On this special episode of the Construction Record podcast, digital media editor Warren Frey speaks with Hemsworth Architecture founder John Hemsworth and Katerra director of mass timber engineering Robert Malczyk about mass timber and other wood-based technologies used on two significant British Columbia projects.
Hemsworth and Malczyk explained how On5, a four-storey building located in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood uses insulative cross-laminated timber (CLT) assemblies along with a damage-resistant seismic design built to a Passive House standard.
Malczyk and Hemsworth also spoke about the Upper Skeena Recreation Centre, a heavy timber and wood-frame construction that not only replaced a 44-year-old ice arena condemned die to safety concerns but became a new hub for the community. The project used both local skilled tradespersons and locally available material and wood construction meant construction could continue through the cold winter months.