The Transition Accelerator recently published its Mass Timber Roadmap, developed alongside contributors which include the Energy Futures Lab, the Canadian Wood Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada. This detailed report outlines the strategic vision for the use of mass timber in construction in Canada, illustrating how mass timber has the potential to drive economic growth and to transform green construction across Canada.
This new plan aligns with the growing market demand for mass timber in Canada, and in many other parts of the world. By using mass timber, builders in Canada have the opportunity to create both commercial and residential products at lower costs and at faster speeds, all with a much lower carbon footprint.
Ontario Amends Codes to Allow for 18-Storey Mass Timber Buildings
In April of this year, the Ontario government announced that it would amend its building code to allow mass timber constructions of an encapsulated nature up to 18 storeys. Before this change, mass timber buildings in Ontario were only allowed to be 12 storeys tall.
This new regulation is designed to increase the construction of larger buildings with mass timber and to help reduce the cost of new homes over time. The goal is also to support well-paying jobs and the technology, forestry, manufacturing, and engineering design sectors. One example of this is a new sustainable apartment built in Toronto using mass timber.
This comes on the heels of the British Columbia government taking similar steps, also having increased its limit on mass timber buildings to 18 storeys up from 12 storeys. Similarly, the city of Vancouver took steps to create a new program that would remove barriers to mass timber. The Mass Timber Policy for Rezoning proposes that for sites between 8 and 11 storeys an additional two storeys should be considered. For sites of 12 or more storeys an additional three storeys should be considered.
For those projects that are not looking for rezoning, the city of Vancouver’s policy currently allows the planning director to increase the allowable height of mass timber constructions by up to 6 percent. However, staff are now recommending that this be increased to 10%.
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