March 7, 2025 • 26 mins
Imagine a world where our cities are not only more sustainable but also inviting and warm—mass timber construction is paving the way for this vision. In this episode, we engage with Alejandro Coronado, Technical Advisor at WoodWorks BC to explore the unique benefits of integrating wood into modern architecture. Discover how this dynamic material is not just a beautiful choice but also a smart one—offering a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete while contributing to lower carbon emissions.
Alejandro discusses the mission of the Canadian Wood Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding of wood as a structural material. He shares fascinating insights into the role mass timber plays in addressing environmental challenges while ensuring building efficiency. With its capacity to offer speedy assembly and flexibility in design, mass timber is gaining traction among developers who recognize its potential for tall structures up to 18 stories under recent code revisions.
We delve into the science of biophilic design, appreciating how natural textures and aesthetics contribute to inhabitant well-being, and why people are increasingly drawn to wood in their environments. As we navigate through regulatory updates, Alejandro provides valuable advice on how developers can capitalize on these advancements to promote eco-friendly and innovative building practices.
Join us for an enlightening conversation that engages both the architectural community and anyone interested in sustainable living. Dive into this episode to learn about the possibilities that lie ahead for the construction industry and how together, we can build a more sustainable future. Don't forget to subscribe, share your thoughts, and leave us a review!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Site.
Visit Podcast leadership andperspective from construction
with your host, James Faulkner,Recorded live from the show
floor at BuildX Vancouver 2025.
All right, here we are atBuildX with Alejandro Coronado.
(00:30):
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Pretty good, amazing to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Perfect.
So Woodworks BC, so part of theWoodworks Council.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
you're saying yeah, so Woodworks is a technical
resource group from the CanadianWood Council.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Oh, the Canadian Wood Council yes we're a non-profit
organization.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
We have been around since the 50s or the 60s.
We are really here to drivemass timber and light frame
adoption in the constructionindustry.
Basically, our goal is tomaximize the use of wood that we
have.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Okay, so in terms of when you say the wood that we
have, are we talking new productand also reclaimed wood as well
?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Reclaimed wood, not specifically for the Canadian
Wood Council, but there havebeen some recent efforts looking
into the sustainability and theactual feasibility of using
reclaimed wood in existingbuildings.
There are just a fewcomplications when it comes to
the structural design of it.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah.
But yeah, a few complicationswhen it comes to the structural
design of it, yeah, but yeah,yeah, I know there's a company
called Clearview Demolition, Ithink, and they actually go and
reclaim as much as possible.
That's pretty amazing what theycan do.
But so let's specifically talkabout you.
So you are a technical advisorfor Woodworks BC.
Take me through your day.
Like, what are you advising on?
What's on the?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
when you say technical advisor, take us
through what you're doing on aday-to-day basis.
Yeah, for sure, so this is moreof a recent role for me.
I'm a structural engineer bytraining.
Okay, I spent numerous years inthe in construction industry as
a structural engineer in aconsulting firm, so I have a lot
of technical experience in thedesign of light frame and
massive buildings and my role atWoodPurse is really leveraging
(02:08):
that design experience to helpengineers and architects that
are trying to get into woodconstruction either light frame
or mass teamwork.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Oh, I see.
Okay, Just a question like whatis the motivation for those
companies, for those architects,for those developers in those
projects to integrate thosematerials into the build?
Is there a reason in terms ofenvironmental reasons?
Is there a green reason?
(02:38):
What is the main push?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The answer really depends onthe type of construction that
we're looking at.
If we consider a light framelike stick frame, for example,
five to six story mid rise woodis an effective and really cost
effective solution because itgoes up relatively quick and you
can go to a lumber yard and geta bunch of two by four, two by
sixes, and it's really malleable.
(03:01):
So you can doable.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It's easy to cut.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's easy to cut on site,so it's really a good way of
building five to six stories,but when we get beyond that,
then we're really looking atmass timber buildings.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Okay, yeah, so classify just for those when you
say mass timber, give us thetechnical description of where
things fall into the category ofmass timber.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, for sure.
So I usually manage threedifferent terms.
So it's light frame the same asthick frame, so 2x4, 2x6, stud
wall construction, what we havehistorically done.
There's also heavy timber whichuses more of a post and beam
type construction with largercross sections, which is what we
did historically in the early1900s, for example, with 20 by
(03:50):
20 inches of Douglas fir columnsand beams.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Right, and that's like old school stuff you still
see in Yaletown.
Absolutely it's like concrete,you can't even drill into it.
Absolutely the whole growthcedar yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And then the other will be mass timber, which is
really heavy timber, but with apanelization approach.
So that's where we see crosslaminated timber slabs, for
example oh, gotcha, okay, yeah,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So those, yeah, so those are like the manufactured,
like large, uh posts that aremade from laminated yes, exactly
composite materials yes, so sowe're talking about a bit of
composite materials.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
So we talk about glulam which will be used for
columns and posts and beams.
Yeah, so it's really just usingsun lumber with structural glue
cured.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I mean, we've seen that.
I mean that basically startedwith the oriented strand board,
the original, and even Mediteturned into that like a particle
board.
Yeah, original, you know, andeven medite turned into that
like a particle board.
Yeah, but uh, so this is justthe new, uh, the new version of
that for, um, and alsolaminating a lot of them
together to create a large beam,yeah for sure, and also even a
panelized system.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
So we have nail laminated timber that you can
use with 2x4, 2x6 and that wassort of like the original
precursor to mass timber.
That was a lot in the 1950s and60s as well, with the very
early glulam beams that we hadwith an NLT decking.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Okay, so in terms of the mass timber side, on the
structural side, is there anyissues in terms of off gassing
of the glues and like from afrom an environmental point of
view, obviously, like it's a,it's a, it's a, um, an
alternative to concrete in manyways, uh, from a structural
(05:36):
point of view so, and obviouslyconcrete.
The big issue is a lot ofcompanies are trying to figure
out how to lower theenvironmental impact on
off-gassing from concrete.
So with these is most of theglue off-gassing that's already
happened and done with.
On the manufacturing process.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Yeah, it is, and the sustainability impacts of
massing were really smallbecause it is the only renewable
construction material that wehave.
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Okay, so that's cool.
So it's basically coming.
A lot of it's coming frombyproducts, from sawmills, etc.
From making other types of woodproducts, and you're able to
make these large beams.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Not necessarily.
These are trees specificallygrown for mass timber.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, take us through that.
That's something I'm not quiteaware of, so take us through
that, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It really depends how the company is set up.
We have different types ofsuppliers here in BC.
We have a few that arevertically integrated.
They manage their own forest.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So they do a lot of the falling of the trees and the
processing of the logs all theway to the construction side,
when they actually supply andmanufacture the CLT and
glulamines.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And what type of species of trees are these.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Typically, it's most commonly spruce pine fir.
Okay, although it reallydepends For panelized systems.
Spf is one of the most commonones, but we can also Hem fir is
gaining a bit of popularitybecause it's a very
underutilized, which is HemferHemlock.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Oh, Hemlock yes.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
So it's very underutilized in terms of the
structural applications.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And we have a lot of it going around, so it's just a
really good use to start usingit for analyzed systems.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So what is the growth time for sapling all the way up
to having something you can use?
How many years is that?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I'm not actually quite sure, but I would say all
of this the forestry is done ina very sustainable manner.
So it's not like we're cuttingevery single tree in the forest.
It's very well managed, notjust by the companies themselves
, but also by the provincial andfederal governments.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I've heard these statistics on many podcasts that
the earth is the greenest it'sever been in years.
Have you heard that before?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
First time that I hear it, but I mean it does make
sense.
Yes, with the active approachto forest management that we
have and reforestation,absolutely yes.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, I mean, even when something's been completely
clear-cut, at least they'rereplanting it.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
you know, a season later, um, and it's turning
green again yeah, exactly, andthat's a cycle that they go
through every every a fewdecades.
I would say, like they don't.
They're not coming back to thesame spot, right?
It's like they have these hugeparcels of land that they
subdivide and then they leaseout, they do the forestry that
they need to do, and then maybethey don't come back for 40 or
(08:28):
50 years, just letting theforest regrowth in a natural
manner.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Did you feel free to just say no?
I don't know about that, butthere was a project down here on
Pender Street.
There was a wedge.
It was going to be an alltimber high rise that I think
was going to be like 20 floorsand it was all going to be.
Did you know about that one?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I'm not really sure what project that will be.
Maybe I'm blanking out on thename, but I think I may know
which one it is.
Yeah, it was meant to be.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I think Port Living or Port was going to be doing it
.
It was on Pender, in betweenPender and Hastings.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, the Earth Tower .
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, it was like a wedge, a wedge shape.
But what was interesting aboutthat is that the architect, I
believe, yeah made plans forthat to be mass timber and then,
I think, the developer boughtit and then they wouldn't let
them redevelop it in a differentway with the same plans.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, I remember now, I think it was Terra's house.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
The architect was Shigeru Ban.
Yes, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So are you familiar with what kind of structure that
was going to be originallyplanned?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
That was an interesting one.
As far as I don't really havethe details, but I understand
that it was more of a hybridtype structure.
So it's going to be mostlyconcrete.
And then back then you weren'treally allowed to have a tall
mass timber building in the waythat we do now.
So, the top six floors or sowas going to be mass timber.
It was meant to be the tallesthybrid mass timber building in
(10:03):
the world.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Wow, was that something?
You guys were pretty excitedthat that was going to go
through.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I mean absolutely, but it's like if you look at the
international landscape now,it's like that idea is just.
I know we're so far beyond itat this point.
For example, in Milwaukee wehave a 24-story mass timber
tower.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Wow, crazy Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
For residential use.
So the pace that we havedeveloping mass timber buildings
it's been staggering.
Like in our building code wejust amended it last year to
allow for 18 stories.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And we already have a lot of interest from developers
and other clients really keenon exploring that idea of a tall
mass timber building inVancouver with these new
regulations, because it's a veryeffective way of building.
It's more similar to concrete.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Okay, so take us through that.
So when you say, and you'retalking like Vancouver,
specifically like building code,has now allowed for this,
vancouver, specifically likebuilding code has now allowed
for this In BC specifically, butwe were actually sort of like
the second location to approveof this change.
So what is the change?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Allowing for up to 18 stories of encapsulated mass
timber construction.
Okay, so let me take you to thesort of like the history of
construction.
So we have been doing heavytimber buildings historically
for more than 100 years.
As we were chatting aboutbefore, we have eight-story
buildings right here in Gaston,completely in perfect shape with
(11:29):
heavy timber construction, andbrick.
And brick yes.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
A structural brick, brick and masonry.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, absolutely, and heavy timber.
But in 1953, with the secondedition of the NBC, we actually
got downgraded so we could onlybuild up to four stories of wood
construction in general.
And what was the reason forthat?
There were a lot of fire safetyconcerns at the time.
We just really didn'tunderstand the science behind
(11:54):
fire safety.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
I would say Was any of it to do with the earthquake
at all?
I would say, was any of it todo with the earthquake at all?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Not really.
No, because, like with thesesystems, we mostly develop
hybrid systems at this point.
So yeah, Okay so we had thisfour-story limit for about 70
years, until really 2009, whenwe were allowed to go up to six
stories now, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Wow, two floors it is .
Speaker 2 (12:19):
But it's like if you look at Vancouver now, it's like
you see six-story live-frontbuildings going on like at every
single corner.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
But now with mass timber buildings, that really
opened up sort of like acompletely new sector beyond the
six-story market.
So now we're looking at sevento 12 stories.
A few years ago, yeah, and nowwe're looking.
We were looking at 7 to 12stories a few years ago, yeah,
and now we're looking from 12 to18.
And then that may actuallychange again in the next code
cycle, allowing for up to 24stories of mass infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So, in terms of construction costs, how much is
it?
Is it a large cost savings?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
That is a really interesting question because it
really depends how you look atit.
interesting question because itreally depends how you look at
it.
If you're looking at materialcosts volume like a cubic foot
of material mass inverter it isa premium material compared to
concrete.
However, it meshes really wellwith prefabrication approaches
because it is inherently aprefabricated panelized system.
(13:15):
So there is significant speedof construction benefits that
you get by going with a massinverter system.
So in that case, once youaccount for those efficiencies
in erection times, you may saveup to 20% of the construction
time by only really adding maybe5% premium for the materials by
(13:36):
itself.
So overall it would say it'scompetitive with concrete in the
tall building range.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And that makes sense?
Yeah, because when you think offorming concrete, you're
basically creating a structurein order to pour into it.
Yeah, absolutely, and thenyou're taking that down.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And we have an excellent example for this.
There was a recent case studydone by Woodworks US on 1510
Webster.
It's an 18-story massivebuilding in California.
It was designed from the groundup to be prefabricated and very
quick to erect, so towards theend of construction they were
building two floors per weekwhich is staggering to think
(14:13):
about.
You will absolutely never getthat in a concrete building.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Well, you're not waiting for anything to dry.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Absolutely yes.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
That's pretty cool.
They were able to actuallyshave off three months on their
construction schedule by goingwith a prefabricated mass timber
approach so, um, most of thetime there's there's, there's
clearly a um, a metal workscomponent to, to connecting the,
the mass timber components, Iwould say yeah, so the
(14:44):
prefabrication of beams etcetera and the connectors, it's
pretty much the Lego version ofeverything showing up on site
and kind of just working andit's being put together.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, absolutely In an idea world.
Yes, that's what, and that'swhat a lot of mass timber
companies used to sell theirproducts is they call it a kit
of parts?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
yeah, it's parts.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yeah, exactly yeah they just assemble it together.
If you design in the right way,like you, can go extremely
quick because you're not reallybuilding anything on site,
you're mostly assemblingassembling.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah, that's cool.
The um.
So what are the?
What opportunities um is therefor builders and developers to
consider, like when they're inthe in the consideration process
of you know a new build, up to18 stories, what are the
(15:41):
benefits for them over time, forthem to consider mass timber,
for instance?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, for sure.
To begin with, it woulddefinitely be the speed of
construction benefits that wementioned.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
We'll have a bubbly break.
Let's see, there we go Nice.
That sounds good.
I see we both picked thewatermelon.
Absolutely, the we go Nice,that sounds good.
I see we both picked thewatermelon.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Absolutely the best flavor, nice, all right.
So yeah, going back to it,definitely so.
There are a few differentmetrics that you can measure
mass timber for.
One of them is the cost.
Again, it's like if it'sdesigned the right way, it can
be really competitive,especially in that 7 to to
18-story market.
But also sustainability.
(16:22):
We can shave off a lot ofembodied carbon in these
buildings simply by using masstimber, but to really understand
how the benefits or the.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Can you double-click on that for a second?
Just on the carbon.
So where does that work in theeconomics of a building when
you're saying shaving that off?
Can you just get into that alittle bit more?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah, so every material has an embodied carbon
attached to it in a way.
So, that is carbon that isgoing to be emitted through
manufacturing, the supply, themanipulation of that material
until it's decombustion,basically, I see Okay.
So mass timber has an inherentadvantage in this case, because
it is a renewable organicmaterial.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Gotcha Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
That, as it grows, it actually absorbs carbon from
the atmosphere.
Right, so the idea is we arereplacing every single tree that
we felt in the forest.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
That is going to be a massive rebuilding, so in
theory we are actually suckingup carbon from the atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Ah, okay, I got you by building with mass.
Okay, that makes sense.
Okay, so there are.
It seems to me there's a Acouple of elements there For
buildings that are.
I mean, every developer isalways trying to sell the
project, unless they're adeveloper who just wants it for
themselves.
(17:49):
There's always going to be thatend-use brand message of this
is the type of building.
It is an element ofsustainability to it which is an
attractive, not a brand driver,but a brand justifier on why
somebody should either inhabitthat space or invest in that
space because of that signalthat it is a sustainable
(18:11):
building.
So we've all seen that, fromLEED to a whole bunch of other
different programs out there.
So is there an attractiveelement to buildings that use
mass timber?
As you see going forward, isthis going to be ubiquitous over
time or is it still an X factorfor buildings' attractive
buildability?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It really depends which sector we're considering.
If we're talking about tallwood construction, the most
likely encapsulated buildings,so you're not going to see a lot
of wood in there.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
So it's really not a factor per se, because people
choose it for sustainabilitymostly.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
So it's behind the walls.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Absolutely.
But in low-rise and mid-riseconstruction we can actually now
expose 100% of the mass timberelements.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Up to eight stories.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Almost a design feature.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Absolutely yes, I see , I mean historically.
We have seen Massimer beingused in institutional buildings
specifically for this reason.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
For the biophilic effects, because people really
like the look.
What did you say?
Biophilic, yeah, biophilic,take me through that.
Biophilic yes, it's sort oflike the warm and fuzzy feelings
that you get by being in aspace enclosed by water.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Wow, I like that.
Yes, biophilic.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
It just makes people feel good.
It's like what I heard one timefrom an architect you will
never see anyone reaching outand touching a concrete column,
but you will definitely see iton a wood building.
Interesting People interactwith these buildings way more
than if it was still concrete,because they want to touch the
wood itself.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
And they like how it feels just being inside of this
environment.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
What's a biophilic rating of this environment?
Today?
I'm touching the table.
It's pretty low, yes, prettylow, absolutely.
That's cool, that's a greatterm.
The biophilic appeal, yeah, Icould totally see that, because
I think it is obviously inherentin nature of us going up to a
tree and touching it and feeling, and they talk about I know you
(20:06):
heard about this like walkingaround bare feet, yeah, the
grounding, yeah the wholegrounding thing.
Yeah, so this is maybe somethingthrough you know ocular senses
that where you're going to, youknow have this feeling, just by
the way things look.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
And we actually just a quickshout out to our Woodworks
educational program because wejust had a session on biophilic
design for buildings in BC.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Do you have like a lexicon director who comes up
with all these great words?
Yes, that's pretty awesome.
Okay.
So I just wanted to ask yousomething about this.
You know we saw these.
I was watching this.
Adam Carolla was drivingthrough Malibu and there's these
(20:53):
buildings that were built outof concrete and metal.
They're all there.
All the wood frame ones aregone.
So what is this like?
Is this the fire rating and all, like you were saying that in
the past, over the 70 years,that was one of the reasons.
Today, you know where we're atwith this.
Is this?
Is that affecting the brand?
(21:15):
Have you seen any kind ofconversation around that?
Was there?
Maybe?
Take us through, like themessaging of wood and
sustainability through safetyand fire and et cetera.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, we have seen some comments, I would say
specifically because of therecent fires in LA, but that is
a really difficult thing toaddress, specifically when it
comes to light frame andmid-rise construction.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Because there are so many other factors that affect
the fire performance of abuilding.
Yeah, and something that wereally need to understand is
like every material has a firerating capacity.
It's not just wood that is justgoing to burst into flames,
right yeah, even concrete andsteel, like if you hit, hit it
like it needs to be fire ratedbecause it will lose the
(22:02):
structural strength.
yeah fair enough, as you heat itup so it's really most of the
way that we design thesebuildings as a whole, as a
systematic approach, insteadlike as opposed to looking at
the, the sort of like theskeleton of the structure itself
to see if it can withstand thefire or not right because the
fire shouldn't even get to thestructure to begin with.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
That's a very good point.
Maybe if the fire hydrantsworked.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Regardless of the material thatyou're using, there are cool
provisions that you need to meetfor fire rating requirements.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
In British Columbia it seems like and this is kind
of like a West Coast thing theuse of the biophilic factor, if
you will, of seeing this masstimber.
It's a very cool thing.
Like even here at theconvention center.
Have you seen that the woodfeature wall on the east side of
the building?
Yes, it's amazing.
Yes, all that end grain littlesquares, absolutely Holy crap.
(23:00):
Yes, I mean, that's so.
That would be a biophilicoverload.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
yes, yeah, that's pretty cool.
So maybe like what, do you haveany sort of advocational tips
for developers or builders whoare thinking you know, maybe
they should go down this route?
Like, what sort of services doyou have on a consultative point
of view?
Do people reach out to you andsay, hey, we're thinking of
doing this XYZ development?
(23:27):
How could you guys help us?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, absolutely, and we have been approaching and
working with a lot of developersin the lower mainland that are
interested in this.
There are a few looking at18-story massive residential
towers currently.
And we definitely are here tohelp.
So, as I mentioned, we're anonprofit organization, so we do
everything free of charge.
So we're really here to helpand teach people about
Massimilitar, because we findthat there is a lot of knowledge
(23:51):
in our industry but it's kindof siloed in a few people or
like a few companies.
So we're trying to share thataround, really make sure that
everybody understands what thebenefits are and, most
importantly, how to actually getit done on site, because we
feel like sometimes there is abit of a disconnect there
between people that actuallyknow how to do it and the people
(24:12):
actually on the site doing it.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
So what are you most excited about in the next five,
six years in your sector, likewhat's you know within wood
construction?
What's the things that make yougo?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
oh, I can't wait till we get to advocate for this it
will definitely be tallconstruction in general and
really mainstream developersgetting behind it.
We're getting to the pointwhere mass timber will probably
become more cost effective onconcrete, specifically for that
seven to 18 sort of range.
So we're're gonna start seeinga lot more residential towers,
probably in vancouver.
(24:44):
So like our goal is sort oflike for vancouver to be like
the, the wood city that a lot ofarchitects and city planners
dream about, nice.
We're getting there, butthere's still a long ways away
okay, well, how do people get intouch with you?
uh, just shoot us an email.
You can uh go to thewoodworksca website.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Or, yeah, just reach out at any point and we're here
to help with any technicalquestions, support, development,
anything.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
All right.
Well, that's been awesome.
Thank you very much, Alejandro.
I appreciate it and thank youfor coming on the site visit.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Absolutely my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Have a cookie or a brownie.
I do.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
All right.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
That's good.
Thanks, man, Thanks.
Well, that does it for anotherepisode of the Site Visit.
Thank you for listening.
Be sure to stay connected withus by following our social
accounts on Instagram andYouTube.
You can also sign up for ourmonthly newsletter at
(25:39):
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All right, let's get back tobuilding.
Welcome to the Site.
Visit Podcast leadership andperspective from construction
with your host, James Faulkner,Recorded live from the show
floor at BuildX Vancouver 2025.
All right, here we are atBuildX with Alejandro Coronado.
(00:30):
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Pretty good, amazing to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Perfect.
So Woodworks BC, so part of theWoodworks Council.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
you're saying yeah, so Woodworks is a technical
resource group from the CanadianWood Council.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Oh, the Canadian Wood Council yes we're a non-profit
organization.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
We have been around since the 50s or the 60s.
We are really here to drivemass timber and light frame
adoption in the constructionindustry.
Basically, our goal is tomaximize the use of wood that we
have.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Okay, so in terms of when you say the wood that we
have, are we talking new productand also reclaimed wood as well
?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Reclaimed wood, not specifically for the Canadian
Wood Council, but there havebeen some recent efforts looking
into the sustainability and theactual feasibility of using
reclaimed wood in existingbuildings.
There are just a fewcomplications when it comes to
the structural design of it.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah.
But yeah, a few complicationswhen it comes to the structural
design of it, yeah, but yeah,yeah, I know there's a company
called Clearview Demolition, Ithink, and they actually go and
reclaim as much as possible.
That's pretty amazing what theycan do.
But so let's specifically talkabout you.
So you are a technical advisorfor Woodworks BC.
Take me through your day.
Like, what are you advising on?
What's on the?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
when you say technical advisor, take us
through what you're doing on aday-to-day basis.
Yeah, for sure, so this is moreof a recent role for me.
I'm a structural engineer bytraining.
Okay, I spent numerous years inthe in construction industry as
a structural engineer in aconsulting firm, so I have a lot
of technical experience in thedesign of light frame and
massive buildings and my role atWoodPurse is really leveraging
(02:08):
that design experience to helpengineers and architects that
are trying to get into woodconstruction either light frame
or mass teamwork.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Oh, I see.
Okay, Just a question like whatis the motivation for those
companies, for those architects,for those developers in those
projects to integrate thosematerials into the build?
Is there a reason in terms ofenvironmental reasons?
Is there a green reason?
(02:38):
What is the main push?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The answer really depends onthe type of construction that
we're looking at.
If we consider a light framelike stick frame, for example,
five to six story mid rise woodis an effective and really cost
effective solution because itgoes up relatively quick and you
can go to a lumber yard and geta bunch of two by four, two by
sixes, and it's really malleable.
(03:01):
So you can doable.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It's easy to cut.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's easy to cut on site,so it's really a good way of
building five to six stories,but when we get beyond that,
then we're really looking atmass timber buildings.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Okay, yeah, so classify just for those when you
say mass timber, give us thetechnical description of where
things fall into the category ofmass timber.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, for sure.
So I usually manage threedifferent terms.
So it's light frame the same asthick frame, so 2x4, 2x6, stud
wall construction, what we havehistorically done.
There's also heavy timber whichuses more of a post and beam
type construction with largercross sections, which is what we
did historically in the early1900s, for example, with 20 by
(03:50):
20 inches of Douglas fir columnsand beams.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Right, and that's like old school stuff you still
see in Yaletown.
Absolutely it's like concrete,you can't even drill into it.
Absolutely the whole growthcedar yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And then the other will be mass timber, which is
really heavy timber, but with apanelization approach.
So that's where we see crosslaminated timber slabs, for
example oh, gotcha, okay, yeah,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So those, yeah, so those are like the manufactured,
like large, uh posts that aremade from laminated yes, exactly
composite materials yes, so sowe're talking about a bit of
composite materials.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
So we talk about glulam which will be used for
columns and posts and beams.
Yeah, so it's really just usingsun lumber with structural glue
cured.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I mean, we've seen that.
I mean that basically startedwith the oriented strand board,
the original, and even Mediteturned into that like a particle
board.
Yeah, original, you know, andeven medite turned into that
like a particle board.
Yeah, but uh, so this is justthe new, uh, the new version of
that for, um, and alsolaminating a lot of them
together to create a large beam,yeah for sure, and also even a
panelized system.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
So we have nail laminated timber that you can
use with 2x4, 2x6 and that wassort of like the original
precursor to mass timber.
That was a lot in the 1950s and60s as well, with the very
early glulam beams that we hadwith an NLT decking.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Okay, so in terms of the mass timber side, on the
structural side, is there anyissues in terms of off gassing
of the glues and like from afrom an environmental point of
view, obviously, like it's a,it's a, it's a, um, an
alternative to concrete in manyways, uh, from a structural
(05:36):
point of view so, and obviouslyconcrete.
The big issue is a lot ofcompanies are trying to figure
out how to lower theenvironmental impact on
off-gassing from concrete.
So with these is most of theglue off-gassing that's already
happened and done with.
On the manufacturing process.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Yeah, it is, and the sustainability impacts of
massing were really smallbecause it is the only renewable
construction material that wehave.
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Okay, so that's cool.
So it's basically coming.
A lot of it's coming frombyproducts, from sawmills, etc.
From making other types of woodproducts, and you're able to
make these large beams.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Not necessarily.
These are trees specificallygrown for mass timber.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, take us through that.
That's something I'm not quiteaware of, so take us through
that, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It really depends how the company is set up.
We have different types ofsuppliers here in BC.
We have a few that arevertically integrated.
They manage their own forest.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So they do a lot of the falling of the trees and the
processing of the logs all theway to the construction side,
when they actually supply andmanufacture the CLT and
glulamines.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And what type of species of trees are these.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Typically, it's most commonly spruce pine fir.
Okay, although it reallydepends For panelized systems.
Spf is one of the most commonones, but we can also Hem fir is
gaining a bit of popularitybecause it's a very
underutilized, which is HemferHemlock.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Oh, Hemlock yes.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
So it's very underutilized in terms of the
structural applications.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And we have a lot of it going around, so it's just a
really good use to start usingit for analyzed systems.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So what is the growth time for sapling all the way up
to having something you can use?
How many years is that?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I'm not actually quite sure, but I would say all
of this the forestry is done ina very sustainable manner.
So it's not like we're cuttingevery single tree in the forest.
It's very well managed, notjust by the companies themselves
, but also by the provincial andfederal governments.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I've heard these statistics on many podcasts that
the earth is the greenest it'sever been in years.
Have you heard that before?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
First time that I hear it, but I mean it does make
sense.
Yes, with the active approachto forest management that we
have and reforestation,absolutely yes.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, I mean, even when something's been completely
clear-cut, at least they'rereplanting it.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
you know, a season later, um, and it's turning
green again yeah, exactly, andthat's a cycle that they go
through every every a fewdecades.
I would say, like they don't.
They're not coming back to thesame spot, right?
It's like they have these hugeparcels of land that they
subdivide and then they leaseout, they do the forestry that
they need to do, and then maybethey don't come back for 40 or
(08:28):
50 years, just letting theforest regrowth in a natural
manner.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Did you feel free to just say no?
I don't know about that, butthere was a project down here on
Pender Street.
There was a wedge.
It was going to be an alltimber high rise that I think
was going to be like 20 floorsand it was all going to be.
Did you know about that one?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I'm not really sure what project that will be.
Maybe I'm blanking out on thename, but I think I may know
which one it is.
Yeah, it was meant to be.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I think Port Living or Port was going to be doing it
.
It was on Pender, in betweenPender and Hastings.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, the Earth Tower .
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, it was like a wedge, a wedge shape.
But what was interesting aboutthat is that the architect, I
believe, yeah made plans forthat to be mass timber and then,
I think, the developer boughtit and then they wouldn't let
them redevelop it in a differentway with the same plans.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, I remember now, I think it was Terra's house.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
The architect was Shigeru Ban.
Yes, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So are you familiar with what kind of structure that
was going to be originallyplanned?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
That was an interesting one.
As far as I don't really havethe details, but I understand
that it was more of a hybridtype structure.
So it's going to be mostlyconcrete.
And then back then you weren'treally allowed to have a tall
mass timber building in the waythat we do now.
So, the top six floors or sowas going to be mass timber.
It was meant to be the tallesthybrid mass timber building in
(10:03):
the world.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Wow, was that something?
You guys were pretty excitedthat that was going to go
through.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I mean absolutely, but it's like if you look at the
international landscape now,it's like that idea is just.
I know we're so far beyond itat this point.
For example, in Milwaukee wehave a 24-story mass timber
tower.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Wow, crazy Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
For residential use.
So the pace that we havedeveloping mass timber buildings
it's been staggering.
Like in our building code wejust amended it last year to
allow for 18 stories.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And we already have a lot of interest from developers
and other clients really keenon exploring that idea of a tall
mass timber building inVancouver with these new
regulations, because it's a veryeffective way of building.
It's more similar to concrete.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Okay, so take us through that.
So when you say, and you'retalking like Vancouver,
specifically like building code,has now allowed for this,
vancouver, specifically likebuilding code has now allowed
for this In BC specifically, butwe were actually sort of like
the second location to approveof this change.
So what is the change?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Allowing for up to 18 stories of encapsulated mass
timber construction.
Okay, so let me take you to thesort of like the history of
construction.
So we have been doing heavytimber buildings historically
for more than 100 years.
As we were chatting aboutbefore, we have eight-story
buildings right here in Gaston,completely in perfect shape with
(11:29):
heavy timber construction, andbrick.
And brick yes.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
A structural brick, brick and masonry.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, absolutely, and heavy timber.
But in 1953, with the secondedition of the NBC, we actually
got downgraded so we could onlybuild up to four stories of wood
construction in general.
And what was the reason forthat?
There were a lot of fire safetyconcerns at the time.
We just really didn'tunderstand the science behind
(11:54):
fire safety.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
I would say Was any of it to do with the earthquake
at all?
I would say, was any of it todo with the earthquake at all?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Not really.
No, because, like with thesesystems, we mostly develop
hybrid systems at this point.
So yeah, Okay so we had thisfour-story limit for about 70
years, until really 2009, whenwe were allowed to go up to six
stories now, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Wow, two floors it is .
Speaker 2 (12:19):
But it's like if you look at Vancouver now, it's like
you see six-story live-frontbuildings going on like at every
single corner.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
But now with mass timber buildings, that really
opened up sort of like acompletely new sector beyond the
six-story market.
So now we're looking at sevento 12 stories.
A few years ago, yeah, and nowwe're looking.
We were looking at 7 to 12stories a few years ago, yeah,
and now we're looking from 12 to18.
And then that may actuallychange again in the next code
cycle, allowing for up to 24stories of mass infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So, in terms of construction costs, how much is
it?
Is it a large cost savings?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
That is a really interesting question because it
really depends how you look atit.
interesting question because itreally depends how you look at
it.
If you're looking at materialcosts volume like a cubic foot
of material mass inverter it isa premium material compared to
concrete.
However, it meshes really wellwith prefabrication approaches
because it is inherently aprefabricated panelized system.
(13:15):
So there is significant speedof construction benefits that
you get by going with a massinverter system.
So in that case, once youaccount for those efficiencies
in erection times, you may saveup to 20% of the construction
time by only really adding maybe5% premium for the materials by
(13:36):
itself.
So overall it would say it'scompetitive with concrete in the
tall building range.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And that makes sense?
Yeah, because when you think offorming concrete, you're
basically creating a structurein order to pour into it.
Yeah, absolutely, and thenyou're taking that down.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And we have an excellent example for this.
There was a recent case studydone by Woodworks US on 1510
Webster.
It's an 18-story massivebuilding in California.
It was designed from the groundup to be prefabricated and very
quick to erect, so towards theend of construction they were
building two floors per weekwhich is staggering to think
(14:13):
about.
You will absolutely never getthat in a concrete building.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Well, you're not waiting for anything to dry.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Absolutely yes.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
That's pretty cool.
They were able to actuallyshave off three months on their
construction schedule by goingwith a prefabricated mass timber
approach so, um, most of thetime there's there's, there's
clearly a um, a metal workscomponent to, to connecting the,
the mass timber components, Iwould say yeah, so the
(14:44):
prefabrication of beams etcetera and the connectors, it's
pretty much the Lego version ofeverything showing up on site
and kind of just working andit's being put together.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, absolutely In an idea world.
Yes, that's what, and that'swhat a lot of mass timber
companies used to sell theirproducts is they call it a kit
of parts?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
yeah, it's parts.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yeah, exactly yeah they just assemble it together.
If you design in the right way,like you, can go extremely
quick because you're not reallybuilding anything on site,
you're mostly assemblingassembling.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah, that's cool.
The um.
So what are the?
What opportunities um is therefor builders and developers to
consider, like when they're inthe in the consideration process
of you know a new build, up to18 stories, what are the
(15:41):
benefits for them over time, forthem to consider mass timber,
for instance?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, for sure.
To begin with, it woulddefinitely be the speed of
construction benefits that wementioned.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
We'll have a bubbly break.
Let's see, there we go Nice.
That sounds good.
I see we both picked thewatermelon.
Absolutely, the we go Nice,that sounds good.
I see we both picked thewatermelon.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Absolutely the best flavor, nice, all right.
So yeah, going back to it,definitely so.
There are a few differentmetrics that you can measure
mass timber for.
One of them is the cost.
Again, it's like if it'sdesigned the right way, it can
be really competitive,especially in that 7 to to
18-story market.
But also sustainability.
(16:22):
We can shave off a lot ofembodied carbon in these
buildings simply by using masstimber, but to really understand
how the benefits or the.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Can you double-click on that for a second?
Just on the carbon.
So where does that work in theeconomics of a building when
you're saying shaving that off?
Can you just get into that alittle bit more?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah, so every material has an embodied carbon
attached to it in a way.
So, that is carbon that isgoing to be emitted through
manufacturing, the supply, themanipulation of that material
until it's decombustion,basically, I see Okay.
So mass timber has an inherentadvantage in this case, because
it is a renewable organicmaterial.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Gotcha Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
That, as it grows, it actually absorbs carbon from
the atmosphere.
Right, so the idea is we arereplacing every single tree that
we felt in the forest.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
That is going to be a massive rebuilding, so in
theory we are actually suckingup carbon from the atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Ah, okay, I got you by building with mass.
Okay, that makes sense.
Okay, so there are.
It seems to me there's a Acouple of elements there For
buildings that are.
I mean, every developer isalways trying to sell the
project, unless they're adeveloper who just wants it for
themselves.
(17:49):
There's always going to be thatend-use brand message of this
is the type of building.
It is an element ofsustainability to it which is an
attractive, not a brand driver,but a brand justifier on why
somebody should either inhabitthat space or invest in that
space because of that signalthat it is a sustainable
(18:11):
building.
So we've all seen that, fromLEED to a whole bunch of other
different programs out there.
So is there an attractiveelement to buildings that use
mass timber?
As you see going forward, isthis going to be ubiquitous over
time or is it still an X factorfor buildings' attractive
buildability?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It really depends which sector we're considering.
If we're talking about tallwood construction, the most
likely encapsulated buildings,so you're not going to see a lot
of wood in there.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
So it's really not a factor per se, because people
choose it for sustainabilitymostly.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
So it's behind the walls.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Absolutely.
But in low-rise and mid-riseconstruction we can actually now
expose 100% of the mass timberelements.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Up to eight stories.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Almost a design feature.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Absolutely yes, I see , I mean historically.
We have seen Massimer beingused in institutional buildings
specifically for this reason.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
For the biophilic effects, because people really
like the look.
What did you say?
Biophilic, yeah, biophilic,take me through that.
Biophilic yes, it's sort oflike the warm and fuzzy feelings
that you get by being in aspace enclosed by water.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Wow, I like that.
Yes, biophilic.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
It just makes people feel good.
It's like what I heard one timefrom an architect you will
never see anyone reaching outand touching a concrete column,
but you will definitely see iton a wood building.
Interesting People interactwith these buildings way more
than if it was still concrete,because they want to touch the
wood itself.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
And they like how it feels just being inside of this
environment.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
What's a biophilic rating of this environment?
Today?
I'm touching the table.
It's pretty low, yes, prettylow, absolutely.
That's cool, that's a greatterm.
The biophilic appeal, yeah, Icould totally see that, because
I think it is obviously inherentin nature of us going up to a
tree and touching it and feeling, and they talk about I know you
(20:06):
heard about this like walkingaround bare feet, yeah, the
grounding, yeah the wholegrounding thing.
Yeah, so this is maybe somethingthrough you know ocular senses
that where you're going to, youknow have this feeling, just by
the way things look.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
And we actually just a quickshout out to our Woodworks
educational program because wejust had a session on biophilic
design for buildings in BC.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Do you have like a lexicon director who comes up
with all these great words?
Yes, that's pretty awesome.
Okay.
So I just wanted to ask yousomething about this.
You know we saw these.
I was watching this.
Adam Carolla was drivingthrough Malibu and there's these
(20:53):
buildings that were built outof concrete and metal.
They're all there.
All the wood frame ones aregone.
So what is this like?
Is this the fire rating and all, like you were saying that in
the past, over the 70 years,that was one of the reasons.
Today, you know where we're atwith this.
Is this?
Is that affecting the brand?
(21:15):
Have you seen any kind ofconversation around that?
Was there?
Maybe?
Take us through, like themessaging of wood and
sustainability through safetyand fire and et cetera.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, we have seen some comments, I would say
specifically because of therecent fires in LA, but that is
a really difficult thing toaddress, specifically when it
comes to light frame andmid-rise construction.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Because there are so many other factors that affect
the fire performance of abuilding.
Yeah, and something that wereally need to understand is
like every material has a firerating capacity.
It's not just wood that is justgoing to burst into flames,
right yeah, even concrete andsteel, like if you hit, hit it
like it needs to be fire ratedbecause it will lose the
(22:02):
structural strength.
yeah fair enough, as you heat itup so it's really most of the
way that we design thesebuildings as a whole, as a
systematic approach, insteadlike as opposed to looking at
the, the sort of like theskeleton of the structure itself
to see if it can withstand thefire or not right because the
fire shouldn't even get to thestructure to begin with.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
That's a very good point.
Maybe if the fire hydrantsworked.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Regardless of the material thatyou're using, there are cool
provisions that you need to meetfor fire rating requirements.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
In British Columbia it seems like and this is kind
of like a West Coast thing theuse of the biophilic factor, if
you will, of seeing this masstimber.
It's a very cool thing.
Like even here at theconvention center.
Have you seen that the woodfeature wall on the east side of
the building?
Yes, it's amazing.
Yes, all that end grain littlesquares, absolutely Holy crap.
(23:00):
Yes, I mean, that's so.
That would be a biophilicoverload.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
yes, yeah, that's pretty cool.
So maybe like what, do you haveany sort of advocational tips
for developers or builders whoare thinking you know, maybe
they should go down this route?
Like, what sort of services doyou have on a consultative point
of view?
Do people reach out to you andsay, hey, we're thinking of
doing this XYZ development?
(23:27):
How could you guys help us?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, absolutely, and we have been approaching and
working with a lot of developersin the lower mainland that are
interested in this.
There are a few looking at18-story massive residential
towers currently.
And we definitely are here tohelp.
So, as I mentioned, we're anonprofit organization, so we do
everything free of charge.
So we're really here to helpand teach people about
Massimilitar, because we findthat there is a lot of knowledge
(23:51):
in our industry but it's kindof siloed in a few people or
like a few companies.
So we're trying to share thataround, really make sure that
everybody understands what thebenefits are and, most
importantly, how to actually getit done on site, because we
feel like sometimes there is abit of a disconnect there
between people that actuallyknow how to do it and the people
(24:12):
actually on the site doing it.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
So what are you most excited about in the next five,
six years in your sector, likewhat's you know within wood
construction?
What's the things that make yougo?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
oh, I can't wait till we get to advocate for this it
will definitely be tallconstruction in general and
really mainstream developersgetting behind it.
We're getting to the pointwhere mass timber will probably
become more cost effective onconcrete, specifically for that
seven to 18 sort of range.
So we're're gonna start seeinga lot more residential towers,
probably in vancouver.
(24:44):
So like our goal is sort oflike for vancouver to be like
the, the wood city that a lot ofarchitects and city planners
dream about, nice.
We're getting there, butthere's still a long ways away
okay, well, how do people get intouch with you?
uh, just shoot us an email.
You can uh go to thewoodworksca website.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Or, yeah, just reach out at any point and we're here
to help with any technicalquestions, support, development,
anything.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
All right.
Well, that's been awesome.
Thank you very much, Alejandro.
I appreciate it and thank youfor coming on the site visit.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Absolutely my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Have a cookie or a brownie.
I do.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
All right.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
That's good.
Thanks, man, Thanks.
Well, that does it for anotherepisode of the Site Visit.
Thank you for listening.
Be sure to stay connected withus by following our social
accounts on Instagram andYouTube.
You can also sign up for ourmonthly newsletter at
(25:39):
sitemaxsystemscom slash the sitevisit, where you'll get
industry insights, pro tips andeverything you need to know
about the site visit podcast andsitemax, the job site and
construction management tool ofchoice for thousands of
contractors in North America andbeyond.
Sitemax is also the engine thatpowers this podcast.
All right, let's get back tobuilding.
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