U of T to build tower of timber
Chief of planning says building made of wood doesn’t need fireproofing
The University of Toronto is slated to build a timber tower that it says will be among the tallest of its kind in North America.
A 14-storey building, made of wood and concrete, will be built at its downtown campus above the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport off Bloor St. W. Construction is tentatively set to begin in 2019.
“We want this to be a symbol of wood sustainability,” said Gilbert Delgado, chief of university planning, design and construction.
“We will expose the wood in a very conspicuous way, so it will actually communicate a different way to build. Because it is a highrise on Bloor St., we believe that it will be emblematic in terms of a new way of building.”
The tower will be made with cross-laminated timber — larger and stronger pieces of wood that don’t need to be fireproofed. That means structures can be built of exposed wood and still be fire-resistant, Delgado explained, “which gives you the opportunity to create some really lovely interior spaces that are faced in natural wood.”
“If you hold a match up to a log, you’ll never light it,” Delgado added.
“You need kindling. So basically, because these wood timbers are large, the kindling temperature is much higher and therefore does not have to be encased in fire protection.”
Traditional wood buildings are typically made of smaller, lightweight wood such as two-by-sixs or two-by-fours, which are then encased in fireproofing. But larger pieces of crosslaminated timber are “much more fire resistant,” Delgado said.
The university had originally planned to build the structure with steel, but “became aware of this wood technology … and it seemed to be quite feasible,” Delgado said.
“Wood is a product that’s plentiful in Canada. It’s produced domestically, can be transported more economically,.”
The provincial and federal governments also provide funding incentives to build such structures, he said, which are currently more expensive to construct than more traditional buildings.
Paul Cooper, a professor emeritus at U of T’s faculty of forestry, said wooden structures are a growing trend that began in Europe.
Cooper said “apart from another big application for wood products, which is important to Canada,” there is growing interest in wooden structures for environmental reasons.
“In Europe, I think that’s probably behind a lot of the push,” Cooper said. “They’re looking for what are thought to be environmentally better solutions … In Canada, I’d say that that’s an issue, but probably the potential market for lumber products and so on is driving it, as well.”
“The cool thing about tall wood buildings is that they set a trend, they set an example of what’s possible,” said Lucas Epp, head of engineering at StructureCraft.
“And they engage the public’s interest with this whole new concept that wood has really come back as a new, primary … building material and that it’s safe, it’s reliable, it’s cost-efficient, it creates a beautiful environment and it’s sustainable.”