Mass timber buildings greater than six storeys could be coming to Coquitlam sooner than expected.
Council approved signing on to an early adoption program allowing taller wood-frame structures up to 12 storeys ahead of full adoption into the B.C. Building Code, which is still two to three years away. Proponents of the construction method say the process is more environmentally friendly and reduces waste.
"Benefits from both an environmental and economical viewpoint can be realized," according to a city staff report. "As wood is a natural, renewable resource with the ability to sequester carbon, a tall mass timber building would have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than a concrete structure of similar size."
The report added that because the laminated timber beams are built off site, it reduces construction waste. The materials can also be repurposed into other uses at the end of a building's lifespan.
Mass timber structures could also fill a gap between the smaller, three- to six-storey buildings and 25-storeys and over concrete highrises.
Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam's general manager of planning and development, told The Tri-City News last summer that once developers set up a site for concrete construction, they need to build higher to cover the increases costs.
While 12-storey concrete may work in places like Vancouver, where land is considerably more expensive, the economics are harder to justify in suburban communities, he said.
“In suburban markets, they want to get the towers up to a certain level,” McIntyre said. “That is why this [mass-timber] building form is kind of intriguing.”
Mass timber buildings are also fire-resistant, according to the staff report, as gypsum wallboard is used to slow the movement of flames
The results are buildings with "the same fire and life safety performance as other types of building construction that meet requirements of the [B.C. Building Code]," said the report.
Taller wood structures have already started to crop up in other parts of the Lower Mainland. The 18-storey Brock Commons tower at UBC was the tallest wood building in the world when it was completed in 2017 and developer Perkins+Will is proposing a 30- to 40-storey mixed-use wood tower along Vancouver's Broadway corridor.
