Case Studies & Videos – Ontario

A recent example of a successfully executed low-carbon federal construction project is the three new mass timber buildings recently commissioned by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) at their campus in Chalk River, ON. In constructing the three buildings – the Science Collaboration Centre, the Minwamon Building, and the Support Facility – the federal government successfully demonstrated the use of mass timber as an innovative structural material with a reduced carbon footprint. The energy performance of the three buildings is also well below federal baselines. By conducting a whole building life cycle assessment (wbLCA), it was determined that each of CNL’s buildings exceeded the federal targets of reducing their greenhouse gas intensity (GHGi) by 80% from their 2005 baseline. Click the thumbnail to download a copy of the PDF.

80 Atlantic Avenue | Toronto, Ontario

Ontario’s first mass timber commercial building in over 100 years, 80 Atlantic pioneers a new urban office typology for potentially many more timber-frame projects across the province, and the country. Comprising four storeys of mass timber above a one-storey concrete podium, the 8,825-sq.m. (95,000-sq.ft.) building completes a courtyard with 60 Atlantic to create a paired commercial development.

McEwen School of Architecture Case Study | Sudbury, ON

Located in Sudbury, Ontario, Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture is the first new school of architecture building to be built in Canada in 40 years. Its mandate is to provide an integrated, uniquely focused education to Indigenous, Anglophone, and Francophone students. It is the only school of architecture outside of Québec to offer French-language studio courses, and the first to include offices for Indigenous Elders, who play a central role in the school. Learn more about this innovative, mass timber building whose exposed timber structure introduces students to engineered wood products, showcases a modern design solution using glulam and CLT, and inspires students to consider new ways of building with wood.

Ontario Wood Bridge Reference Guide

The Ontario Wood Bridge Reference Guide was prepared for for the Canadian Wood Council and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry by Moses Structural Engineers and Brown & Co. Engineering Ltd.

Cover Photo: Mistissini Bridge | Photo Credit: Stephane Groleau | Timber Supplier: Nordic Structures

Bridge Designer: Denis Lefebvre, ing., M.Sc.A., Directeur d’expertise, Ponts et Ouvrages d’art, Stantec

CLICK HERE to download a PDF copy of the Guide or EMAIL US to request a printed copy.

Timber bridges have a long history of construction and use throughout North America, including Ontario, for roadways, railways and logging roads. The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC), together with the Canadian Wood Council publication Wood Highway Bridges from 1992 are typically referenced by designers of timber bridges in Ontario. This new reference is intended to provide updated background information for designers as they embark on proposing and designing timber highway bridges for primary and secondary roads. The reference is divided into three parts:

Part 1 – Wood Bridges – Design and Use
Part 2 – Opportunities & Current Limitations
Part 3 – Design Examples

Part 1 provides background information on topics including wood materials, bridge systems, prefabrication, durability and species availability. Details of costs, construction cycle and sustainability are also provided. Part 1 concludes with examples of a variety of completed highway bridges from North America and Europe.

Part 2 of this reference is intended to provide designers and authorities with highlights of the current edition of the CHBDC on subjects related to the wood highway bridges, including areas that will require future development in the code. Additional references to other resources for advancing practitioner knowledge of and advancing the state of the art in wood bridge design are provided.

Part 3 has two fully worked design examples of a two-lane 18-m span wood highway bridge designed in accordance with the latest provisions of the CHBDC and the best available information from current literature. Each example is based on a single-span, simply-supported glued-laminated girder bridge. One bridge has a glued-laminated deck and the other has a stress-laminated deck. These examples are intended to help designers understand the key issues as they undertake wood highway bridge design. Durability through detailing and choice
of materials is discussed.

Templar Flats Case Study | Hamilton, ON

Templar Flats in Hamilton, Ontario, has the distinction of being the first occupied, modern wood-frame mid-rise building completed in Ontario. The 6-storey, mixed-use project offers 25 modern residential units above three street-level restaurants in the city’s downtown core. Templar Flats brings together the best of the old and new in an innovative, hybrid solution that puts a modern 6-storey building between two restored heritage buildings adapted into a single, unified development.

The 2015 Reference Guide: Mid-Rise Wood Construction in the Ontario Building Code

This free guide is based on a detailed code analysis and report completed by Morrison Hershfield for Ontario Wood WORKS! This new reference tool goes through the new OBC provisions related to Mid-Rise and Combustible construction. The intent of the tool is to help explain the provisions and provide the user with a better understanding of what is acceptable in Ontario.

Ontario Wood WORKS!

The Canadian Wood Council and Wood WORKS! produce and distribute a number of publications.

The Canadian Wood Council also publishes a number of publications that are available for purchase from the CWC/WoodWorks! WebStore.