.E., joined as the West Regional Manager, having previously worked for the International Conference of Building Officials, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, as a contracted building official throughout California, and as a technical consultant to counter concrete industry marketing. Armstrong is currently the chair of the ICC Residential Building Code Development committee.

The AWC looks forward to leveraging Lisinski’s and Armstrong’s experience and expertise on behalf of the softwood lumber industry and reinforcing its reputation as a trusted resource for code officials.

WoodWorks Helps Design Team Achieve First Large 5-Over-1 Project

A fundamental role of WoodWorks is to help architects design wood buildings that are larger or otherwise more complex than projects they have designed in the past. This was the case with the 198,000-square-foot mixed-used Brookview Commons Phase II project in Danbury, Connecticut, which includes five stories of light wood-frame construction over a concrete podium. The project represents the first of its scale and the first Type-III building designed by seventy2architects.

Seventy2architects’ principal and lead architect found WoodWorks via an internet search and tapped into WoodWorks’ digital resources, including a five-over-one design example, before reaching out for more personalized support. After answering some initial questions, WoodWorks met with the principal, project engineer, and contractor to review the project plans and discuss options and potential challenges related to moisture protection, truss spacing, balcony materials, and the need for fire-retardant treated wood. WoodWorks extended support during construction too, assisting on detailing for fire resistance using additional studs in lieu of gypsum board at intersections.

Seventy2architects credits WoodWorks with guiding the firm to wood instead of steel. According to the principal, “It’s great to have WoodWorks as a resource . . . In areas that are new to us, it’s important to be sure the approaches we’re taking are the industry standard.”

Brookview Commons Phase II, now under construction, is set to consume more than 1.56 million board feet of softwood lumber.

Hot Housing Market Expected in 2022

Based on interviews with housing market experts, CNBC is warning buyers to anticipate higher prices, continued low inventory, and fast turnarounds in 2022. CNBC quoted Zillow, which expects that home prices will rise by 11% in 2022, which, while slower than 2021, is still significant. In addition, interviewed experts expect that interest rates will rise, and ongoing market trends—and particularly affordability challenges caused by low inventory due in part to baby boomers staying in their homes longer—will combine to the detriment of young buyers in the marketplace.

Read more about these predictions here.

Google Parent Company to Spin Off Mass Timber Construction Firm

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and Sidewalk Labs, is spinning off Canopy Buildings as an independent company focused on mass timber construction. This move comes after Sidewalk Labs’ proposed large-scale mass timber Quayside project in Toronto was undone by strong public backlash amid concerns over Alphabet and Google’s data access and privacy practices.

The spinoff reflects Alphabet’s calculation that even if politically challenging and financially impracticable “smart city” concepts fail to take off, demand and markets for sustainable construction approaches such as mass timber will continue to grow.

Read more about this development here.

Canadian Study Analyzes Cost-Benefit, Optimization of Tall Wood Buildings

A Canadian study, conducted by WSP Canada, BTY Group, Axiom Builders, and ZGF, sought to understand the comparative costs and benefits of using mass timber products instead of other building materials, particularly in 12- to 18-story towers. Based on their findings, the authors put forward 10 recommendations to further tall mass timber development.

Recommendations include:

• Optimize designs to maximize the benefits of using mass timber and prefabrication methods, which will not necessarily lead to box-like building forms.
• Adopt modern methods of construction to amplify the inherent properties of prefabricated timber; and put in place moisture-management plans early in project planning.
• Focus on developing mass timber-steel hybrid buildings, which can maximize schedule savings.
• Prefabricate modular, lateral systems, and consider prefabricated exterior envelope systems.
• Adopt offsite prefabrication to realize faster construction times, precision finishes, and less waste.

The report also touches on the need to expand codes to be more receptive to tall mass timber and the ongoing need to educate insurers about mass timber building performance.

Read more and access the study report here.