Mass Timber Construction Podcast
Mass Timber Construction Podcast
Mass Timber Market Updates - Dec 2024 - Week Fiftyone
Could mass timber be the solution to Canada's housing crisis? Join me, Paul Ramblin, on the Mass Timber Construction Podcast as we unravel the latest innovations and trends redefining the sustainable building landscape. Discover how prefabrication and modular construction are setting new benchmarks for efficiency and eco-friendliness, paving the way for a revolution in the construction industry. Explore the rising demand for mass timber products like CLT as Canada ramps up its efforts to mitigate carbon emissions and optimize productivity. We'll also delve into Alberta's strategic trade mission to Japan, a masterstroke aiming to diversify export markets amidst escalating global demand for sustainable materials.
In this packed episode, we explore the game-changing findings from Sustainability Consultancy Metabolic, which forecasts a significant boost in engineered timber production necessary to meet Europe's bio-based construction targets by 2030. Hear about the remarkable transformation of Opal Build into Notch SB, a pioneer in mass timber design, now spearheading advancements in panelization and engineering solutions. This episode is a must-listen for enthusiasts and professionals eager to understand the future trajectory of sustainable construction, offering a comprehensive look at how these paradigm shifts are shaping the built environment for generations to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are live. This is the moment you all have been waiting for. It's time for the global sensation, the one, the only the undisputed heavyweight podcast in the world the Mass Timber Construction Podcast. And now here's Paul Ramblin, your host. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are in the world today. Welcome to the Master of the Construction Podcast.
Speaker 1:I hope you're keeping warm in the Northern Hemisphere and we're trying to keep cool in the Southern Hemisphere. It's been a great time in the lead up to the holiday season. I know I've certainly been looking forward to the break and have taken time for myself. I hope you do the same. It is a busy time during the year and thanks for all your support in liking, commenting, sharing, reposting our LinkedIn posts, our social media feed, thank you to people submitting to the academic journal and thank you for subscribing to this podcast.
Speaker 1:Let's have a look at what's making news this week in Mass Timber Construction land and first up, canada's housing crisis is looking for innovative technology that can come into play as part of its policy reform, using modern methods of construction, including prefabrication and modular construction, to build components off-site and then provide significant savings in terms of time, productivity and reduction in carbon emissions. And, of course, they're looking at the exploration of using mass timber products, including CLT and other renewable, low-carbon substitute for conventional materials. In one study that they looked at from the, the Netherlands, they looked at 3D concrete printing, which can reduce material waste by up to 90%, representing a significant transformation in sustainable design. If you'd like to have a look at more at what Canada is doing, you can head to our LinkedIn feed and have a look at the approach that they're taking to try and understand how to build better for the future and to Canada now.
Speaker 1:And Alberta's forestry sector strengthens its ties with Japan and the US. Trade, based on tensions that are currently looming amid the global demand for sustainable materials and the looming threat of new tariffs to the US and Alberta brings a bold step in strengthening global ties. A recent forestry trade mission to Japan punctuates the province's commitment to diversifying its export markets by strengthening trade relationships with Japan. The first of its kind, this Alberta-led trade mission was headed by the Minister and the Deputy Minister in the Government for Alberta's Forestry and Parks Ministry. The delegates are from Canada Wood and Alberta Forestry joined the mission as well. The Japanese market appreciates the use of wood as a building material, and so there's a perfect fit. If you'd like to read some more about this initiative that's happening for people in Canada as part of Alberta and Japan trade mission, you can head to our LinkedIn feed and there are always numbers coming out and it's always very difficult to discern what specific numbers are credible and what are not.
Speaker 1:But a report published last year by Sustainability Consultancy, metabolic, which forecast that to meet the 50% bio-based resident construction program in Europe by 2030, which is corresponding to an 18% drop in carbon emissions the production of engineered timber would have to increase nearly fivefold and roundwood by fourfold to complete the ensemble of requirements for wood consumption. That is compatible with the strategy in the region. So if you'd like to read more around this, you can go and have a look at Metabolics Forecast and see where the pressure is being laid. But certainly there is a need to understand how wood and other biobased industries are going to support the supply and not be outstripped by demand, which is then going to put pressure on net zero targets, and they may be in jeopardy because of such things. Future planning is a really important thing. We need to think about it now, get educated, go and read the reports and Opal Build, a mass timber design building company specializing in CLT and high performance wood panels in envelope construction typologies, is now going under the name Notch SB. The Belfast company said the new name reflects a new era of growth that builds on the expertise in mass timber panelisation, with the expansion of services to include advanced mass timber engineering and fully integrated design to construct systems. It's great to see people in other locations, including in Belfast, getting into the act and making sure that Notchby Systems will be able to provide the built environment with sustainable buildings, and the change in the name of the company reflects this.
Speaker 1:And going back a few years, we reported the Zahra Hadid Architects unveiling the Forest Green Rovers Eco Park Stadium, located in stroud in the uk, as the first old timber football stadium and the design for uses of sustainable source materials for structural elements within that project. Well, there's some more news come out about it and the design has a little bit more attention to detail. There's some more rendered drawings that you can go and have a look at and, using the same material, it looks like the project is still on track to deliver what it has set out to do. The stadium's roof will feature a transparent membrane that supports grass growth and minimizes shadows, designed for future scalability. The stadium will initially accommodate 5 000 spectators, with the capacity to expand to 10 000 without extensive construction work. If you'd like to see some more renders of this project, please head to our linkedin feed.
Speaker 1:And in the us and the american wood council has worked with the international code council and woodworks have joined together to release an updated version of their free app to calculate maximum allowable heights and areas for buildings of various occupancy classifications and types of construction. The heights and areas calculator is based on the provisions of the 2021 code and it allows users to input the proposed building height, the area for occupancy and the app will then provide you with construction that is permitted. The basic version of the calculator limits building input to a single occupancy, equal four areas to the entire building, and advanced option permits multiple occupancies and different four areas. If you're in the US or Canada and you're looking to acquire some understanding about the area and the heights that you can build in with mass timber, please head to their LinkedIn feed or their social media pages or their website and you can go and download the heights and areas calculator for free. So that's it, folks for another week. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1:We've got one more episode for the year and then we start 2025 with a whole another year of episodes coming at you. It'll be our fifth year in production. We've got Arnie coming up from the Mass Timber Conference in Portland, oregon, in March next year to talk about what's happening at the event, to get you excited for 2025. And we've got more interviews and guests coming along as they trickle in the door. We will bring them to you and thank you for subscribing, liking, sharing, reposting, commenting on our social media feed. We really do appreciate the engagement, and good morning, good afternoon or good evening, wherever you are in the world today. Have a great christmas break, a great holiday season. We'll see you on the other side right before new year's. This is paul kramer signing off on the mass timber construction podcast. Timmy Construction Podcast. Thank you, bye.