Rendering of four-storey oN5 building showing fire-resistant CLT panels as exterior walls

Hemsworth and Malczyk on mass timber seismic design and sustainable communities

oN5 | Rendering courtesy of Hemsworth Architecture

John Hemsworth and Robert Malczyk discuss the impact of two key wood projects in Mt. Pleasant and Upper Skeena

On an episode of the Construction Record podcast, digital media editor Warren Frey speaks with Hemsworth Architecture founder John Hemsworth and structural engineer Robert Malczyk of Timber Engineering Inc. about mass timber and other wood-based technologies used on two significant British Columbia projects.

Hemsworth and Malczyk explain how oN5, a four-storey office building located in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood uses insulative cross-laminated timber (CLT) assemblies along with a damage-resistant seismic design built to a Passive House standard.

Malczyk and Hemsworth also speak about the Upper Skeena Recreation Centre, a heavy timber and wood-frame building that not only replaced a 44-year-old ice arena condemned due to safety concerns but became a new hub for the community. The project used skilled tradespersons from the community and locally available material. Building with wood meant construction could continue through the cold winter months.

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