Timber trail blazers see new growth in green building drive

Oct 25

By Darius Snieckus

Lumber was once a go-to building material before concrete and steel took over. Now, reborn as mass timber, it may be on the cusp of a comeback as the construction sector steps up its green transition.

Mass timber is touted as a landscape-changing, low-carbon material for everything from apartment blocks to office towers. Canada’s market share could triple to $1.2 billion by 2030 – if manufacturers and policymakers can overcome a range of challenges, writes Darius Snieckus.

Wood, one of the world’s oldest building materials, could make a comeback in the next decade if mass timber can overcome a range of challenges as the green transition gains momentum in Canada’s construction industry.

This will not be the lumber of days gone by, chopped and sawed and hammered into homes and buildings in the years before steel, cement and glass radically transformed architecture in the 20th century.

Mass timber – a generic term for materials engineered out of laminated lumber, veneer and wood strands – is attracting a great deal of attention as Canada seeks to build millions of new commercial, residential and institutional buildings without driving up the country’s carbon emissions.

Lighter than concrete or steel but strong enough for use in load-bearing beams and columns, mass timber has environmental and construction virtues that could dramatically change the building landscape, green construction advocates say.

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