Webday Wednesdays From Mass Timber to Freeforms: the New Age of Timber Construction

From Mass Timber to Freeforms: the New Age of Timber Construction
Date: November 13, 2019
Presenter: Lucas Epp  BaSC Civil Engineering, P. Eng.

SESSION:

Due to mass timber’s aesthetic appeal, carbon sequestration, and speed of construction, it is rapidly coming to the fore as a primary construction material; however, it is perhaps the least understood material from a structural perspective. Creating cost-effective timber structures often requires the expertise of specialist timber engineers, and consideration of the manufacturing and assembly process early in design. StructureCraft has adopted a unique business model of providing both structural engineering and construction services – minimizing risk and providing cost certainty to clients early in the design process.

Part 1: Mass Timber Using several recent projects in Canada and the USA as case studies, Lucas will outline design principles for creating timber structures which are simple to fabricate and quick to install, and a situational design guide to choosing the correct mass timber product. A comparison will also be provided between different core construction types (concrete, steel, mass timber) and resulting impacts on construction cost and install speed.

Part 2: Freeforms Pushing the boundaries in designing geometrically complex structures with timber, this section will highlight challenging projects including long-span doubly curved roofs, a 300ft clear span glulam gridshell dome, and free‐form cladding structures. The case studies will focus on bringing these timber structures from an architectural vision to practical reality through hands‐on structural engineering, parametric geometry generation using tools like Grasshopper, and digital fabrication techniques.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Scheme with efficient structural grids, choosing the right mass product
• Interpret Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC) – 2020 NBCC provisions for 12-storey buildings
• Describe core construction techniques and options for mass timber buildings
• Describe fabrication techniques for freeform timber structures

Continuing education learning hours: 1 credit

Lucas is a structural engineer with 15 years of experience working in the UK, New Zealand, and North America, and leads the engineering department at StructureCraft. While in London, he designed a range of projects and sculptures with world-class architects and developed an expertise in complex geometry and challenging structures. Lucas speaks widely across North America on timber design and construction and has lectured at the Architectural Association, ETH Zurich, and the University of British Columbia. He is an author of several industry publications, including the Nail Laminated Timber Design Guide, and is currently involved in writing a new Mass Timber Vibration Design Guide.
 

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at 4 p.m. ET. 

WEBINAR REGISTRATION FEE:
$25 for RAIC members, plus applicable taxes.
$30 for non-members, plus applicable taxes.

SCHEDULE: The Webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 13, at 1 p.m. ET in English.
The Canada-wide schedule by time zone is:

More information, including online access instructions and a PDF copy of the slides, will be sent to you by email on the Tuesday prior to the Webday webinar.