At 53m, the 18 storey UBC Tall Wood building is presently the tallest wood structure in the world.
The structure is a hybrid system comprised of CLT floor panels and Glulam™ columns from the 2nd – 18th storeys. The 1st storey and the exit cores are of reinforced concrete construction.
As the fire engineer, GHL proposed a mass timber structure that is fully encapsulated and protected by a sprinkler system with a backup water tank.
The building will include smoke-control systems for high rise buildings and have a 2h fire-resistance rating, equivalent to that of a typical concrete tower in Vancouver, BC.
The success of the Tall Wood project demonstrates that mass timber structure can be engineered to provide a level of fire and safety that meets the standards of the Building Code.
GHL has been involved in a number of significant large timber building projects in Canada where fire engineering analysis were carried out to ascertain their safety and compliance with the Building Code.
Our expertise with mass timber structure is supplemented by our continued involvement with key provincial and national organizations, including FPInnovations and NRC, and our participation on the CSA O86 subcommittee for the design of timber structures for fire.
More information at:
www.ghl.ca
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